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whatisreggieshortfor · 1 year

Note

Could you do Professor Jake Wilson x MC?

No smut or anything, I just wanna see a cute things.

Hey hi 👋🏻 here we are

The crew helped me with class choices for everyone 🤪

Professor of Love

Jake couldn’t take his eyes off her, even knowing he shouldn’t have let them stay there to begin with, especially when so many people could catch him staring. His gaze was soft, watching as she helped another student understand assignments that had seemed to go over their heads. Her raven hair hung over one shoulder like a curtain of silk, hazel eyes skimming the papers laid out on the desk. Even if he managed to tear his gaze away before she looked up, she somehow always knew. She never hid the smirk that twisted her lips when she would glance up at him, “Professor Wilson, don’t be getting too distracted. You need to grade your exams.”

He wanted to hate how easily she could see through him.

He wanted to hate it more when she would catch snippets of what the coeds would say about him and bring it up with that mischievous glimmer in her eye, while still somehow maintaining her innocent expression at the words.

As she had passed him to sit down at his table at the uni café, “If it isn’t our resident Eros.” That one was because they’d been referring to him as the uni’s personal Greek god of love, reciting romantic poems to his students far more often than tragedies.

She had come up to him, right as his office hours closed for the day, watching the students scurry away, “You know they wonder if you, uh, do house calls for your office hours, right?”

She had sat on the couch in his office, legs curling up under her as her fingers dragged through her hair, a salacious grin appearing in her face, “Did you know they say you have hot, single dad energy? I can see it.”

That one annoyed him the most.

Because if his students bothered to look past his chiseled jaw, his beefy arms, his strong chest- they would see his hands. And if they stopped thirsting over his hands for two minutes, they might realize what was always wrapped around his finger.

His ring.

Though, he supposed, he couldn’t blame the students entirely. Most of the faculty seemed to have trouble registering it at times.

Their head of the psych department had tried to set him up- and it took a very stern argument for Rohan to back down.

Tim, as the head of Spanish History, had very persistently offered to teach him the ways they had courted in centuries gone past.

Talia tried to analyze music choices for him, with her degree in theory, to find songs that showed he was looking for love.

He couldn’t tell if Youcef’s philosophy degree meant he could see what they couldn’t, that he had figured it out, or if it just kept him from asking the questions.

But she was the one that loved to tease him the most, Dean of Students, Doctor Avelina Morano.

“These bloody prats,” Tim groaned, rubbing his head as he sat in his office, “First question on the exam- who did the Spanish king finance for a sailing trip that was meant to profit his rule?”

“It’s Columbus, innit?” Rohan quirked a brow, tossing Tim’s rubber band ball across the space to Jake.

“They put the blokes from Road to El Dorado.” He sighed, finally tossing the papers down, “Alright, I need a cleanser-“

“It was the first exam of the semester,” Jake missed aiming his toss of the ball as Avelina’s voice sounded from the doorway, Rohan wincing as it connected with his temple, but she remained unphased, “Do I need to start auditing your classes again?”

Tim groaned, running a palm down his face, “Swear, doc, I’ve taught it to ‘em.”

She finally shook her head, letting herself laugh, “Don’t stress, Timmy. It’s one exam, they’ll get better. Every year this happens, and every year they get better. Probably doesn’t help that Thabi used that movie for the first assignment on themes in her film theory class.”

Jake chuckled, “Thought she agreed to hold off on it this semester and do a classic.”

Avelina shrugged, “Who knows? But I’m here for another reason- Jake, you have someone waiting outside your office.” He cringed, the last time someone had been waiting outside of his scheduled office hours they hadn’t been… very well clothed. She read his hesitation, “It’s Juliet.”

“Oooh,” Rohan called out, “What did you do to get the head of HR coming for a personal visit?”

He sighed, choosing to look towards Avenlina, “It could be anyone’s guess what she needs to speak about.”

He thought, for some reason, that she’d take his side, but she smirked, “Sounds like there are a lot of things you did.”

“Ha ha,” he commented dryly, waving to the boys before following her into the corridor, “You don’t know what this is about?”

“With Juliet?” She grimaced, “Could be anything. Swear I would fire her nosey arse in a second if I could find a qualified replacement. Why did Elladine have to retire to stay home with the kids?”

Jake chuckled again as they made it to his office, the poised woman standing inside the open door as she checked her nails, “Professor Wilson, finally.”

“Apologies, Miss Thompson, but we didn’t have a scheduled appointment.”

“No, silly me for thinking you’d be doing your own work and not goofing off with your mates.” Juliet rolled her eyes, not seeing Avelina’s glare.

“Juliet, being in HR does not give you the right to make insulting comments to my staff.” The woman foolishly always believed the Dean’s temper was all bark and no bite, waving her off.

“Yes, yes,” Juliet sighed, clearly already exasperated with the conversation, “I’ll be frank and to the point, I’m getting complaints from parents again. They’re concerned about a single man that looks as Jake does working with their impressionable children.”

“These ‘children’ are adults,” Avelina countered, “And Jake isn’t single. Maybe if you cracked open his file instead of cracking on with the head of my cosmetology department you’d know that.”

Juliet’s cheeks flushed, but she glared all the same, “His file says nothing about a wife- you are listed as his emergency contact.”

Jake coughed to cover a laugh, amusement in his eyes, “Did you ever look at the ‘relationship’ part of that information?”

“Why would I?” Juliet scoffed, “I know who she is-“

“Clearly you don’t.” Avelina snapped, holding up her hand as Jake held up his, their matching rings glistening in the fluorescent lighting of the office, “Are we done here?”

“You can’t be married!” Juliet huffed, “It’s against policy!”

“Against the policy you enacted,” Jake nodded, “But we didn’t feel the need to get divorced to comply with your new regulations.”

Stomping her heels out of the office, the couple watched her leave, “Looks like I need to find that qualified candidate now.”

“Looks like it.” Jake smiled, “Guess the cats out of the bag now.”

“I give it three hours before she spreads the news around campus.”

“Three? That’s generous, my love.” He fished his phone out, already blowing up with texts from most of the department heads, “I think it’ll take twenty minutes.”

They laughed as she finally wrapped her arms around his waist, in front of the open door, “Oh well, guess everyone needs to accept that you’ve been off the market.”

“Professor Wilson-“ they turned to see a sorority girl, face flushed in embarrassment as she tried to tug her minuscule skirt to cover her legs, giving up in favor of zipping her jacket to cover her chest where it practically spilled from her top.

Avelina laughed to herself, pulling her arms back as she gave Jake a smirk, “You are needed, Professor. Just don’t forget, you’re only allowed to make house calls with me.”

The girl sputtered uselessly as she watched the Dean walk away, cackling, and Jake was left red in the face and chuckling.

His wife could be petty, and she was a tease, but she was his.

Masterlist

#litg #litg jake #litg jake x mc #litg jake wilson #litg tim #litg rohan #litg Juliet #no villa au #professor au

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stetervault · 3 years

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Hiii! Been delving into Steter now, in the year of our lord 2021, even though I never really did when I was active in the fandom years ago and I was wondering if you'd have some longfic recs for the ship? Like, fics that are Classics(TM)? But happy endings! And I'm not super into those in which Stiles is still underage 😬 do u have any recs? Thanks!

Welcome to the Steter fandom! I definitely have some long fics to rec, some of them are super old lol, and I'll stick to ones around 20k or over, and most of them are finished. And hmm, considering the ship, and a lot of fics like to start off in season 1 where Stiles is still technically a teenager, I'll try to limit these to ones with Stiles being at least 16/17 before anything starts happening, and only 18+ if there's explicit content. I hope that's okay.

drowning in the sea of you by Corpium

Beacon Hills was perfect for Stiles growing up, but now, with werewolves, hunters, and an anxious best friend running around, it's turning into a place too chaotic for an empath like Stiles to handle alone. And pain killers can only go so far.

Wake Me Up by ToAStranger

Stiles has been in a coma for six years. Now he's awake.

Tremors by Corpium

(Stiles has a taste for him now. All Peter needs to do is wait.)

Surviving Peter and the Zombie Apocalypse by Nopennamesleft

Its the end of the world and Stiles has run out of luck. He saves a werewolf from certain death. Will they begin to rely on each other to survive or will the wolf just eat Stiles for a midnight snack?

Bite Down by EclipseWing

In which Stiles is forced to survive the zombie apocalypse with a sociopathic murdering werewolf for company.

as you are by veterization

Stiles runs straight into a tree and suddenly, things are... different. Namely, he's in a world where Peter Hale is his boyfriend.

Call My Name by KouriArashi

After moving to Beacon Hills, Stiles starts having recurring dreams of a man in some kind of prison, who needs his help. Things get so bad that he ends up in Eichen House, where he finds out that the man is real.

Devil of Mercy by KouriArashi

Peter's heard people talk about what it felt like when they saw their mate for the first time, from those who actually believe in the mystical bullshit. Like a magnet, like gravity. Peter just feels... sharply curious.

Whiskey is My Kind of Lullaby by taylorpotato

Peter is a simple saloon owner on one of the outer planets between the Aaru Belt and the Olympus Galaxy. He’s done with trouble. Done with adventure. So fucking done with rustlers. That is, until a cute young outlaw named Stiles wanders into his bar. Peter has this problem where he can’t seem to resist charming narcissists (perhaps because they remind him of himself). And when said narcissists turn his life upside-down, the worst part is he’s not even that upset about it.

Proposing To Strangers by moonstalker24

At the end of a strained relationship, crime novelist Stiles chooses to hide from the world inside a bar with far too many motorcycles outside it for comfort. Here he'll meet the man of his dreams, eat food and propose marriage, all within the first five minutes.

Peter doesn't know who this kid is, but he's cute and looks like he could use a break. So he feeds him. He's not expecting a marriage proposal, but with what comes after, he doesn't really mind.

Stiles Stilinski, Disaster Chef by Guede

The zombie apocalypse forces Stiles to learn how to cook.

The Will by Guede

We are gathered here today for the reading of Gerard Argent’s will.

On the Importance of Lunar Influences in Gardening by Guede

“Oh, it’s you again,” Stiles sighs. He puts down his basket and drops the bunch of onions into it, and then dusts off his hands. “Can’t you get your own strawberries? I mean, I have it on good authority that wild strawberries? They’re a thing. They exist. They’re out there.”

“But Stiles,” says the werewolf dangling by one foot from the tree, sticky red smears around his mouth and all over his fingers. “Your berries are so juicy, so ripe. Those ones in the woods are mere passing indulgences compared to the royal feast you have in your garden.”

Genii loci Stiles and his father run a community garden, and it’s all good, except for the werewolf who keeps sneaking over the fence to raid Stiles’ strawberry patch (and the hunter who’s constantly hanging around his father).

Runes and all kinds of things by FeelingsDusk (WIP)

Enough is enough. Stiles is tired of being always a last choice when he always tries to do his best for his precious people, so they better get their act together or face being left behind.

The things in the Argent's basement get nearly fatal, the Sheriff finds about the supernatural, Allison can have a wicked, wicked mind and Peter Hale appears to be everywhere.

Oh, and Stiles can't seem to stop breaking the laws of physics with his magic.

Sanctuary by DiscontentedWinter

The Hale Wolf Sanctuary isn’t just for wolves.

It turns out it’s for Stilinskis as well.

Out Of The East, Never See The Sun Rise by neglectedtuesday

In the beginning, there are three absolutes.

One. Stiles is a god, forged of starlight and collapsing galaxies and he is eternal.

Two. Peter is human, fragile bone and viscous blood and he is temporary.

Three. Stiles and Peter are in love; love that claws its way inside one’s heart like fish hooks; all encompassing love that is beautiful but dangerous.

Stiles is a god. Peter is human. They love each other.

Three absolutes.

You Had Me at Canapes by LadyArinn

Stiles doesn't mean to sneak into the Hale wedding, and he certainly doesn't mean to have cliche coat-room sex with the bride's uncle, but what had happened, happened, and it wasn't like he could just leave. At least, not until he got to have some of that cake.

Infinite Space by DiscontentedWinter

Stiles needs Peter's expertise to help stop the latest threat to Beacon Hills. And, as the pack falls apart around him, he might even need Peter for more than that.

Hook, Yarn, Sinker by pprfaith

Stiles is happy with his store, his hobbies, his friends. Peter's just trying to figure out how to raise his nieces and nephew without fucking them up too badly.

Paths cross.

Open Wounds by Guede

Talia got out of the fire with Peter, but everyone else died. Years later, they’re still struggling with injuries, but they’ve at least settled in with oddball werewolf Stiles. And then other werewolves start showing up. Familiar ones.

Bittersweet Creek by Guede

When Stiles finally steps off the westward trail to California, he’s the last of his pack. He starts building a den, but then he finds a dying man next to a burnt-down house and it turns out he’s not really much of a settler, after all.

For Great Justice! by Green

Stiles is a vengeance demon, drawn to Peter just as he's waking from his catatonia.

"Whoever did this? We will make those fuckers suffer. I promise you."

Bone Deep by ShippersList

A body in the woods, a mate, and a long-awaited revenge.

Peter had no idea how his life would change when he followed the strange pull in his chest.

Love What is Behind You by KouriArashi

Basically what it says on the label. Hunger Games type fusion. Stiles doing way better than anyone anticipates. Peter finds him intriguing. Ruthless, devious assholes working together to ruin bad guys, as the Steter ship is meant to be.

Soothing the Burn by Therapeutic_Steter (WIP)

Peter is burnt out and breaking down. Stiles notices and offers him solace, along with the one thing he wants most: Pack.

Til Death by Bunnywest

“How long do we have to find him someone?” Stiles asks. “Two weeks,” says Derek, eyebrows pulling down even further. The fierceness of his expression tells Stiles just how concerned he is. “He marries, or he goes to the camps. And you know what your father told us,” Scott reminds her. The camps……aren’t camps. Peter either finds a wife, or he dies.

Ink Blossoms by Triangulum

"So, you're going to ruin your niece's baby shower with flowers in the wrong color?" the florist, Stiles, asks when they reach the counter. He pulls out a binder and starts flipping through it.

"Not ruin. Mildly inconvenience," Peter says.

"Right, messing with a hormonal pregnant woman seems like a great plan."

"To be fair, her fiance and the father of her baby is my ex-boyfriend," Peter says. "And we weren't broken up when they started 'dating'."

Stiles looks up at him in surprise. "And you're still getting her flowers?" he asks.

"It's under duress, I assure you," Peter says. He absolutely wouldn't be here if his alpha hadn't ordered it.

"Well, shit, yeah, let's get you some purple revenge flowers," Stiles says.

After You by FlyAwayMeow (rjaejoo)

It’s true that sometimes what you want the most, you can’t have and that you’ll miss what you once had all along when it’s finally gone.

After breaking his engagement to Chris, Peter heads to New York to start over. He meets Stiles, a young author at his publishing house who helps him piece his confidence back together. When tragedy strikes, he discovers how to finally let go of his past and have the family and future he's always wanted with the pieces already in his life.

love me lights out by veterization

Stiles and Peter get snowed in together. (Or: what happens when you accept phone calls from people you haven't spoken to in over five years.)

Uncle Peter Doesn't Date by Mellow (SweetCandy) (WIP)

“Oh don’t lie, you love it.” Peter purred and winked at his newest arm candy, who spluttered for a few seconds, before blushing like a 16 year old virgin. Considering how young he looked Laura wouldn’t be surprised if he was actually 16. “Shut up Peter!” Bambi squeaked, still flushing and averting Laura’s eyes. “Well, anyways, I’m,” ‘Bambi’. “Stiles. Stiles Stilinski, pleasure to meet you- again.” Stiles smiled sheepishly, obviously nervous. Stiles Stilinski. Definitely a stripper then.

Or: Laura was prepared for whatever piece of armcandy her uncle had decided to show up with, what she hadn't been prepared for was Stiles Stilinski...her uncle's boyfriend.

Under the Songbird’s Wing by mia6363

Captivity easily destroys the will of escape. It can break the fiercest of animal. It can strip the most regal man and woman down to nothing but animal needs.

Captivity can, if met with unwavering determination, shape a person into something unimaginable.

Stiles is sixteen when he's captured. Stiles's first thought is, "I won't die here."

Baby Whisperer by twothumbsandnostakeincanon (somanyofthekids)

“What. Is that.”

Scott looked up at him, apprehensive.

“Her name’s Lily.”

Stiles stared at the fuzzy head peeking out of the papoose.

“Her. Her name. That is a real live human baby. Oh my God-”

“Actually I don’t know if she’s human?” Scott said with a confused frown. “Becca didn’t say.”

“Who the fuck is Becca?!”

Sacrificial Lamb by Bunnywest

The Alpha has a scruffy beard, unkempt hair and dazzling blue eyes. The scar on his face is raised, running down his cheek like a twisting, gnarled rope. Stiles knows that it came from the blade of Kate Argent herself, and that the Alpha got it fighting in the battle where Kate killed his lover, cutting his head clean from his neck, if the stories are to be believed.

The Alpha lets Stiles look his fill, before indicating that Stiles should take the other couch, and Stiles does so, his father’s words echoing in his ears. He can do this, can be pleasant and amenable. The lives of his people may depend on it. The Alpha spends long moments surveying him, before saying, “I like you, Stiles.”

You don’t know me, Stiles wants to blurt out, but he bites his tongue.

The Various Triumphs of Mischief Bilinski by Whispering_Sumire (WIP)

"Hello, Chris," sings a honeyed voice from behind.

Chris' attention snaps toward the intruder, his gun already out of its' holster and aimed at whoever it is — a boy, apparently, with braided russet hair, a red jacket, and wise eyes. He's wearing a gas mask, but Chris can tell by the way his eyes crinkle around the edges, the way sun-burnt sand swirls in his irises, that he's smiling.

Chris cocks his gun.

"You killed my father," he says.

"No offence, but he totally deserved it," the stranger agrees with cheerful solemnity.

"What the hell are you doing in my home?" Chris demands. The kid is perched on a windowsill in Chris' office, as nonchalantly as if this were something he did every day, as if they were familiar.

"I was just wondering," the kid speaks softly, fond amusement sewn through with a peculiar resignation, "how you'd feel about putting down some nazis?"

[Or: The one where Stiles goes back in time and subsequently fucks with everything.]

A Curious Magic by Triangulum

Overall, Stiles is very well-known in the supernatural community. It’d be hard not to be, not with how his reputation has grown like wildfire. He knows and is on good terms with nearly all the fae that reside in the preserve, the asrai that live deep in the lake, the Ito pack, the vampire couple that lives over in Beacon Valley (they buy an ethically-sourced food supply from Stiles), as well as almost every other supernatural entity in the area. But Talia Hale doesn’t like him, and a werewolf pack tends to do what their alpha tells them to.

So it’s a definite surprise when the wards at the edge of his property trip, the tingling down his spine telling him it’s a werewolf, the lack of burning sensation letting him know there’s no hostile intent. Stiles, in his office in the second floor turret, sets down the amulet he’s packing up for Marin and moves to the large window overlooking the front of his property. He’s expecting to see an Ito packmember, even though they nearly always call in advance, and is surprised to see a man that he recognizes as Talia’s brother, Peter.

Light in the Dark by cywscross

It still surprises Stiles sometimes, how easily he’s adapted. Seven months in a world filled with train tracks and soul-sucking fae, and it feels like he’s never known anything else.

Or, the one where diverting the Ghost Riders from Beacon Hills to prey on a different town only succeeded in setting them free.

Vengeance Looks Good On You, Sweetheart by cywscross

Just because Scott refuses to see the Argents for what they truly are - prejudiced serial killers sitting proudly on a mountain of innocent corpses - doesn't mean Stiles will. It's about time someone did something about the Argent Empire anyway, and what a coincidence - summer vacation is just around the corner.

Or, the one where Gerard Argent kidnapped the wrong fucking person to torture. Stiles has never subscribed to the policy of forgiving and forgetting anyway, not when razing the problem to the ground and salting the earth for good measure has always been a far better solution in the long run.

He doesn't expect to have company.

#rec list #teen wolf #steter #stiles stilinski #peter hale #fanfic rec #akielosrises #ask

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kimberly-spirits13 · 4 years

Text

Right Hand Man (Loyal to the End) Pt. 5

Pairing: Damian Wayne x reader

Synopsis: You were like Talia’s daughter. The only thing was that you weren’t and instead, you had grown up in the foster care system and at a young age were taken by and personally trained by Talia. Along the way, you meet Damian and the two of you start to work side by side and eventually, after some time become closer and closer. However, when disaster in the league strikes, you face balancing an old, forgotten life as a normal child and the burden of right hand to the demon heir.

Note: I know that this is long and that there are a good number of time skips, but I didn’t want to make this into a series and just wanted it as a long fic because .... well because I can lol

Also, I didn’t want to have Damian so young in this so just go with it. I’m thinking maybe early 15 or almost 16 at the most. Idk I just don’t like writing for young Dami.

Warnings: None

Word Count: 4812

Masterlist for Series

You woke without an alarm with the 4am birds. It was a sound that you weren’t used to. Typically, you’d head down to one of the indoor training rooms and join Damian. It wasn’t unusual for one of you to be a few moments late but after that you’d get breakfast. This time though, you didn’t want to see Damian. You went instead out to the gardens. Instead of really working out or training, you decided that the best thing to do was just sit and meditate.

Walking down the hallway some the opposite way of where you were going, you saw that Damian’s door was open. Wanting, to avoid him, you went out one of the side doors. He would be in the cave training for the most of what you could tell. You walked outside greeted by the morning air. It was cool outside and the birds had stopped chirping for the most part. You walked towards the sounds of the fountains along the cobblestone path. The trees and shrubs were cut perfectly in different shapes and animals in some areas. You smiled walking through it all, the moon being the only light.

Once at the fountain, you sat down. There wasn’t really anything you were focusing on. Everything just swirled around in your mind. With no indication or signs on what was going to happen, the only thing you felt like you could do was keep on the tightrope that you had been thrown onto. The start of it all was a blurry and foggy mess. The end however, was even worse. You had no idea where this new life was going to take you or Damian. It was easier when you had an idea. That didn’t make it better.

You were consumed in your thoughts for the longest time before getting up and walking around more. This was the longest you’d been alone to wander freely like this since God knows when. It was nice but was eventually interrupted. You turned upon sensing that someone was there. Carefully, you reached for your dagger but didn’t pull it out yet.

“Miss Y/N, breakfast has been prepared. Miss. Gordon will be here soon to take you to the shopping mall.” Alfred said, “I hope you are not about to pull a weapon on me. I will warn you, I don’t fancy being attacked.”

“N-no. It’s just...” You slacked a bit.

“Training. I understand.” Alfred gave you a reassuring look, “You seem to be adjusting better than Master Damian even on your first day here.”

“That’s because I wasn’t born in the league. This is just like some distant home to me. I was in the foster care system until Talia got me.” “I also got to go on more missions outside of the compound.” You informed the older man.

“I see.” He sighed, “Well, I hope that you will eventually find some sort of comfort here.”

“Thank you.”

It was strange hearing words of good wishes. Not that you hadn’t heard them before, it was just that it was rare and typically in a secret kind of code for lack of a better term. No one dared give well wishes directly, only in little ways. You and Damian did that the most out of anyone you’d ever met. It was just normal in that sense.

The walk back inside was quiet. Alfred informed you of a few other details that you’d need during your stay. Most had to do with the boys. He said that they would be behaved but that they can get a bit... rowdy. It was just in their nature. You understood and told yourself to expect it. Walking inside you prepared for the worst. What you did get though was a very sleep deprived looking teenage boy, a tall man who was almost zombified, you knew that was Bruce, a very chirpy young adult male with bright blue eyes, and a tall red headed girl rolling her eyes at the younger man.

“Master Dick, Master Tim, Miss. Gordon, this is Miss Y/N. She came with Damian last night and will be staying in the manor now.” Alfred said introducing you.

Tim looked up, “Hi Y/N.” He then proceeded to down his cup of coffee.

“Um, hello.” You replied. It was unusual to see someone like that but you also related to his actions deeply. You thought it was kind of funny anyways.

“Hey, I’m Dick. So, did you get here last night?” He asked smiling and said the last part quietly, “You’ll have to excuse Timmy over there, he’s a bit tired from a case he’s working on. Just wait, he’ll eventually fall asleep somewhere for a day.”

“Yes.” You shrugged, “And I understand where Drake is coming from.”

That made Dick chuckle, “You seem to be less temperamental than Damian.”

Barbra hit him with her elbow some, “Really Dick?” She looked at you, “Sorry about him, he gets excited about new people.”

“I am only the temperamental type when I need to be. Other than that, I find it partially unwise to try and scare everyone with anger. Silence works just as well for me.” You sat down at the table with breakfast.

The meal looked like something out of heaven. It smelled fresh and looked like whoever prepared it had been doing this for a while. You took the first bite, and after that you devoured the entire meal. You then remembered that Barbra was taking you shopping and started worrying about what was going to happen.

“So, Y/N.” She said seeing you drift off into your own thoughts, “I was thinking that it might be best if we go to the smaller shopping center first. That way you might not feel so uncomfortable there. They’ve got some things I think you might like.”

“That sounds suitable.” You answered, “Um, I have seen the more recent fashions from previous missions, however, I’m hoping that there are still stores that carry items of reasonable value instead of ... absurdly over the top garments.” “Avant-garde if you will.”

“Oh yes, you’ll have plenty of options.” She laughed some at the concerned look on your face, “But I agree that some people do wear some very over the top things.”

You nodded in an understanding way noting her tone. In these cases, she probably means that the clothes are normal and what you have seen is just avant-garde clothing worn by the rich to turn heads. While you had walked by the mall countless numbers of times on missions, and even inside, there was nothing that really caught your interest. Besides, missions were never for shopping you had the job of staying on task at all times.

“Oh, and I invited Steph but she had previous arrangements so it will just be the two of us today.” Barbra said.

“Very well.”

_______________________________________________________________________

You and Barbra made your way inside of the mall. It was deemed best if she was the one to drive everywhere since Alfred and the limo would draw unwanted attention. Bruce did still have to figure out how he was going to break yours and Damian’s arrival to the press. He’d probably just pull another adoption stunt in your mind. It wasn’t rare and at this point, the media just accepted that he has an obsession with it.

The two of you made it through the parking lot and into the building, you on high alert the entire time. “You’re tense.” Barbra commented, “I can practically feel the tension coming off of you.”

“Unfamiliar settings may lead to all too familiar circumstances and fallouts. I find it most wise to keep on guard in a place like this. It’s open to any assortments of attacks. With the right variables, a disaster could strike at any given moment.” You replied back looking around overwhelmed at the options of stores not noticing Barbra giving an understanding yet concerned look, “I uh- where do we start?”

“I have some suggestions. Although, I think the first store that we should try is something with a bit of variety so that you might be able to find something that you like.” She said.

“I think I might have something in mind. Maybe something a bit dark, classical, refined, but also something that might be able to be turned down to a more casual piece.” You listed some features you were interested in with an almost inquisitive look only to meet Barbra’s eyes which portrayed an almost warm and kind look.

“I think I know just the place.”

_______________________________________________________________________

You and Barbra walked around the shopping mall sipping on coffee from the Starbucks and eating some of the pastries.

“These are not too bad.” You commented speaking about the treats, “I must admit, I have never had anything quite like this before.” “It tastes...”

“Commercial?” Barbra asked laughing some making you shrug in agreement, “There are better places we might go some time. I just figured this would be suitable for the time being.”

“Well the decision wasn’t ill placed.”

“Oh, we should try this store up here. Steph and I are always finding some good items here.” She commented leading you into another store.

At this point you had almost lost track of everywhere you’d been. It was like navigating a more organized jungle. This time however, the animals were people and there was no North Star nor moss to guide your way.

“You were talking about more classic. This place has some clothes I think you might really like.”

Walking in, there were rows of all sorts of clothes including fitted and paper bag pants, pencil skirts, turtle necks in some places, tweed jackets, blazers, sweatshirts, hoodies, and almost anything you could have desired. You gawked at the sight and started wandering off on your own to explore the vast new area you had found. Slowly, you took what you thought looked best and gained an eventual plethora of clothing articles before heading off into the dressing room with Barbra in close pursuit.

“What do you think about this?” You asked stepping out in an outfit you had put together from the clothes you’d picked.

“I like it. I like it a lot. I do think though, that we might be able to add some jewelry to spice it up a bit.” She replied, “Change back and then we can go jewelry hunting.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Once outside of the dressing room, you and Barbra checked out and went into the jewelry store that was down the hall and across the walk way on the second floor which you were already on. You headed inside and were immediately drawn to some plated jewelry. It was simple and elegant, just what you were looking for.

�� “These look nice.” You gestured to some, your own ring on your finger flashing some in the light. It was an ever so slightly worn gold ring that you wore on your right ring finger. On it had intricate braided designs and a symbol that represented an eternal bond or promise.

“I didn’t notice you had a ring already, it’s very beautiful. You were allowed to keep it?” Barbra questioned pointing it out.

“Thank you. But no, actually, I’ve had this ring, and smaller versions of this ring as I grew up. They were given to Damian and I when we were young. It is a symbol of promise. I’m his right hand, I go where he goes, and stay where he stays. Think of it as a contract of sorts, or maybe even a wedding ring. It’s just a daily reminder of my place.” You explained.

“Interesting. Was there anything you did keep or was this is?” She asked.

“I um.” You fiddled with something around your neck, “A necklace from my parents. It’s a moon and stars, the only thing I have from before the league really. The piece was the only thing I could keep.”

She didn’t ask any more questions, instead opting for the task of browsing for jewelry. You picked out a few pieces, some with jewels and others just plated and empty. Barbra picked up a black watch to throw into the mix saying that it goes well with everything. You didn’t really doubt her. There was no reason to thus far. Once you left the store though, the two of you started to notice shopping’s effects and how the pastries and coffee had worn off.

“I’d say we try the restaurant down the block. It’s got some really great options and I think you might really like the burgers there.”

“It sounds like a decent plan.”

_______________________________________________________________________

You and Barbra walked inside of the place. Inside there were booths and tables along with a bar and waiting area. It was the run of the mill nicer business which thankfully, quickly got you seated. With drinks and even food ordered, there was a silence. It was kind of uncomfortable and awkward, you weren’t the greatest with social skills and starting conversations with new people. Damian wasn’t either which made it so easy to be around him. Well, at least when you weren’t fighting. You sighed thinking about it.

“You’ve got that look on your face.” Barbra noted making you snap out of your thoughts.

“Look?”

“I know that you have just arrived and have much on your mind, however, you have that “boy issue” look plastered all over your face.” “Did something happen between you and Damian?”

You weighed your options. Typically, these things worked themselves out. Damian wouldn’t be able to be rid of you unless he killed you and that would breach one of the highest codes of honor in the league. Typically though, these arguments were stupid or at least simpler like too many missions or being hurt on the field. This time, his grandfather had died as a result.

You huffed some and took a deep breath, “Damian and I were in an argument last night because of my mission. I have been assigned since day one a location and route that would take him to Gotham in case something like what did happen, happened. For years, I’ve trained for this like some prepare for Armageddon. However, Ra’s al Ghul died in the battle. He blames himself mostly but also claims I have some part in it. Although, I think he might have changed that outlook since the fight last night.”

Barbra looked shocked at what you told her, “Ra’s al Ghul is dead?”

“Correct.” You answered grimly, “Heavy arrow fire took him.” “And, you don’t have to give your condolences, I know of what has happened at his hands and how that is viewed.”

She nodded, “So you and Damian have just been avoiding each other all morning hoping that this all blows over?”

“Precisely.” You sighed, “I for one know that this might never be worked out if there isn’t a final confrontation on the matter at hand however, I’m not quite sure how to approach that.”

“Well from what I’ve seen, it might be best to just be straight forward with him. Letting this drag on and on isn’t going to solve anything whatsoever.”

“I would have to agree with you Gordon. You have my appreciation.”

“It’s no problem.” She smiled some.

“I do have one concern and the only reason I’m mentioning it is because I trust my instincts and they tell me you can be trusted.” You said.

“That is?”

“How, how are we supposed to adjust to a different culture, life, policies, and circumstances in a matter of a few weeks. I mean I assume that Bruce will introduce us to the public and then with the blink of an eye, we’ll be out in public being swarmed by the media. I worry about Damian’s more impulsive and temperamental behavior with the newer surroundings and how he will cope. I think it will be difficult for the both of us to start abiding to certain ... rules if you know what I mean.”

Barbra didn’t comment for a few seconds and instead took what you were saying all in.

“I cannot say that I understand your position. I can say though, that I think that you of all people are more than capable of doing this. From what I have seen, you know what is best for the two of you and will stick to those beliefs, you’ve got the mindset of a fighter and strategist. Whether it be training or even turning away from some of it, I think you will find a way to adjust. And I know that it’s hard to trust people at first. That part I understand, however if you need anything, Alfred and I are always there.” She explained carefully almost washing away all of your fears.

“Thank you.”

_______________________________________________________________________

You and Barbra were back at the manor now. Alfred had taken your new clothes for cleaning and you had your new room decorations and jewelry to put into place. You didn’t get many things seeing as the room already decently matched what you felt most comfortable with, however you were not going to protest against a few touches of your own.

Once upstairs, you closed the door and got your new record player set up. Picking one that looked the most suitable and got to work making things as you pleased. You hadn’t noticed how much the time had passed before there was a knock at your door. You turned the music off and opened it to reveal Alfred with an assortment of clothes on hangers and another stack of freshly pressed and folded clothes.

“I have your new garments ready to be put away.” He informed you.

“Thank you, I can put them away myself.”

“It is no problem Miss. L/N.” He handed you the clothes, “Dinner shall be ready at 6pm sharp.”

“I understand.”

Once he had left, you closed the door only and started putting items away only for another knock to interrupt you once more.

“Yes?” You opened the door again, “Oh... hello demon.”

“General- L/N, I wanted to talk to you about last night.” He said almost sheepishly.

“Very well. You may enter.” You closed the door behind him, not wanting anyone else to hear the conversation.

“I must apologize, my actions of last night were impulsive and guided by misjudgment from the events that have taken place prior to now.” Damian sat at your bed as you were still putting away clothes in the closet, “I stepped out of my place questioning your choices because I did not know under the circumstances they were made.” “You did nothing wrong.”

“I accept your apology Damian.” You said making him almost sigh in relief, “I understand where the outburst came from.” “As cheesy as it might sound, I have thought over what happened last night.” You went and sat down at the end of the bed and looked him in the eyes, “The only thing we can really do now is stick together. We have no one else here that knows about where we came from and the worst choice we can make for ourselves in splitting apart. Especially over a recent quarrel or smaller dispute.”

“I agree.”

There was a small passing of silence, “Just promise me that you will try everything you can to make adjusting as easy as it can be on yourself. It will be a challenge, but you don’t have to do it alone. We’re both in the same boat on this one Damian.”

“I promise, just as you have done so many other times before.”

There was a small ringing from the phone you had gotten at the mall.

“That means it is time for dinner.” You got up and turned off the alarm quickly before walking towards the door, “After supper I expect to see you for some sparring?”

“I will be there.”

_______________________________________________________________________

You and Damian were sitting next to each other at the dinner table. It was awkward and quite for some time, no one really wanting to bring any conversation up.

“So how did you feel about Gotham Y/N?” Bruce asked you trying to start some sort of conversation.

“It was fine.” You replied, “it’s comparable to a darker version of Chicago with a hint of New York.” “When did you go to either one of those cities?” Dick asked inhaling his food.

“I went to Chicago on a mission a year ago and New York three years ago.” You replied, “It was only for two nights at maximum.” “The people are strange though.”

Your comment made everyone either smirk or chuckle which lightened the mood a bit. You could tell that Damian was uncomfortable in this newer situation however. He wasn’t one for talking to those if he wasn’t bragging about something. You never commented on it while he was doing it, only glaring some to get your message across to him. He’d typically get to a stopping place but on the rare occasions he wouldn’t, you’d actively end the conversation or bite your tongue to keep from saying anything regretful.

“I took Y/N to that joint near the mall you told me to go to Bruce. It was good.” Barbra commented.

“Agreed.” You responded, “We also picked up a great plethora of items from the shopping center. Thank you for letting me go. It is greatly appreciated.”

“You are most welcome Y/N.” Bruce replied with a look of approval showing on his face, “And Damian, because you have opted not to go out with one of the boys, Alfred has had a selection of items delivered to the manor. They should have arrived already.”

“Yes, they did father.” Damian said quickly, giving you a slight glance.

Damian’s POV:

You seemed to be adjusting well. It was typical of you to take what you understood of your circumstances and adapt so quickly. You were just like that. He’d always admired it but right now, it was strange seeing you as the best adapted like you were. The strange distant feeling of seeing you not in armor or commanding a squad got to Damian. New surroundings like this were uncomfortable and unpredictable. He watched you fake your every move like it was nothing, the way that you carefully examined everything around you intrigued him. Then again, you were doing too well. He knew you were covering something. Old habits, old nightmares along as new ones, new yet familiar styles in the way you dressed, he saw your walls hold higher, most of the ones you “dropped” were mere props in the way you played. You’d always said life was a game or a gamble anyways, you just had to know how to play it.

The conversations at the table were forced. At the Leauge, typically there were either no conversations, or they were over missions and training. Though, it’s not like he really enjoyed any of it to begin with. He reached over just enough so that no one would noticed and lightly tapped your leg.

“most forced conversation I’ve had.” He tapped in a shorter way of speech than typical with Morse code.

“same.” You answered back quickly, “wonder how long we’ll be here.”

“hours.”

“very funny demon.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Your POV:

Damian was right, it did feel like hours. You didn’t really know when it was alright to leave, so you stayed until Bruce left. He was sitting at the head of the table, so he was in control of when you could leave. At least, that was how it was when you were raised in the foster care system. Damian left when you did and you both got suited up for sparring. You two met up outside of your own rooms when you were done, swords, daggers, and armor in all. If someone wasn’t familiar with the situation, they would have thought you were coming from a dress up party or cosplaying in some sense. That would have been insulting to you if you didn’t care about keeping your cover.

“Woah there kiddoes, where are you two heading dressed like that?” Dick asked coming down the hallway.

“Daily sparring.” You answered sharply.

“With all of that?” Steph chose to comment as well.

“Correct.” You continued, “They are merely swords and a few items of weaponry, nothing that should be too out of the ordinary seeing as you have the regular superhumans or even super heroes coming in and out regularly.”

Dick nodded and let you two through after Steph got him to stop pestering you two with questions. You and Damian exchanged looks of distaste in regards to your interaction. Rolling your eyes, you continued, eventually making it to the cave. Once on the mat, you started training. There was no conversation at first. There didn’t need to be. You’d always thought that if there was no room for conversation, there was no need to squeeze it in. If conversation wanted to add more space, it would naturally.

“So, how are you?” You asked, “Adjusting wise.”

Damian looked around some before responding to make sure no one was there, “I am doing as well as I can be. I find that we are being underworked in responsibilities however. It’s boring here.” “You seem to be adjusting well.”

“In standards of not beheading the shrubbery,” You smirked at the glare he gave you, “I’m... just testing the waters at this point.” “It feels strange not having a squad to command, I don’t like it that much but it is what it is.”

You didn’t reveal everything or really anything close to the most. What you were supposed to do anyways? It’s not like you were going to reveal all of your struggles in one training session. You weren’t ready or willing to do that anytime soon. Deep down though, everything felt wrong. Not having your position anymore was just the surface of your issues. The constant urge to pull yourself back into your old habits was overwhelming. At a strange noise, you found yourself reaching for a weapon that wasn’t there. When someone tried to talk to you, you immediately put even more walls up trying to figure out what they wanted to really know. You needed action and something to focus on besides keeping up some imagine like you always did. At night or in the moments you were alone, the constant shadow of your former self was there to greet you like a figment of your worst flashbacks. You knew exactly what was wrong, you just didn’t know how to express it because of the quantity in which your problems amounted in. So, for now, you’d keep it to yourself.

“Understandable.” He said pinning you down to the mat.

You went to flip him over and then stopped in mid motion where he didn’t hesitate to take you down before standing up.

“That was far below your own expectations for yourself in combat Y/N.” He said offering a hand up.

You felt your fight or flight mode kick in the moment everything happened thinking back to the arrows falling from the sky. Taking a deep breath, you reminded yourself of where you were. There were no arrows flying. No screaming from those around you. You looked around to reassure yourself before hearing someone come up silently from behind you.

“Hey love birds.” Dick said loudly walking up behind you.

You felt him go for a pat on the back. Clearly, he was just being stupid for the time being but you could control what you did. Taking the man by the wrist, you used all of your force and some of his own weight against him to slam him over you onto the mat. The rush of adrenaline faded when you saw who it was laying on the mat groaning in pain.

“Holy shit.” He mumbled.

Damian’s jaw dropped to the floor seeing you pull something like that. You snapped out of your temporary trance and immediately extended your hand to help him up.

“M-my apologies. I mistook you for someo-“

He stopped you, “No it’s fine. Should’ve known not to do anything too sudden like that.” Dick looked at you for a second, “You put up a fight Y/N. Although, I wouldn’t expect anything less from a high general.”

You sighed some at the comment, “Thank you. I must be leaving now.”

The two watched you swiftly head up the stairs. You made sure to travel through the manor as quietly and quickly as possible. The last thing you needed was for anyone to try to touch or talk to you. Once you made it to your bedroom, you immediately grabbed a change of clothes and headed for the shower. A hot shower was the only thing you thought would help. At least, that’s what you were hoping.

Tag List-

@idkmanicantenglish @queengeorgiaaa @lucy-roo @reclusive-chicken-nugget

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msbeccieboo · 5 years

Text

Arrow 8x03 Brain Dump

ASDADGHSADFSAF!! Back on form this week, with more returning guests, massive sibling feels and concentration on characters that we love, AND THE COLLISION OF FUTURE AND PRESENT TIMELINES IN THAT EPIC ENDINGGGG!!!!!!!!! YAAAASSSS!!! I’m still spiralling now!!!

Oliver and Thea

Welcome back Thea Queen!! Oliver had missed his Speedy 😍

So following on from last week, Oliver travelled to Nanda Parbat (which looked suspiciously like Lian Yu...the S8 Budget was clearly too used up on guest stars to recreate the outdoor Nanda Parbat scenery we saw in S3 😂), where he hoped to find some answers about The Monitor. I’m not actually sure if he intended on visiting Thea, or if her appearance was just a happy coincidence! But either way he was able to tell her about Mia and show her the picture of his new little family GAJKFSDGHFHDSGFS!!!

Source: oliverxfelicity

More below the cut...

In a shock move for Oliver Queen, he is open and honest with Thea straight away about his prophesied and imminent death. Thea wasn’t buying it, and Oliver even made a little sarcastic comment to “take as much time as you like to be upset” 😂😂 I’ve seen a few people say that they wanted to see more emotion from Thea here, and in later scenes. My take is that Thea/Willa’s nonchalant air is just classic Thea Queen Swagger™, but did feel like Willa maybe wasn’t really all that present in all of the scenes (mainly the LoA stuff though really). I however loved her total chill at the prospect of Oliver dying...not dissimilar to us...we know what's what! Our boy will be okay in the end!

Oliver seeks out Talia Al Ghul to use the Leagues archives (?) to find out more about The Monitor, because she owes him one. I love the idea of Oliver collecting his debts for once...this could fill the rest of the season to be honest; he’s racked up rather a few favours over the years. Talia’s help comes in the form of an Indiana Jones-esque scavenger hunt to uncover an ancient League book, and some special Demon’s head sword (?), with interruptions by the pesky Thanatos Guild from last season, who Thea is at war with. Honestly, plot-wise, I struggled a bit this week; even on rewatch I found it hard to concentrate😂 . I just zoned in on the character moments to get me through. But luckily, there were lots of those!

One such beautiful character moment with the Queen siblings was on the side of a mountain, and reminded me a little bit of the Will/Mia scene up the Glades wall back in 7x16, I think? Oliver getting all emotional about missing his family and doubting his decisions every single day just punched me right in the feels 😭😭

Source: feilcityqueen

Then his explanation for trying to find answers before the Crisis: “My sacrifice, my death will protect the people I love. I need my family to be safe.” MURDERER!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭

Thea reassures him with some sage Queen family words, that their parents also made some questionable choices regarding them (that’s putting it lightly), but it ultimately made them heroes because of them. I think this scene was one of my favourites this episode, if not the season so far. Love me some Queen siblings 💗

The upshot of this random adventure with Talia was that Oliver read that the upcoming Crisis will actually be caused by The Monitor (dun dun DUUUNNN!!), complete with a lovely drawing of him 😂😂 But what Oliver doesn’t know, cos The Monitor doesn’t tell him anything is that there is also an Anti-Monitor, who will be the big bad of Crisis...so this may be a bit of a red herring for now!

Oliver ends his time in Nanda Parbat by saying one final (in his mind) goodbye to Thea, which actually made me sob like a baby out of nowhere, and has done every time I’ve rewatched the clip haha! Thea didn’t see it as a goodbye (cos Oliver dying? Pass!), but Oliver just cracks and won’t let go of her, and now I’m tearing up again 😭😭😭

Source: smoakmonster

I think by the way the goodbye scene played out that that will be the last we see of Thea, and ugh it’s such a shame because she has always brought out something special in Oliver, but we know she’ll be with him the whole time...😭😭😭

Stray thoughts:

They had Thea acknowledge Moira as her namesake (still think it’s a stretch, Moira-Mia? No.) but also had a callback to Thea’s Corto Maltese alias, which made me lol, and frankly, I find a better reference 😂

“All beings burn but a Phoenix rises from the ashes”. The Phoenix references this week were as subtle as a sledgehammer...Oliver is the Phoenix, and he will rise from the ashes following his death!

The Guild calling Oliver and Speedy ‘outsiders’ 🙄🙄 Oliver was Ras al Ghul and Thea is heir to the demon; get your facts right, biatch!!

Thea was a total badass this week, taking down Talia was sooo cool, and shows how far she has come as a fighter/hero.

Nice drop-in that Felicity gave the hozen to William!

Thea and Talia joining forces to raise a female ‘League of Heroes’; better than any faux-feminist Canary bullshit!!

The guest stars are fantastic, but their novelty and distraction is wearing off...I MISS FELICITY SMOAK 😫😫 Next week should hopefully tide us over, though!!

Dyla

Dyla had their own little adventure this week, that echoed their suicide squad mission in Season 2. Bronze Tiger killed a bad guy whilst working for Lyla, and in revenge, that bad guy’s son kidnaps Sandra and little Connor Hawke, then also tries to kill Lyla, but obviously she’s a total badass so that doesn’t happen! Anyway, all’s well that ends well and Dig rescues Connor and his Mum, and that’s about all I can remember plot-wise 😂😂

What we got character-wise, though was really cool! We got the first hint of JJ’s story of being 'neglected' by Dyla...with Dig and Lyla being increasingly away on missions and unable to call him, and in turn finding Connor and obviously starting to fall in love with him because he is the softest little bean 😍 When ickle Connor said “thank you Mr Diggles” I was a goner 😂😂

We saw Dig having a crisis of faith (pun intended) after seeing Earth 2 disintegrate before him, but ultimately he realises (after some Lyla wisdom) that they just have to hold on to each other and do their best. Lyla made a few comments and pulled some ‘I’m keeping secrets’ faces, asking Dig to remember the good times no matter what happens, and I need to know what Lyla knows dammit!! I still believe that she is on the good side, and her appearing to double-cross Dig and Oliver with The Monitor last week is a little bit of a red herring. I need to believe, ok!!!

Flash-forwards

Plot-wise, I actually think the flash-forwards were the strongest storyline this week. Following on from last week we had the team rushing back to the bunker to check on William, after JJ threatened him. This scene brought us another “frack” from Mia 😍, and a mention of Felicity as “Mom” from William 😭, as he managed to electrocute the bad guys all by himself! Will being a techy little badass is a forever mood and is yet another reminder of our Felicity. She is never really gone.

With the Deathstrokes now targeting William and other members of the Star City Unification Movement (SCUM, really?? LOL), William offers himself up as bait. As Oliver’s daughter, you can imagine how that went down with Mia. Badly. Big nope from Mia, who decides on a more direct approach of going to their HQ and kicking all of the ass 😂. Zoe is very much against this, but Mia is all “I know best, we’ll just storm in and take them all out myself” (S1 Oliver anyone?). Said storming in leads to this absolute beauty of a moment:

I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!!

Prior to kicking all of the asses, Mia and William have a heart-to-heart, with Will still angry at Mia for not trusting him to go into dangerous situations. Will thinks it’s because he’s not a fighter, but Mia comes back with “it’s because you’re my brother” 😭 😭 😭

Source: olicitygifs

In another Felicity-worthy pep-talk, William tells Mia that operating out of fear is not the way to go, and that they need to trust each other to survive. I’m really gonna need a Mia/Will hug soon, please and thank you. Honestly, Will is the perfect balance/offset to Mia with his easy humour and quick wit, but he ALWAYS brings the feels as well. He reminds me so much of Emily’s portrayal of Felicity, and not just in the way that his character has been written, but just by what he brings to the role. Ben is a wonderful actor; I adore him and he and William must be protected at all costs!

In the final confrontation, Mia, Zoe and JJ storm JJ and the Deathstrokes, but JJ gets Mia by the throat in an awesome 3x23 Felicity/Slade parallel. Mia couldn’t save herself like Felicity did in this instance, but we must remember that this is just the beginning of Mia’s journey. She has time. Unlike Zoe, who saves Mia, but is then fatally stabbed by JJ 😬 Poor Zoe dies in Mia’s arms. Kat’s acting here was perfection. I may have shed a tear. They had kept Zoe pretty much in the background in the FFs, so I wasn’t particularly attached; if one of FTA needed to die, then I’m good with her. Sorry Zo. But in all honesty, this fridging trope really needs to end. Another female character didn’t need to die in order to elevate JJ’s evil-factor, or to spur on Mia’s hero journey, or Connor’s struggle with his conscience. Enough now. Hopefully, being a bird, Zoe will be back from the dead soon enough anyway 😂

Source: 1-crazy-dreamer 💗

Connor sees Zoe die and goes after JJ. Hard. Tries to kill him. Between 2 generations of Queens and Diggles, the sibling parallels were so strong this week, and I’m loving it! I wrote a little meta here about it. But does Connor have the guts to actually kill JJ? JJ taunts that he doesn’t, Connor disagrees, but then the bright light comes for all of FTA and so we come to…

THAT ENDING

OH MY GOD ALL OF FTA IN THE BUNKER IN 2019!!!!!!!!!!!!

So most people following any kind of interviews or spoilers had a pretty firm idea that Mia would come back in time at the end of the episode. We were expecting it. What the show did was really quite clever...they allowed these pretty big spoilery-type interviews and tweets to be released, heavily implying that Mia would rock up in the last 30 seconds. They let us think we were all clever and had figured it out then BOOM! EVERYONE CAME BACK (minus Zoe 😬)!

I am so pleased with this!! All the paparazzi pics etc that we’d seen of Mia in the crossover etc had made me so happy, but equal parts sad that William couldn’t go back and see Oliver too, but now he can!!!

Uggghhhh it was so fucking goooood!! Oliver’s initial confusion of being beamed back to the bunker, stunned Dig, Dinah and Rene (I can live with their 5-second appearances this season 😂😂), then the camera and Oliver pan around to Mia, William and Connor just stood there!! Mia still had tears running down her face from seeing Zoe die, and she has her Arrow suit on and is covered in blood and she sees her Daddy for the first time in her memory!!!!!!! Just one word is delivered in those last few seconds and it was still one of the best moments of the season so far!!

Mia’s “Dad”, followed by Oliver’s confusion, realisation, then shock was just gaaahhhh!! But my absolute favourite reaction (I decided after multiple rewatches, for science, haha) was William’s 😍😭😍 His eyes full of tears, and utter gobsmacked-ness was fucking sublime!!

Source for all 3 reaction gifs: tylerposey

Next week is going to be so epic!! We have Mia, who has never met Oliver and who has built him up so much in her head and heart from Felicity and William’s stories, and also the tainted Star City archives, getting to finally come face-to-face with him. Then conversely, there is William, who got a few years to know his father, but then left him and eventually believed to have been abandoned by him and Felicity, and has had to live for 20 years until very recently still believing that, and now he gets to see him again, only a few months after little William left! Then there’s Connor, who Dig barely even knows in 2019 and he’s gonna call him Dad and then have to tell him that he nearly just killed JJ, who just killed Zoe, and Rene is right there and I AM HERE FOR ALL OF ITTTTTT!!!!

There’s so much content coming in next weeks episode it’s going to be so beautiful!! I wrote a post of things I really hope to see here, and I’m pretty confident we’ll get most of them and so much more!

Then there’s the implications of what FTA being in the present means for the future!! I had a bit of a spec meltdown here about how this could end up saving Oliver, and I think that’s pretty much just wishful thinking, but either way, them coming back to the present to help with the Crisis and to try and stop future Star City turning so bleak is going to make my head hurt and my heart sing in equal measure, I’m sure! After all, what is the point in having the multiverse, time travel, super powers etc in Arrow if we can’t reap some benefits from it somehow? The ending to this episode, and hopefully next week will be our reward for the fuckery we’ve had to endure with the more sci-fi-esque elements since Larry rocked up and the Arrowverse was extended. And I. cannot. wait.

Thank you to the beautiful, talented, and super speedy gifmakers for blessing us with all the amazing gifsets from this episode!! Mwah! 😘😘 (Uncredited gifs are mine)

💗💗💗

#Arrow 8x03 #Arrow #Arrow spoilers #Oliver Queen #Thea Queen #Mia Smoak #John Diggle #William Clayton #Arrow Season 8 #beccie's brain

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preppymayhem · 4 years

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So I got a bingo for my reading challenge!!! I probably only care about this but whatever. For this challenge I read a Fantasy, a Classic, a Literary, a Biography and a Romance. My rating and links to my good reads review are below:

Fantasy: Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno Garcia GR Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My Review

Classic: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley GR Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My Review

Literary: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng GR Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ My Review

Biography: Miss D & Me: Life with the Invincible Bette Davis by Kathryn Sermak with Danelle Morton GR Rating: ⭐️⭐️ My Review

Romance: Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert GR Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ My Review

So I did pretty well, I generally enjoyed everything (save for the biography/memoir which only got the second star for like a couple of chapters at the end). I am totally going to do this again next month!

#bookcase bingo #reading stuff #books! books! books!

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kireiscorner · 5 years

Text

Calling all Diamondbacks!

Its once again that time of year for us! We're gonna get the jump on it early since our hostesses have really big life changes they're handling right now at the talisto blog! I personally feel immensely blessed to see so many still or getting into TaliaxMephisto and it's really exciting! Thank you all for continuing to support the ship and for joining us in celebrating Mephisto and Talia with us!

You voted and now we'll reveal our prompts for the 2019 event! Thanks to all who sent in prompts from Instagram, discord, and more! ~♡

Day 1: Mythology - We had a lot of people asking for fantasy stuff like mermaids, fairies, Greek gods, etc, so anything mythical can be included in this category!

Day 2: Alone Together - The two doing couple-y things was very popular as well, such as doing their makeup or hair, helping each other get dressed, mystery dates, and more. This prompt is for showing the two spending quality time doing something you'd like!

Day 3: Dance with Me - This prompt can be based on any type of dance; prom, first dance, play dancing with kids, performing, even breakdance aus! Show us your moves!

Day 4: Maid Cafe! This one was a prompt that kept losing out over the years that we all deep down wanted to do! Let's get our weeb on!

Day 5: Spoof a kdrama or classic anime scene in this next prompt! You can do a scene redraw or just dress them up! Make edits or AMVs to songs or voice overs! Its whatever you'd like!

Day 6: Famous Era in History; draw them in any famous historical era of your choosing!

Day 7: Last but not least, let's finish off our summer vacation by sending these love birds on a Vacation! It's what they deserve! It can be any season, as long as they get to travel from Sunny Bay and do fun stuff together! It can even be on Ephedia, but cannot be their own kingdom.

These prompts are of course optional, and if you want to create something talisto that's unrelated to them, feel free to! We'd all love to see it! Celebrate in a way that makes you comfortable! ♡♡♡

Talisto Week will officially begin on August 5th and end on August 11th, 2019. We ask that everyone try to wait until those dates to start sharing!

Now, onto the rules...

This is for the ship of Talia and Mephisto from LoliRock; do not throw in crossover ships of characters of the same name.

This is not for ot3s; please keep it solely Talia and Mephisto as a pair.

Do not tag, post, or create anything condoning hateful speech, anti-rhetoric, or bullying. Seriously, don’t be gross. You will be blocked from the page if we find out you're spreading hate to other people or ships.

Please tag it as #talistoweek19 or #talisto; if you solely tag it as lolirock we might miss it! Everything will be reblogged to @ask-talisto and @lolirockappreciationcalendar during the week; if we miss you, feel free to contact us with a link; once August is over we will stop sharing on the calendar blog, but we can still share it on the talisto blog.

Do not steal the work of others and use it as your own. We’re trying to create new content, not recycle old ones. This includes edits from AMVs. If you use bases, please give credit to the creator of those bases or link to where you found it.

You don’t have to do art; you can do AMVs, fics, edits, gifs, playlists, etc.

Tag pieces properly so it doesn’t appear in the main tag for those who have their safety lock on or if it could possibly be considered overly violent; I don’t think we’d have anything so drastic, but just to be safe in case anyone’s feeling edgy!

If you have any questions, please send them to me personally.

You don’t have to participate in every day! Just do your best and have fun!

That's pretty much the basic run down! I'll be sharing stuff to my instastory too so if you'd like to have it shared there or on the amino, please let me know or say so in your post! :)

I'm so excited to see what comes next!

♡ Happy creating! ♡

- kirei

#lolirock #talisto #mephisto #talia princess of xeris #fanart #talia #otp #talisto week

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batb1tch · 5 years

Text

It’s my boy’s birthday so here are some Jason Todd head-canons 🎉

Probably 3rd to last (Alfred and Bruce) on the list of ‘understanding internet slang’ in the household. He died and just sort of fell behind on the times (including memes, pop culture references,etc..) I know he’s known for making snarky quips and sarcastic comments but I have no doubt his siblings would call him out on his outdated references. It’s likely it’d really piss him off too like, knowledge is really everything to this kid and here he is with a group of teenagers who are always on top of shit (Steph, Tim, Duke, even Dick) and he doesn’t know what they’re talking about the majority of the time. Can’t figure out how to use Twitter or Snapchat and he does not have the patience to learn. It’s a genuine sore spot for him regardless of the humorous side.

Has an inner city accent that will never leave him. Still pronounce “on” like “awn” and frequently drops his r’s (which Bruce acts like he hates but really he finds it endearing.) Drops his “ing”s like “nothing” is “nothin.”

Fantastic chef, learned from the best. Very good at making something out of nothing and making it last. Steph has been showing him how to can things like fruit and vegetables. She’s basically just enabled his doomsday prepping behavior.

Speaking of, if you think Bruce is bad with the backup plans (yes there is always a b c d — z) where do you think Jay got it from? Absolutely anal about planning and contingencies. Has a backup for his backups.

Has a small hoard of books hidden in an end-table back at one of his safe houses. His favorite classics (mostly gifted by Bruce.)

Loves the smell of paper.

Definitely could use them but refuses to get glasses. Babs teases him for his squinting when she gets the chance.

“Just join the club book-worm, promise it won’t ruin your badass reputation.”

Jason ~squinting~ “I’d rather die....again.”

Collects cool bookmarks.

Definitely names his guns.

Favorite meal is literally any Spanish/Mexican dish followed by a good chili dog & a coke.

Can pack away enough food to feed a horse and keep going, not even Bruce knows how he does it. Alfred acts like he’s a pain in the ass to cook for but loves feeding him anyways. “You’ll eat us out of house and home someday my dear boy, good god.”

While we’re at it, he is 100% taller and wider than Bruce. You might think it makes Bruce a bit uncomfortable when standing right next to him (I mean...it does lol) but he absolutely loves when Jay throws his weight around because the malnourished string-bean of a child that he met on the street could now powerlift a small automobile and he is so fucking proud and happy that he grew up to be big and healthy (that he managed to grow up AT ALL mind you) how could he be mad? He probably tears up at the dinner table after Jay fills his plate for 4th time that evening and still intends to stay for dessert because he loVES HIM.

His feet definitely hang off the end of his bed by like, the shins because his room only has a full compared to everyone else’s king/queen. It never got upgraded when he hit puberty (because he was dead) and then he wouldn’t let anyone change it once he came back because that’s his bed “don’t fucking touch it I still fit just fine.” (Even though he’s like 22 and there’s a dip in the mattress that could put the Grand Canyon to shame.)

Still has a picture of Catherine hidden away. Visits her grave on the anniversary and always brings her favorite flowers (Lillie’s.)

His hands get cold really easily and they’re always dry/calloused.

Snores. Loudly.

The Lazarus pit did NoT heal his autopsy scar that shit is there for life and it is big and it is ugly. He doesn’t like taking his shirt off because of it and the look on Bruce’s face when he sees it could strip wallpaper.

Stopped dying the lock of white hair on his head.

Has spring allergies that turn him into a giant snotting watery eyed whiny baby.

He’s claustrophobic and not a fan of the dark. It’s why his helmet has night vision.

(While we’re at it, that helmet has to be the equivalent of like, iron mans on the inside. Definitely has built in comms, scopes, analysis systems, navigation, etc etc. the WORKS. whICH he designed and created himself because he’s brilliant.) (Actually Roy might have helped a little but don’t tell him that.)

Has a work-in-progress bike in the cave that hasn’t been finished for over 2 years and it will never be finished because he uses it as an excuse to hangout and spend time with Bruce. Drives Steph crazy to see it sit there but she gets it.

During his first Thanksgiving with Bruce and Alfred he cried for 15 minutes before dinner (which he’s still embarrassed about to this day) and then ate until he literally puked. He hasnt missed many Thanksgivings since he died.

TERRIBLE at 1st-person-shooters and super pissed about it.

“That’s not even realistic, an HK-416 doesn’t even have a 200 round drum. It’s bonkers! It’s madness Tim!”

“Shut the fuck up Jason you haven’t even been facing the right way since we started.”

(He’ll stick to Space Invaders and Mario fuck you very much.)

Really good at piano. Bruce asked him to start playing seriously when he moved in because “learning a musical instrument teaches self -discipline and versatility” but really it’s because one day during his Robin years Jay sat down and started plinking on the keys to a song he learned at the public youth-center on the “old shitty out of tune” wood one they had and it just happened to be a song Martha used to play Bruce all the time. He wanted to hear it fill the halls again.

Gets in a screaming match with Bruce nowadays and instead of lighting up one of Penguin’s underground casinos (like he might of used to 👀) he’ll disappear for a month to cool down. You can always tell when he gets over it though because he sends the family a postcard from wherever he is in the world. (Alfred puts them all on the fridge.)

Pit symptoms used to (and occasionally still do) include horrific night terrors, black-out rage, and brief moments of hallucinations or flashbacks. He had to relive the period of time shortly after he was pulled out through graphic and warped recollections (typically after not getting enough sleep or engaging in physical altercations.) He really only started to work through this after Ducra had suggested keeping a log and writing down everything he could remember. After a time he was able to piece together the things he had experienced or done (mostly to others) and as awful and horrible as knowing may have been, he could at least start to move on.

The more time he spent with Damian after he came back the more he could remember as well. He will occasionally speak to him in Arabic & not even realize he’s doing it (which scares the pants of Dames, himself, and Bruce.)

He does feel closer to the little gremlin because of it though. Talia likely had him as a baby with her the majority of the time after he was born and Jay was recovering/training, so he spent a substantial amount of time with both of them.

Bruce bought him a kindle for Christmas one of the first years he was back and he was (and still is but don’t tell the old man that) elated.

Occasionally mumbles in his sleep, usually in a variety of languages.

He does smoke, mostly only when he gets stressed out (because everyone reams him for it otherwise.) You’d think it’s a rebellious street kid thing but it’s actually because Catherine used to smoke the same brand and the smell reminds him of her.

His shoe size is a 13.

The time shortly after he crawled out of his own grave he could see ghosts (and I’m talking straight up dead people.) He can’t recall much of this or the time spent actually deceased (even after his dunk in the pit) but even now he’ll see things move out of the corner of his eye or get cold chills or feel like he’s being watched. When he hasn’t slept for like, 4 days and is bordering on manic depressive and harmful behavior, he starts seeing them again. Constantine prob finds him real interesting.

My guess is that he did see Catherine when he died but overall ended up in some sort of purgatory-like state which he can’t recall.

When he blushes it’s the hollows of his cheeks, back of the ears and neck and all the way down the front of his chest. The autopsy scar shows up white against it.

Has those hands that no matter how many times he washes them the oil/gun cleaner doesn’t come out of the cracks. Looks like a mechanic.

Tends to wear thicker work/type clothing like carhart fireproof pants and boots. Obviously his jacket too.

Not a fan of cold weather at all. His nose and cheek get really red and he shivers (as unmanly as that is)

OCD. His apartments are spotless, weapons and ammunition categorized and logged, etc.

Had asthma as a child and sort of grew out of it but sometimes his endurance suffers as an adult because of it.

Has this particular phone case 💀

#jason todd #jason peter todd #dc #batfam #red hood

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hipsofsteel · 5 years

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Can we hear more about Jan?

Of course, anon! I’d be glad to yell a lot of information about the man who lists yelling as one of his hobbies.

And, without further ado, an introduction and character summary below.

Jan Kees Jones, personification of New York State

All art credited to @zapphi, 2017, 2018, 2019

Physical Description

Jan Kees is 5′11, with semi-styled sandy blonde hair, and blue-green eyes. He is of a medium build, and decently fit. He has been referred to as a shorter version of his father, Lars. Neither can deny relationship to the other. He identifies as Dutch-American. His birth year was 1614, and he celebrates his birthday on July 26th.

Jan Kee’s face claim is model Andrej Halasa, his voice claim is Gregg Taylor of Decoder Ring Theatre fame, and as of this moment, he has no singing voice claim.

Personality

Money makes the world go around, the world go around… (Me, starting this section).

Jan is a loud, somewhat egotistical bastard, whose got just enough of a hidden golden heart to be worth knowing, somehow. He’s really good with kids, passionate, and driven to do whatever he decides to do. His passion and drive can play against him at times when he comes off as stubborn and resistant to outside ideas, and aides in many negative perceptions of him. He can also be very indifferent at times to various situations, unless he has a direct stake in it, and pride is a very definite and major downfall he has.

At the same time, he believes strongly in family. While he probably fights with his two brothers more than anyone else, he’ll be right at their side the moment anyone else goes after them. And as for his family back in Europe, he considers himself still very close to his father, and visits him often. He’s also a little bit of a prankster, and he and Seth (@zapphi’s Massachusetts) have gotten into multiple prank wars.

Sexuality and Gender

Jan Kees is queer and cisgender. He has tried ascribing other names to his sexuality over the years, but it has been very fluid at times, so he prefers the overall term of queer. The closest he’s come to using any other name for his sexual orientation was bisexual, but he remained somewhat uncomfortable with the term before switching back to queer.

Jan can additionally be very open with his sexuality at times, and has historically been quite the womanizer and been willing to sleep with about anyone who lets him. When other states joke about the “Promiscusquad”, they count Jan Kees in as a founding member. However, if you’re in a serious relationship with him, he’s a one-person man.

Religion

Jan was raised as a Dutch protestant, and while he remains culturally Christian, indetifies as an agnostic or atheist nowadays. He is very aware of other cultures and religious practices, and tries to be very respectful of them, and has spent a lot of time studying Judaism in particular, as both his brothers are Jewish.

Employment

Jan has two fields in which he’s incredibly passionate and focused in, law and finance. Following World War Two, he has predominantly focused in law, although he continues to invest his money. He used to mainly making a living in finance, but after the Great Depression, felt that law was a more stable career.

Pets

Jan has three pets, all gifts from Lars to celebrate another century of age. In order, he recieved:

Niagara

A Friesian mare Jan recieved on his 100th birthday, Niagara was a very practical gift. He was a growing colony, and although he was now a British colony, Lars felt he needed his own transportation and Arthur was failing to provide him it. Jan and Niagara were pretty inseperable until the age of the automobile. Nowadays, Niagara lives on Jan’s property in upstate New York and enjoys her well-deserved retirement.

Hamilton

A blue and white British Shorthair was given to Jan as his 200th birthday present, and named in honor of Alexander Hamilton. Jan is definitely more of a cat person than a dog person, and Hamilton can about get away with murder. He sleeps on Jan’s chest (which is bad when he weighs as much as he does), loves all of Jan’s “enemies” more than he loves Jan, and loves the smell of mint gum which Jan is sometimes forcefed so he won’t smoke.

Hamilton, you traitor, stop adoring Massachusetts.

When life gives you mint gum, Hamilton glues himself to your face.

Rembrandt

Rembrandt exists pretty much solely because of this picture of Jan’s faceclaim. Rembrandt was a gift for Jan’s 300th birthday, and Rembrandt the hedgehog is living the ideal life in Jan’s apartment. He crawls around on the floor as a walking pincushion, Hamilton is terrified of him and Jan’s terrified of stepping on him, he gets taken out for fun photoshoots by literally anyone who’s ever housesat for Jan so they can spam Jan with pics. His life is amazing.

After reiceiving Rembrandt, Jan has made it clear he has as many pets as he wants, so he didn’t recieve another pet for his 400th birthday in 2014.

Relationships with other States

We’ll start with family.

New Jersey

Elijah, only ten years younger than Jan, has never been someone whose content to be in the shadows OR bossed around by his older brother. Fiercely independent from the start, he resisted assimilation into a Dutch way of life, clinging to his native roots and converting to Judaism very early on. Half the time, they’re at the other’s throats over the smallest things. The other half of the time, they’re about the only person watching each other’s back. They’re a formidable team when cooperating, and Elijah admits he’d miss arguing with him if something happened to the asshole, but don’t you dare tell Jan that!

Delaware

No art for Aaron, so imagine Elijah, but approximately one inch shorter.

Aaron always felt a bit like the third wheel of the family, and he isn’t entirely wrong (Jan and Elijah can be rather self-centered at times). At the same time, Aaron serves as a peacekeeper between the two and he and Elijah bond over their shared faith.

Yet, some doubts about his place in the family were destroyed when Aaron came out of the closet as trans. Jan Kees and Elijah immediately stopped using Aaron’s deadname, Miriam, and bookended his seat for several meetings, ready to throw down with anyone who challenged Aaron. Jan Kees has even helped financially with some of Aaron’s surgeries and made sure his brother has all the expensive male fashion that he will probably never wear because “I never wore this sort of stuff before, Jan, why would I start now?”

Okay, family section over onto other states

Massachusetts

He’s only around eight inches taller than Seth, but this is what Seth thinks their height difference is. And honestly, Jan gloats over it, so he does too.

Seth Adams Jones and Jan Kees’ relationship with him is one of the most complicated things in Jan’s life. He can’t decide if he loves or hates the guy.

I’d like to thank Talia and also Talia for my life. -Jess

Jan Kees came into the original thirteen colonies in a lot of turmoil, and Seth didn’t help. Jan Kees had lost his only parental figure at the time, couldn’t speak much English, was a Dutch Protestant rather than a Puritan, and had Jewish younger siblings.

Needless to say, when one of the first memories you have of someone is getting into a fistfight with them for stealing your brother’s Magen David, you have gotten off on the wrong foot.

They eventually figured out some sort of antagonistic truce, and half-cooperated long enough to see themselves through the French-Indian War, and during the lead-up to the Revolution, Jan had a horrible realization, that he had a lot of feelings towards Seth. So in classic Protestant fashion, aka conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them know, he pretended those feelings didn’t exist. He went through the revolution as a spy for George Washington wishing that he was literally anywhere else doing anything else like maybe fighting with his crush by his side but also no I don’t have a crush on him God I’m a mess, help me.

Also, kinda awkward when your crush mistakes you for an actual redcoat and shoots you at one point when you’re trying to bring in your spy reports.

Jan’s crush remained pretty steady until after the Civil War, when it slowly began to fade over the next fifty years (in canon, Jan ends up dating @bottot‘s Florida, Marco). However, in many AUs, it just keeps simmering in this idiot forever until eventually, somehow, it slips out.

They continue to have a semi-antagonistic friendship, because really to Jan, is it worth knowing someone if they aren’t at least a bit of a fucking bastard? (He says, crawling out of the Boston Harbor for the sixteenth time this year after Seth threw him in.)

And, when times are tough, they can set aside the bullshit and be there for each other. Because you’re my oldest frenemy, damn it, I need you to help get me through this.

Michigan

Ever end up as the primary mentor of a kid who thankfully ends up nothing like you? That’s Jan Kees and Fatima in a nutshell. Fatima had been around for a while as a very small and sometimes struggling personification, but when the Erie Canal opened, so did a whole new world of settlement from the northeastern states, and trade, with New York being the center of it.

Jan served as a primary contact between Fatima and the world for a while, and even bought her her first translation of the Quran when she admitted to being curious about Islam. But in some ways, most importantly to her, he introduced her to Elijah. She and New Jersey somehow hit it off, even with totally opposite personalities, and now she’s practically his sister-in-law, so at least she tolerates his bullshit really well.

Florida

This just in: The moment Elijah realizes Jan Kees liked Marco, he had Jan’s type in men pegged to a T.

Marco is a bitter old salt whose approach to life is “Fuck it, if it doesn’t kill me, it’ll be something I can tell stories about later”. Full of salt, short, and ready to argue with anyone who will let him, he and Jan have interactions eeirly similar to some of Jan and Seth’s interactions.

But Marco also has a way of bringing out the kid in Jan again, making him do ridiculous things and actually having him enjoy it. Finally having their first proper meeting right after the Civil War, they were pretty wary of each other at first, but over time, a begrudging respect formed, followed by begruding affection.

They might not admit it, but they’d literally cross a war zone for each other.

At the same time, they have some things in their relationship that are a little explosive and tense. Marco is jealous of several other states who had short-term relationships with Jan since he used to be very promicious, and can hover a little too much in Jan’s space at times because of that. Meanwhile, Jan can be overprotective and stifle Marco with good intentions and concerns. But they’ll eventually set aside the argument, talk it out, and then go to bed together that night, with Hamilton and Pink treating them as their own private heating pads installed on the mattress.

In the end, they’ll never get used to the other’s weather, but they’ll never stop enduring the heat/cold to see each other either. They’ve both waited long enough to have something good like this, and they’re both too stubborn to let go.

Other States-Brief Thoughts

Vermont- Jackass. Rarely calls Ethan by name, since he fought so damn hard to be Vermont.

Rest of the NE besides Vermont and Massachusetts- Eh, assholes, but I’ll live.

Pennslyvania- Is this actually food or are you poisoning me?

Virginia- Oh, fuck off, you got the capital, but I’ve got the banks.

California- Stealing your money, power, glory, and fame since 1849.

Oregon- Feral tree child.

Washington State- Attractive. Slept with her a few times after WW2. Got threatened by Roberto for it. In retrospect, California was probably right but still. Ouch.

Kansas- Yeah, the appropriate way to get over your crush on Massachusetts probably isn’t to sleep with the girl he considers his daughter. Funnily enough, she ends up dating Washington State later, so that happened.

RANDOM FACTS

-In the Statetalia Canon I’ve created, Jan Kees is the Original Yankee because England misheard his name as Yankee. He referred to Jan as this until Jan knew enough English to correct him.

-He ran away to Canada in 1940 and joined the Canadian Army in response to the invasion of the Netherlands and continued US inaction. Alfred didn’t know until Matthew sent him a telegram that basically said “Yeah, I have custody of New York until the war’s over, bye!”

-Sports team rivalries are his life. I, Jess, know nothing about sports.

-Speaks Dutch, Iriquios, Yiddish, Spanish, Italian, Quebecios French, Mandarin, and English.

-Major insomniac, has no really well established circadian rhythm.

-A really good cook, actually! Too bad he prefers to order take-out.

#Anonymous #aph new york #hws new york #oc jan #ask hipsofsteel #you ask for ze boy and i deliver (eventually) ze boy

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meme991001 · 5 years

Text

The Black Siren Chapter 1

"Lauren's point of view."

'I can't believe she convinced me,' thought Lauren. 'but I can't exactly blame her. I haven't actually left the house since I moved to Gotham.' Soon I saw a red carpet and flashing lights. Then I began mentally preparing myself. I'm going to need it so I can deal with the paparazzi. It's the first time I'm going to an event since I moved here. Considering it has been a month since we moved here and now I have to deal with these vultures. At least it's for a children's hospital. That's the only thing good about the situation. Slowly the limo stopped and started to straighten my dress to mack sure its perfect. The limo driver opened the door, and flashes of light soon flooded my eyes, and I heard the press say my name. And I quickly smiled and posed for a few photographers. The closer I got to the entrance, the more the questions they asked me.

Some are about my dress. Some about if I'm in a relationship with someone, and if I'm dating Bruce Wayne. Considering it's the first event I ever attended since I moved here, it's a Wayne Enterprises event. We both lost our parents. So I'm not surprised by the question. So I just smiled politely and entered the building. It's a glamorous ballroom with gold accents, a gorgeous chandelier with crystals or diamonds. I can't tell, and a large orchestra was playing classical music giving it an aristocratic atmosphere. Still, I wasn't a surprise that it is this glamorous. He is the prince of Gotham, and me a huge playboy. The only thing that I found about this man that surprised me with is that he adopted kids. However, suppose Lexa's gossip is anything to go by. They are actually his biological kids, and their mothers abandoned them, seriously. In that case, that guy has to take in black haired blue eyed kids I don't know. My thoughts (mini rambling session) was interrupted by a female's voice.

"Miss Lauren Light?" I turned around, and I see a man and a woman with press badges. The man is tall, He was clearly muscular in a lean wrestler way with dark hair and blue eyes. They were covered by his glasses. Yet, he was somewhat hiding that he was uncomfortable in this atmosphere. While the woman was tall, beautiful, and confident. She has dark hair and eyes that look like pale violet in this light. She was wearing a black number and looked like she grew up in this world, unlike the man's stance. I can tell instantly that I like her. "Lois Lane-Kent and this is my husband Clark Kent we're from the Daily Plant," she said with her hand to shake.

I simply smiled politely, shooked her hand, and said, "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Kent, I absolutely love your articles from the Daily Plant" unknown to them. I happen to that Clark is Superman.

"Why, thank you, Miss Light, but do you mind if we ask you a few questions ?" Asked Clark as he and his wife returned the smile.

"Of course not, and please call me Lauren," I said.

"Great, is it true that the only reason you attend this event is because of Mr. Wayne?" asked Lois.

"Of course not, In fact, I had never met him, the main reason I'm attending is because of my sister. She said I need to get out more often, but I'm pretty sure that's not the only reason why," I said.

"So your relationship with Mr. Wayne is fake information, that's good to know. Mind our asking, but why did you choose this event?" Asked Clark.

"Because like I said, my sister wouldn't have it, I nearly did not come if it wasn't for Alexa."

"Who's Alexa?"

"My 16-year-old sister, who needs to figure out how not to mess with my life, and I can live it any way I want," I said as I crackled.

"I know the feeling," they said together as well crackling. I can tell the married partners are speaking from experience.

"Let me guess you both have a younger sister?"

"Lois does while I have I cosine who my parents took in, but she might as well be," answered Clark.

"Okey, the final question is it true that both of your parents and Mr. Wayne's parents were friends and were planning some kind of agreement?" Said Lois.

"I honestly don't know, my godfather said that they knew each other, but he was never told if there was an agreement. I only know that they never wanted a death like that, and wished it was different," I said.

"Thank you for your time, Lauren," said Clark.

"It's no bother at all, and please enjoy your evening, Mr. And Mrs. Kent," I said

"Same to you," they said, smiling, and I return it.

After that, I went to get a drink, so I went to the bar, I went to the bartender and asked, "excuse me, can I have 1 glass of champagne and scotch?" he nodded got started on my drink. As I was waiting for my drink, I noticed a man coming next to me. He was a redhead with green eyes and a goatee, he wore a suit like every other man here. Still, I can tell he enjoys to flaunt his wealth. Considering he was wearing a gold Rolex, it wasn't hard to tell.

"Hey, did it hurt?" the man asked weirdly.

"Excuse me, but what?" I questioned, feeling weirded out

"Did it hurt from when fell from heaven?" the man replied, 'oh, he was using a pick-up line, a bad line if asked me, but that explains it.'

"I'm sorry, not. I didn't fall from heaven, and just to let you know that was cheesy," I informed the man, not even paying attention to him.

"I'm Chase Azul," the man- chase introduced himself, "what's your name, Angle?"

"Not interested," I told him sharply and into the point.

"Come on, let me show you an amazing time," he replied, 'does he know what take a hint mean? Great, its one of those men,' i thought while rolling my eyes.

"Let me make this clear I'm not interested in you" 'you can't get clearer than that,' i thought as the bartender finally brings me my drink. I took a sip of it.

"Trust me, you'll have an amazing-" he was suddenly cut off by another man.

"Excuse me, is this man bothering you?"

"Bruce's point of view."

'I've never been more glad that the kids are all started a strick just to not attend an event,' i thought as just left a conversation for a drink. As I was walking to the bar, I see the most beautiful woman in my life. Considering I often meet models, royal family members, celebrities, and goddesses saying a lot. She has long, dark, slightly curled hair half up and half down, a somewhat tanned or bronzed skin that gives out a gorgeous glow. She was tall with long legs. An hourglass figure also had lean muscles hidden and gave her a delicate yet strong look that you don't see every day. she was wearing a brown dress with some detailing in lace. Her stance was confident yet agitated. Most likely from the man that was talking to her. for some reason, she reminds me of Talia. This surprises me as they while having similar coloring, are noting alike. So I went over there, and the man says, "Trust me, you'll have an amazing-" before I decided to cut him off.

"Excuse me, is this man bothering you?"

"Lauren's point of view."

I turn around and saw a tall, muscular man with gorgeous blue eyes and black hair. He has a sharp and chiseled jaw. I can tell quickly he was confident, and yet there a deep sorrow in his eyes. It took me a few moments to realize that he's Bruce Wayne. 'Man, was he sculpted by gods or something, no wonder he gets all those dates despite being a well-known playboy,' i thought before remembering his question. "Yes, he was," I answered honestly.

"Well, how about a dance to help him realize your not interested?" he asked, extending his arm out as he asked.

"It will be my pleaser," I said, taking his arm, leaving the glass and the redhead gaping. He leads me to the dance floor. He put other his arm around my waist as I put my other arm on his shoulder. "So you're, the legendary Bruce Wayne I've heard all about," I stated.

"Bruces point of view."

As I lead her to the dancefloor, I can't help but think how beautiful her eyes are, blue as sapphires or the ocean somehow dark and yet stunningly bright. I was pulled out by my thoughts by her melodic voice. "So you're, the legendary Bruce Wayne I've heard all about," she stated

"All good things, I hope?" I questioned

"Oh, you know the usual, how you date anything with legs, how you adopted a miniature army of dark-haired blued children. How you are unbelievably handsome you are," she replied. I couldn't help but wince at some of them. "Although the last one was not as exaggerated as I thought it was, and finally the most ridiculous of them all if we’re in a relationship." she continued. While I can't help be proud of the underhand compliment and admire how she stated them, she read at a tabloid. However, I can't help be curious about the last one.

"What do you mean by the last one? I'll be pretty sure to recall being in a relationship with the most breathtakingly beautiful woman I have ever see." complimented. I couldn't help but enjoyed the blush appearing on her flawless skin.

"First of all, I'm not that beautiful," she replied upon while rolling her jeweled like eyes as we continue to sway to the music. "Secondly, that the question the press asked me the most literally its what they concisely asked me. And finally, I forget to say thank you for helping me deal with that man at the bar."

"Firstly, you are that beautiful considering I've met a multitude of beautiful women it saying a lot. Secondly, why would the press ask you that question? and finally, it was my deepest pleasure." I responded.

"Well, number 1 is thank you for the compliment. And number 2 is that this is the first event I've attended since moving into Gotham a month ago."

"Why did you move to Gotham anyway?"

"Work-related and a much-needed change of scenery." she relied upon as the song came to an end. "Thanks for the dance."

"Your welcome..." I trailed off, trying to remember her name. "I'm sorry, but I can't remember your name."

"That's because I never gave it to you," she informed me as she walked away. I watch her leave her hips swaying. 'Damn,' I thought as she disappeared from my view.

"Lauren's point of view."

The event was halfway over, and I was surprisingly enjoying myself, as my phone rang. It was from Alexa. So I went to the balcony and answered it.

"Hey sis, what's up," said Alexa, and I heard some loud music in the background.

"Fine, did you throw a party?" I asked. Wondering if that the reason why she wanted me to go to the event.

"No, of course not, I'm at a friend's party. But don't worry, I will not do anything risky, and it's Molly's party," she reassured me.

"At least I can trust you, Lex, but seriously you could have just asked, and I would have said yes to you going to the party."

"I know, and that's not why I insisted that you going to the event. It's because it's been months since you been in a serious relationship, and I want you to find Mr. Right."

"Lex, you're too sweet for your own good."

"So, did you meet anyone?"

"Well, I did meet Lois and Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne."

"Shut up, tell me your joking."

"Nope, they're really here, Lex. I've just met them."

"Lucky, anyway, go find a guy. I love you".

"We'll see, and I love you too. Bye," I said before I hung up.

"Well, hello there, Beautiful," I heard and turned around to see a man hidden by the shadows.

"Bruce's point of view."

I saw the beautiful woman going to the balcony, 'who is that woman? What's her name? And why is she going there?' I thought. So I decided to follow her and saw her talking to the phone. I was about to leave, then I heard her say. "Lex, you're too sweet for your own good" what a minute Lex as in Lex Luther, then suddenly I heard her say, "Well, I did meet Lois and Clark Kent, and Bruce Wayne." It must be Luther. How do they know each other? "Nope, they're really here, Lex . I've just met them." what are they planning? "We'll see, and I love you too, Lex" Lex Luthor loves someone. I don't believe it. It's time to find my answers.

"Well, hello there beautiful," I said, scaring her, making her turn around to face me.

"Oh my goodness, you startled me," she said.

"My apologies, miss."

"Well, might as well as tell you my name, its Lauren, Lauren Light," said smiling beautifully.

"Pleasure is all mine and Miss Light, please call me Bruce," I said, returning the smile.

"As long as you call me, Lauren."

"Mind me, Lauren, but heard you talk while on the phone, Lex as in Lex Luther."

"Lauren's point of view."

Wait a minute, was he eavesdropping on me, "No, Bruce, that was my sister Alexa, Lex for short," I said with ease, I said," were you eased dropping on me?"

"Bruce's point of view."

That made things more straightforward, then she asked me if I was eased dropping on her, so I said. "Well yes, but only because I was curious about who you were, then I heard you mention the name Lex, so I thought it was Mr. Luther and then the names Clark and Lois Kent and my own. So mind explaining that"

"Oh, my sister is a huge Lois and Clark Kent fan. She loves there work, me too. But anyway, she always wished she met them, so I told her that I met just them, and Lauren, of course, heard of the legendary Bruce Wayne", she explained with ease, although the part with slite sarcasm. Okay, now I feel like an idiot for eavesdropping.

"I apologize for eased dropping on you. To make it up, how about I take you to dinner tomorrow night?" I asked, hoping that I would get to know more about the beautiful woman.

"Apology accepted, Mr. Wayne, but unfortunately, I don't usually mix business with pleasure." making me slightly confused about what business.

"Well, that's a good policy, but I think you're making a mistake here."

"I don't believe so, My Dark Knight, however. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. And please can you tell The Man of Steel congratulations on his anniversary?" she said before she left, leaving me stupified. How in the world did she know? I went to find Clark, who I know wouldn't believe it. As I ventured to him, I can't help but think about the mysterious yet beautiful Lauren Light.

"Lauren's point of view."

As soon as I said my last comment, I left him surprised, but I couldn't blame him. If I found out that someone knew my secret identity, I would be to, plus I informed him that I knew his and Superman's identity. As soon as I went to the exit, I saw my limo, and I entered it and asked the driver to drive me home. I texted Lexa, letting her know that I implied that I know about his secret. As soon as I finished texting her, I arrived at my building. As soon as I entered my penthouse, I quickly went to my room, changed into my nightwear, and went to bed.

Well, I hope you're enjoying the story.

#batman #batfamily #justiceleague #batman imagine #batfam imagine #the black siren #batfamily imagine #blackcanary #bruce wayne #justice league

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deadcactuswalking · 2 years

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 25/06/2022 (Drake’s ‘Honestly, Nevermind’, Beyoncé)

For a second consecutive week, “Running Up that Hill (A Deal with God)” by Kate Bush, the 1985 classic, is at #1 on the UK Singles Chart. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

It’s the Drake week. To be fair, it’s also the Beyoncé week – first of many – and it will take a while to get to Drake, but he still debuted all three songs he’s allowed in the top 10. If you don’t want to read about Drake, I don’t blame you. Drake Drake Drake, but as always we start with our notable Drake-outs – sorry, dropouts – songs exiting the UK Top 75, which is what I cover, after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 75. For this week, we don’t have much to discuss, but “True Love” by Kanye West and XXXTENTACION, not even lasting five weeks is gone, as well as “N95” by Kendrick Lamar, “Finesse” by Pheelz and BNXN fka Buju, “Save Your Tears” by The Weeknd and of course, “Levitating” by Dua Lipa, which will be back soon enough.

In terms of what are arguably infinitely more interesting, we don’t have any returning entries but there are a fair few notable gains – songs up five spots or more compared to last week – on this relatively subdued week, including “Sunroof” by Nicky Youre and dazy at #63, “Rainfall (Praise You)” by Tom Santa at #55, “Something to Someone” by Dermot Kennedy at #52, “Vegas” by Doja Cat at #43, “Stay the Night” by Sigala and Talia Mar at #28, “Glimpse of Us” by Joji up big to #14 and... well, that’s pretty much it since the charts are in a weird state of being simultaneously stagnant and oddly fluid. Hey, it’s interesting at least.

This week’s top five, from bottom to top, consists of “Green Green Grass” by George Ezra up to #5, “Go” by Cat Burns at #4, “Afraid to Feel” by LF SYSTEM at #3, “As it Was” by Harry Styles at #2 and of course, at #1, “Running Up that Hill”. Now let’s take a break from our regular programming to talk about some albums released over the past week that did not impact the chart – so no Drake just yet.

Off the Charts

The theme here might just be a bit of disappointment, as most of these new releases were ones that I really hoped to like more than I ended up doing, though they may all end up growing on me upon relisten. Time will tell, but for now:

MORE BLACK SUPERHEROES – WESTSIDE BOOGIE

I really wanted to see more improvement from WESTSIDE BOOGIE here, especially with the name change and impressive features and singles after that pretty mediocre debut album, but apart from rapping that seems a bit more focused, this may just be a downgrade, considering the lack of a really cohesive theme despite some of the more conceptual leanings that are not implemented into BOOGIE’s content, as well as pretty lazy production that feels like more of a blend of instruments than a well-crafted set of beats. With hit-or-miss features, nothing is really saving this project from just being kind of dull, even if I did appreciate my favourite track, “CAN’T GET OVER YOU” with a great verse from Smino and Teezo Touchdown.

S.I.D.E.S. – Alice Merton

Honestly, I didn’t even like “No Roots” that much so I’m questioning why I decided to check this out but it really didn’t feel like I made the right decision in any regard. This album was one I found mostly inoffensive but largely to its detriment, picking and choosing generic pop rock sounds with little intricacy on how the production really ends up sounding: it’s not exactly a lazy album, and Alice Merton Is definitely trying to shed some of the less unique elements of her husky indie girl voice, but with faceless writing and production that splits the album basically in half, it’s a frustrating listen. My favourite track is “Letting You Know”.

Supernova – Nova Twins

I really hoped that this would kick ass, even if I’m not familiar with Nova Twins’ prior work besides their collaborations with Bring Me the Horizon. The female rock duo with as much sheer angst as they do swagger should be good on paper, especially within a 30 minute album that shouldn’t overstay its welcome, but that’s not exactly what happens… and that’s down, primarily, to the production, as this really ends up feeling like a sludge of an album. Whilst the grooves start to have some drive to them, and the Nova Twins are giving it all in terms of delivery, the industrial shrieks and wiry guitars are too overshadowed by the muddy annoyance of the bass and percussion. It works on occasion but not always, and this really hurts the album’s overall tone, which is violent, sure, but with a bit less femme-venom than I’d hoped. Maybe I just had the wrong expectations, and I definitely appreciate some tracks on here, including my favourite track “Toolbox”, but I hope to enjoy the duo’s later efforts a bit more.

Ugly Season – Perfume Genius

Perfume Genius is an act that I had hoped to enjoy more, and I can tell this is possibly the worst possible first impression, given how formless the entire record is – sometimes to its expense, but a lot of the time for the best, as the eerie ambiance being fraught up against the tenser grooves works in a way not too dissimilar to why I liked the last American Pleasure Club album. Beyond there is where it loses me though; I like the decrepit dub of the title track, and my favourite track, “Photograph” sounds like a hypnotic, icy factory, but the scrambling electronics and shifting bass of much of the other tracks don’t really coalesce into anything more concrete, especially in more boring tracks like “Eye in the Wall” which absolutely develop but pretty much drive me in and out of most of these tracks. This is decent, and I’ll definitely appreciate it more upon relistens, especially with a deeper look into the themes and lyricism but for now... I’m not feeling it. Sorry.

DOPAMINE HELLDREAMS. – NEUPINK

Even if I’m not as over the Moon as I was with NEUPINK’s last mixtape, NOT WITH MY BLOOD, which remains one of the best releases of last year, I’m still pretty happy with the newest NEUPINK album. This isn’t the first time that they’ve enlisted guests or tried for more accessible, vague “chorus” structures but it seems like a more actively fulfilled effort on this record especially, which leads to a still distinct sound being somewhat distilled for the sake of achieving it, and in all honesty, it can sometimes come off as a bit tedious. With that said, what made NEUPINK work before is far from missing here, as it feels both simultaneously skeletal and maximalist with those sprinkling industrial delusions, and processed guitar sounds having their glass shattered by the percussion… which I’ll be honest, doesn’t entirely work on tracks like “WHAT’S YOUR PLEASURE?” where I start to think that I’d like to hear the album without the drums. They don’t detract from the spectacle, but they could have been more lowkey with the percussion here and make it work. There are plenty of inflections from the choir organs, sparing, creaking warps that infect some sense of vague human life into this otherwise metallic, alien album… but something about that inaccessibility has always made NEUPINK resonate more, so when they’re making gradual efforts to be more… “human”, I’m not sure if I like it as much as I did their more intense output, even if I know from melodies alone that they can make something great with this new formula eventually. As it is, it’s still a damn great album, with my favourite track being “HELLSIDE RIVER” and its endless staircase spiral of a bass, but I think the next few records is where I really hope to see some growth.

Vinyl Days – Logic

See, whilst most of these albums were ones I expected to like more than I did, this Logic album was a complete surprise because frankly, I kind of loved it, and I’m far from a Logic fan. In fact, I don’t think I liked a single album from this guy, with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind being especially embarrassing, and basically the DMV rapper’s Raditude in terms of the sheer degree of obnoxious self-parody. Logic brings that same oblivious energy to this album, but in a carefree mould that actually feels crafted and isn’t playing to trends in trap or complaining too much about industry BS at a shallower level because Logic here is… actually nuanced. Sure, there are cryptocurrency bars, but the commentary is less one-sided, especially regarding his record deal with Def Jam, and I always think that some of my favourite albums in hip-hop are those that are a full love letter to the genre. Dusty boom bap beats are here for the most part but it’s alongside several tributes to more trap-leaning tracks, hardcore Beastie Boys pastiches and gorgeous chipmunk soul fragments that never wear out their welcome because of the DIY, makeshift vibe of this whole alum. Logic’s bars are intricate and well-orchestrated as always but when put into the context of this care-free mixtape or radio show kind of album, hosted by the ever-confident albeit obnoxious Funkmaster Flex, alongside many a phone call skit that end up honestly kind of funny, he feels more at home and never with the unnecessary tryhard energy he’s carried throughout his career. Sure, with 30 tracks, not every track is going to have as much purpose or be that developed, but it really doesn’t matter in this context. He cribs great verses from people like AZ, The Game, RZA and Royce da 5’9’’ on here but it’s not a compilation album, rather just Logic sharing his respect, love and honestly kind of nerdy fandom with his audience in a way that feels genuinely sincere, honest and kind of heartwarming. There are plenty of great tracks here, and it does feel like one fell swoop of a DJ mix sometimes, but my favourite is probably “Carnival” with AZ, even if Logic goes relentlessly hard on “BLACKWHITEBOY”. This is a genuinely great hip-hop album with a massive scope, and I’m glad I pushed behind my general distaste of Logic to listen to this. Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming…

NEW ARRIVALS

#72 – “Slide” – Junior Andre

Produced by Junior Andre

Well, that Off the Charts section was a bit longer than usual, but that may be because this first crop of new arrivals doesn’t really give me much to talk about. I hadn’t heard of Junior Andre before this but it seems that nepotism strikes again as both of his parents are in show business. Junior Andre is the son of English model Katie Price and her ex-husband, Peter Andre, who was a particularly big singer around the mid-90s thanks in large part to his #1 hit “Mysterious Girl” but has kept relevant – somehow – in entertainment since. I guess it only made sense for Junior to start recording his own music – especially since, yes, a duets album between his parents exists – but it doesn’t make sense that he’s interpolating the “I Spy” game you play in car rides with his unremarkable Auto-Tuned voice careening over this generic Afrobeats instrumental. The percussion feels really fizzy and plastic, with a groove that barely exists and a weak acoustic guitar loop that doesn’t have enough prominence in the mix to drown out Junior Andre saying that his partner is sexy even when they’re arguing and... it’s just not new. My expectations were low, so I guess they were met.

#70 – “Ferrari” – James Hype and Miggy Dela Rosa

Produced by James Hype

Now, that’s kind of a bizarre choice of sample. I don’t know where James Hype got the idea to turn P. Diddy’s “I Need a Girl” and its recognisable acoustic guitar riff to a loop on a house song, but that must be an expensive loop to clear, surely? Given that James Hype is an English DJ with one top 40 hit – 2017’s “More than Friends”, peaking at #8 – to sample that #4 hit from 2002, with a star-studded feature list and production honestly not as dated as you’d think nowadays, is pretty daring. Much like the original song, this also goes nowhere but whilst that was a chill R&B track, this is an infectious dance-pop tune that is honestly a lot better than it deserves to be. The ominous horns have no place being there against the dime-a-dozen vocals from Miggy Dela Rosa or the oddly eerie atmosphere that isolates that guitar loop into making absolutely no sense, but it kind of works, especially with the buzzing synth and a drop that actually feels pretty substantial instead of going for the bassy, anti-climax. The build-up is solid, especially with the rising synths and incessant vocal loop, so when that guitar sample finally kicks in for good, it feels like it means something, and this is especially true with those slick manufactured claps. The second drop, however, is really what’s impressive here: the fake-out is pulled off really well, especially given that this is kind of a playful song in the first place. This isn’t anything all that new, but it’s a damn good track and I really hope it lasts: the house music on the charts has been improving, or at least diversifying, recently and I hope that continues to be the case.

#68 – “Call Me Every Day” – Chris Brown featuring WizKid

Produced by Blaise Beats, DJ TUNEZ and RoccStar

See, here’s the problem with that, Mr. Brown: I don’t have your number, and even if I did, I doubt that either you or I would be able to remember every day to call each other. I mean, I’ve got a busy schedule, you’re touring all over the world, it’s not going to work out unless we both set alarms. Plus, we’ll run out of things to talk about if we talk that often. We’ve got to give each other some space, especially since we barely even know each other. Maybe WizKid and I could make it work, but whoever it is, it seems like a really odd predicament to be committed to someone I haven’t even met properly. Oh, and I don’t keep in contact with people who beat women, so I think I’ll block your number.

#58 – “Seoul” – AJ Tracey

Produced by Ruuben, GoodJobLarry and MD$

AJ Tracey has a new single out, named after the South Korean capital... but this is actually just a finished version of his “On the Radar” freestyle from May, simply adding a second verse. Given that I didn’t hear that, it works pretty well as a full song, even if the chorus becomes pretty indistinct from the rest of the song as a result. It’s not like it matters because this bangs regardless, with the sweet chipmunk soul sample being lost in a flurry of percussion and Jersey club bass that is here in lieu of traditional UK drill rhythms, that he outright notices on the second verse. The constantly moving rhythm section makes this a really great listen even if AJ mostly keeps to the same flow and content (that is mostly flexing and gang violence), but he delivers everything really confidently despite a lack of punchlines, and sounds genuinely intimidating when the drums get more intense. The more spare moments on the second verse help AJ stand out, and the gang “playing with the birds like Gallagher” is a great line... so, yeah, I’m excited if this is how AJ is moving away from drill and trap, and I hope to see more. This is genuinely really good.

#21 – “BREAK MY SOUL” – Beyoncé

Produced by Beyoncé, Tricky Stewart and The-Dream

Okay, now we’re in the big leagues: it’s just Beyoncé and Drake from here on out, and they both tried out house music for their newest projects. We start with the singer who made the better attempt: Beyoncé is no stranger to dance music, and whilst I have never been able to plug myself in to follow the image and mystique surrounding her entirely, I can admit when she makes a damn good song... which, really, she often does nowadays, and “BREAK MY HEART” shows her competency outside of pop and R&B pretty effectively. That’s in great thanks to Big Freedia, whose coarse yelled vocals as a bounce MC are sampled all over the track to emphasise the beat that to any UK chart watchers, should sound like a similar throwback, since this sound has been in scene for a while here in Europe, given the gliding pianos, simple bassy rhythms and minimal keys, lifted straight from “Show Me Love” by Robin S., except the melody is shifted in a way that not even Charli XCX was willing to do on “Used to Know Me”, so it does feel like a unique track. Now, some people have said that Beyoncé talking about quitting your job in a cost of living crisis is a bit rich coming from one of the richest entertainers on the planet, but I really couldn’t care less: it’s a dance song, release your mind as Big Freedia says and let yourself enjoy Bey’s ode to independent living. Hell, if you listened closely, you’d realise that she’s positioning herself with just as much anger and frustration as you probably have, which is especially obvious thanks to that Big Freedia sample and one of Bey’s better rap verses. Sure, the 90s diva house sound does end up grating on me a bit, but it’s not that overly long, and by the time the harmonising choir vocals come in, it feels way more like I’m in on the fun in a live audience or nightclub. It’s an impeccably mixed song too, especially once it gets to that subtle warping synth below Big Freedia in the outro, so my only real concern is that abrupt ending, yet I know damn well it’ll lead to something that is worth the frustration when it comes to the album release. It’s nothing all that new, simultaneously pulling from trends of yesteryear and the modern day, but if Beyoncé wants to go in this direction, I have no qualms if it’s going to all have the same passion as this. Now for someone who is fuelled by anything but...

#10 – “Falling Back” – Drake

Produced by &ME, Rampa, Beau Nox and Alex Lustig

This new Drake album is a drone. I was cautiously excited about the surprise project Honestly, Nevermind because I really appreciate that Drake experimented for the first time in years and with dance music too, in tribute to the late Virgil Abloh, so it felt like it should be going in the right direction. Sure, it could go awry or be boring, but it would be more valuable than Certified Lover Boy, right? Well, this isn’t Drake’s worst, but it’s far from his best either, and it’s pretty telling that the two higher-charting singles aren’t as representative of the entire album. “Falling Back”, however, very much is. 90% of the album consists of a lazy but vaguely dark or mysterious house groove with some of Drake’s worst vocal takes on record, and much of the content is your typical “girl song” from Aubrey, as his ones for the ladies are just him guilt-tripping in awkward falsettos. “Falling Down” is, for all sakes and purposes, barely a constructed song. There’s one overlong verse, something that barely constitutes as a chorus, and it’s all over this rigid, blocky synth bass and frigid, metallic percussion that gets really clicky and annoying REALLY fast. This would be... maybe not fine but at least redeemable if Drake was singing anything worthy of even a Genius annotation (knowing Drake fans, the fact that there aren’t any is really telling about this project’s reception). Even with the Auto-Tune applied, Drake’s falsetto is weak and frail to the point of comedy, and you could argue that it was the point for him to sound like a broken man as he revels in this girl “falling back” to him... but that doesn’t make the toxicity condemned within the music or, you know, interesting, because it’s four full minutes of this shit and it doesn’t get any better. I think Drake intended to make this project sound somewhat effortless and organic, but if anything the lack of care or attention to detail just makes him sound desperate and everyone involved sound like they can barely stand to be in the same room as him. Sure, the beat switches up by the end, but the airy synths don’t bring enough to the mix for me to care, and by that time, it’s long overstayed its welcome. Thankfully, the rest of the Drake songs here are, despite their placement on this shoddy album, actually pretty damn good, so at least we can end on somewhat of a high note, starting with my favourite track.

#8 – “Massive” – Drake

Produced by LIOHN, Carnage and Klahr

I’ll try and keep this Drake reviews short now because I’ve said what I wanted to about the album and, really, it’s Drake, so whilst the songs are good, they’re not going to be all that interesting. This one starts with that synthetic heartbeat-esque loop that is just alien before it coalesces with the wonderfully janky 90s house pianos that don’t exactly glide like a lot of the genre, instead just slipping in, barely ordered, as Drake croons with more compelling and open songwriting than usual, where he takes a more nuanced look at the relationship, acknowledges what both parties have done and whilst he ultimately lapses into self-deprecation and guilt, he’s more lighthearted with it and understands not to permeate the vibe with his own sorrow. It does help that there’s a rumbling house tremor in the rhythm section that not even Kraftwerk could deny on their live set, before it crumbles over itself to allow for that echoing vocal loop, just vaguely human but not nearly human enough, to create a foundation for Drake that is purely hypnotic and sure, somewhat janky and not completely on beat with the beeping or pianos, but relationships are messy, especially distant ones, so it really does work with the content. By the time that the instrumental starts to fade out into a liquid mush, it comes back for one last stab at a dancefloor in the outro, which is genuinely tense and a really great decision on the part of the producers. Also, “I know my funeral gon’ be lit ‘cause of how I treated people” is one of those killer lines that are kind of corny and endearing in a way only Drake could really pull off. This is a standout on the album by far, and I hope it sticks around longer than “Falling Back” or... really any other track, perhaps excluding...

#7 – “Jimmy Cooks” – Drake featuring 21 Savage

Produced by Tay Keith, Tizzle, Vinylz and CuBeatz

Well, he wasn’t going to put 21 Savage on a house beat, was he? For our final song, we have a return to form for Drake, rapping over a trap beat with a vaguely catchy hook and meandering verses, alongside a guest who steals the show... you know, your usual Aubrey. To be fair to him, or more particularly his producers, both beats here are excellent, as I love the array of strings spread throughout over that Memphis rap sample in the first beat, and the more obviously Tay Keith-produced beat switch may be disappointing at first since I’d like to hear 21 on both beats, but the propulsing 808s and Memphis rap rhythm allows for the screechy violins to go really hard. It’s not like the beats are wasted either, as both rappers do basically what I expected them to do. A surprising amount of Drake’s bars are tributes to both Lil Keed and DJ Kay Slay, but there’s a fair amount of flexing here too as expected. I don’t think the line about Drake not getting RICO’d comes off the way he intended considering he is not in the position in the industry that Young Thug or even Gunna are in, but I like the J. Cole punchline... really, though, it’s 21 who shines here. Not all of the lines hit – his gun being a “molester” is just... bizarre – but he’s captured perfectly the playful menace and horror of Memphis rap, switching his flow in the second half to interpolate “Poppin My Collar” and pulling it off really impressively. I just like 21’s oddly specific bars here, like how he can’t even smoke on the opps because he smells bad, or how the girl wants to specifically hear Afrobeats after taking ecstasy (maybe 21 can’t distinguish genres here), and especially how he says that if he was Will Smith, he would have just pistol-whipped him. I see that slap will be relevant for years to come, but if the references are this outrageous, maybe I’ll take it.

Conclusion

Drake gets both the Best and Worst of the Week here, and I’m sure you can guess where “Massive” and “Falling Back” are in that ranking. For Honourable Mention, it was pretty good week here so I guess I’m going to give it to a tie with Beyoncé for “BREAK MY SOUL” and AJ Tracey for “Seoul”, with the Dishonourable Mention going to Junior Andre for just being unremarkable on “Slide”. I really don’t see that going anywhere. With that said, maybe next week will be another subdued one, though hopefully with less big releases and with less Drake. Thank you for reading, pray for the women in the United States who have just had their human rights robbed from them, and I’ll see you next week!

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winteriron-trash · 6 years

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Ok, so that fanfic questions ask meme? You wanna do ALL OF THEM?!

YES, LET’S DO IT, HERE WE GO, PREPARE YOURSELF I’m copy and pasting answers I’ve already done just so I don’t have to retype them and there’s a break because god this got long. I might link this on my About Me post, cause holy shit I spent time on this

1. What was the first fandom you got involved in?

Actual fandom? Probably DC. That’s when I started reading fanfiction and really poked my head around online communities dedicated to media and all.

2. What is your latest fandom?

I don’t know, probably Marvel? Maybe Riverdale, but I was a fan of the comics before so

3. What is the best fandom you’ve ever been involved in?

If I’m assuming this question is about the actual fandom and not the source material and the people in the fandom and its community as a whole? Probably the Percy Jackson fandom. Not really into it anymore so I don’t know the state of it now, but it was a pretty wholesome and positive community. Any community that calls it’s creator “Uncle Rick” has gotta be pretty dope.

4. Do you regret getting involved in any fandoms?

Oh lord save my soul for admitting I like this, but definitely Five Nights at Freddy’s. The indie gaming, creepypasta, underground subculture as a whole is something I regret getting into. Don’t get me wrong, I usually love the source material, but the fandom is just so bad. You probably know what I’m talking about, the fangirls who insist they’re insane and are in love with Slenderman or something.

But specifically on FNaF, lord, I don’t even know what the fandom is anymore. It’s a meme, a fetish, and a hellspace all at once. And I’m not gonna fucking lie, I’ve been in this hellhole long before any of that. Like, I can’t even try to escape it, I’m in it for the long haul. I was just someone who joined for the lore and now we’re here with fucking casual bongos and trash gang and fuck I didn’t ask for this. I can’t escape. I know so fucking much about the franchise it hurts my fucking soul. I remember when the FNaF 2 trailer came out and we were all micro-analyzing London Bridge Is Falling Down. I remember when Springtrap didn’t have a name and we called that fucking Spring Bonnie or Golden Bonnie. I survived that era and I have PTSD from it, trust me. I remember when we were naive enough to think FNaF 3 was the last game. I know what channels were born and what channels died because of that series. I know it all.

I’m sorry, I got off topic. BUT I DON’T GET TO FUCKING RANT ABOUT IT ENOUGH, FUCKING FUCKSHIT

Oh, and a lot of bandoms I was in too. I went through an alt phase where I’d only listen to shit like BVB, BMTH, MCR, PTV, SWS, and so on. Once again, that sort of fandom was the same as the indie/creepypasta in being ‘different’ and ‘insane’ and all that and I was no different. I was a weird fucking kid when I was like 13. I regret all of it.

5. Which fandoms have your written fanfiction for?

Marvel, DC, and a couple Riverdale.

6. List your OTP from each fandom you’ve been involved in.

Not in many fandoms but

Marvel - WinterIronDC - SuperbatStar Trek Voyager - Captain Janeway/Seven of NinePercy Jackson - Solangelo

7. List your NoTPs from each fandom you’ve been in.

Marvel - Stucky, Stuckony, Romanogers, Clintasha, any incest ones, (save me for admitting this) SpideypoolDC - Any batboys shipped together, Bruce/Talia

And I don’t really have NOTPs for my other fandoms? Marvel and DC are really the only two things I’m invested in the fandom of. I guess you could count Wincest as well for Supernatural.

8. How did you get involved in your latest fandom?

What even is my latest fandom? Um, we’ll just say Marvel because I’m really not into joining fandoms much anymore. Honestly, I was a big DC fan who felt the need to hate Marvel because no shit. Eventually, I just got sick of the absolute shit movies DC had and I decided I had nothing to lose by just watching Iron Man. When I watched it I realized “wow, superhero movies can actually be good???” and I just binged the entire MCU in one month and was ready to see the next movie in theatres and I think I’ve seen every single MCU movie in theatres since Civil War? Definitely since Homecoming. I gave up on DC movies. The new Aquaman looks like shit, I’m so fucking pissed they redid Mera’s look when she looked perfectly fucking fine before and now she’s oversexualized and it’s gross. I’m excited for the new DC Batwoman TV show because I HAVE BEEN WAITING TO SEE A LIVE ACTION BATWOMAN SINCE THE DAWN OF FUCKING TIME

9. What are the best things about your current fandom?

Probably the Tony Stark Defense Squad. As a collective whole, I think the Defense Squad is one of the sweetest, nicest corners of the fandom. We’re incredibly kind to each other, write great meta and fic, and it’s just a great community. Of course, there are assholes, but you know.

I might get flamed for saying this, but also the HYDRA Trash Party corner of the fandom is actually really nice? Like, they understand consent and abuse aftermath and all the real shit better than the rest of the fandom, not gonna lie. Like, for as dark as the fic is you’d expect the people to be fucking nasties, but I have never met a rude HTP enthusiast. Or even one who’s unaware of how consent and whump work. They’re all very aware and kind. It’s bizarre, considering the source material. They get an awful rep though.

10. Is there a fandom you read fic from but don’t write in?

Literally any fandom I’m in besides Marvel and DC. I think I wrote like 2 Riverdale fics. Getting into reading fanfic and getting into writing fanfic are two entirely different ballparks. I don’t really read that much fanfic anyway, especially not anymore. I read Marvel and DC, but even then. I think it’s hard because sometimes you can’t switch off the whole ‘reading like a writer’ thing. That’s why I enjoy classic literature. I’m a slut for some good ass prose and symbolism.

11. Who is your current OTP?

WinterIron, of ducking course.

12. Who is your current OT3?

I’m not really a fan of OT3s, to be honest, I find I’m personally pretty weak with writing poly relationships and I don’t really enjoy reading them because one character is usually focused on a lot more than the other two. But if I had to pick, I would say T’Challa/M’Baku/Bucky only because I am solely responsible for the creation of that abomination and you have no idea how much people begged me for a series after the first one, it astounded me.

13. Any NoTPs?

As before listed, Stucky, Stuckony, Spideypool, Clintasha, Romanogers

14. Go on, who are your BroTPs?

IronWidow is my top BroTP, but I also like WinterWidow as a BroTP. Stucky is good as a BroTP too, as well as Tony & Rhodey.

15. Is there an obscure ship which you love?

Literally any ship I have. Yall I’ve been here since WinterIron was obscure. But to name a specific one I’m just gonna go with Pietro/Tony. I don’t know, I just had an idea I was writing for them and I was thinking about how much missed out potential there was between them. And with Pietro as a whole, but you know. Marvel has to kill off the only good Maximoff they had.

Oh, Natasha/Pepper too, but they aren’t as obscure, I guess.

16. Are their any popular ships in your fandom which you dislike?

Stucky, clearly.

17. Who was your first OTP and are they still your favourite?

Stony, and no. They fell apart for me, at least MCU-wise.

18. What ship have you written the most about?

By now, WinterIron, I believe. I recently passed my count of fics for Superbat.

19. Is there a ship which you wished you could get behind, but you just don’t feel them?

Pepperony, probably. I think it’s actually a cute and sweet ship and I like their in-canon moments, but I just can’t get behind reading fanfic of them? It never works out for me, I don’t really get it. It sucks because I do enjoy seeing their cute moments.

20. Any ships which you surprised yourself by liking?

I’ll do a different answer I thought of besides the first time I answered this. But Thruce was a big shocker for me. I didn’t even think about it during Ragnorak but then I saw an incorrect quote for it and I was like? Oh? This? This is a good, pure ship right here. The funny thing is, I actually wrote a fic with them as a side ship long before they hit it big so like, I was shocked when they came out of nowhere. But hey, I’m fucking here for it. I’ll probably never write it, but I’m here for it.

21. What was the first fanfic you ever wrote?

Goodnight, My Angel. It was a Superbat fic and really sad, but I still love it.

22. Is there anything you regret writing?

Probably... You Deserve Love And You’ll Get It. No, I won’t link it because I hate it that much. I’m not even gonna talk about it. It’s my most popular fic too why

23. Name a fic you’ve written that you’re especially fond of & explain why you like it.

Super dorky, but The (Un)Wanted Kiss. It’s my first finished chapter fic, and the first chaptered fic I did on Tumblr and it just brings me a lot of nostalgia. It reminds me of where I was as a writer when I started it and it was an entire fic spawned from people wanting more of a simple 500-word prompt and that just blows my mind. It reminds me of the power of fans and how much love and support I got from it. It really kicked me off as a “serious fanfic writer” I think.

24. What fic do you desperately need to rewrite or edit?

All You Are Is All I Need. That is a hot fucking mess. Probably The Red Halo too.

25. What’s your most popular fanfic?

*sigh* You Deserve Love And You’ll Get It

26. How do you come up with your fanfic titles?

I bullshit my way through them. My most recent fics have actually followed a trend of being named after songs.

27. What do you hate more: Coming up with titles or writing summaries?

Summaries. I always make them so fucking corny, I hate it.

28. If someone were to draw a piece of fanart for your story, which story would it be and what would the picture be of?

One Foot In Front Of The Other, probably. Just because I want more fem!WinterIron fanart. I can’t say what scene because spoilers but.... yeah, anything from that would be great, really.

29. Do you have a beta reader? Why/Why not?

Sort of. I make some of my friends like Pizza read over my shit before I post it, but that’s not often, only when I think I need it. I don’t just because I write a lot and I’d feel bad for constantly annoying someone with making them read everything I write. I hate inconveniencing people.

30. What inspires you to write?

The better question is what doesn’t. I never stop thinking like a writer. My brain forgot how to turn off that feature.

31. What’s the nicest thing someone has ever said about your writing?

Ummmm, I can’t think of an exact thing? I get so many beyond sweet comments and messages, it’s hard to pin down one comment. I think if I had to pick, I once got a message from someone on Tumblr who was old enough to be my mother complimenting me and telling me I didn’t write like a teenager and I think that was really sweet.

32. Do you listen to music when you write or does music inspire you? If so, which band or genre of music does it for you?

Yes, yes, yes, yes. And honestly, any genre. I listen to everything. Everything. But specifically, Emilie Autumn has inspired a lot ideas/fics I’ve written.

33. Do you write oneshots, multi-chapter fics or huuuuuge epics?

All of the above.

34. What’s the word count on your longest fic?

Around 23k, I think?

35. Do you write drabbles? If so, what do you normally write them about?

Yes, and whatever I get prompted for, really.

36. What’s your favourite genre to write?

For fanfiction, I guess romance? I mean, that’s really all my fanfiction is. Otherwise, I’ll write quite literally any genre I feel like. I go wherever an idea takes me. I’m character based, not genre or plot based.

37. First person or third person - what do you write in and why?

Third. I fucking despise 1st person. I just do. That’s an entire rant we ain’t here for today.

38. Do you use established canon characters or do you create OCs?

Usually canon characters. I only use an OC when I absolutely have to, to make the plot do the plot stuff.

39. What is you greatest strength as a writer?

Nothing. My writing sucks. All of it is shit.

40. What do you struggle the most with in your writing?

Everything. I screech the most about pacing and sentence structures though.

41. List and link to 5 fanfics you are currently reading:

Most of these are actually on my to-read list but whatever.

Winter's End by ali_aliska Winter is Coming (aka Fifty First Avengers Dates) by 27dragons, tisfan My Love is Vengeance by seikaitsukimizu The caged Hawk by asamandra Fertile Ground by 27dragons, tisfan

42. List and link to 5 fanfiction authors who are amazing:

27dragons tisfanChiaki_Hamano arianapeterson19 thepartyresponsible

43. Is there anyone in your fandom who really inspires you?

Not really? I’m not knocking any of the other ‘big names’ in the Marvel fandom, but I don’t really draw inspiration from other fanfic writers. Not for plot, and definitely not for writing style. I get inspiration from fanart I see sometimes, but it’s never one main artist who I stalk to be inspired, just whatever I happen across online.

44. What ship do you feel needs more attention?

WinterIron, duh. I will not rest until WinterIron is the biggest ship in the Marvel fandom.

45. What is your all time favourite fanfic?

I’ve mentioned this fic before and honestly, it hasn’t been topped yet, but In the Company of Monsters by Chiaki_Hamano. It’s not even a Marvel fic, and it’s not even a ship I like, but god, I fucking adore it. I’d love to write something like it, but with WinterIron if I had the time, I think the entire world and setting would fit WinterIron beautifully.

46. If someone was to read one of your fanfics, which fic would you recommend to them and why?

Well, that all depends on what they’re looking for in my fanfiction. If they’re looking for WinterIron, I’d probably tell them to start with The (Un)Wanted Kiss just because that’s one of my most loved fics and I think I did really well with it. But if they just want a general fic, A Great Connection is one I’m really proud of and I still get gushing feedback about.

47. Archive Of Our Own, Fanfiction.net or Tumblr - where do you prefer to post and why?

For just writing fanfic, Ao3. Tumblr can be a pain in the ass, and I don’t even use ff.net.

48. Do you leave reviews when you read fanfiction? Why/Why not?

Yes. But only if 1, I really, really loved it or 2, I don’t think the fic has enough attention. It also helps if the writer responds to comments. I don’t see the significance of saying “I loved this!” if the fic has dozens of other comments saying the same thing. As a writer, I know what comments writers prefer. Longer ones, deep comments pointing out what things they liked, and so on. However if I write a comment that long, I like to get a response because you know, I love seeing the writer talking about the elements of the story I liked.

49. Do you care if people comment/reblog your writing? Why/why not?

Not really, to be perfectly honest. Yes, I love and cherish every kudos and note I get, and the sweet comments make me want to die of joy. But I write for me. Even when I take prompts, in the end, I write because it makes me happy. Yes, I love the validation. But even without it, I would still write. I do not write fanfiction for you, I share fanfiction with you. There’s a difference. Writing makes me happy. If I only cared about the validation, I wouldn’t have a folder reserved of fics I’ll never post but I wrote just because I wanted to. I write to write. The moment I start writing for validation, I might as well stop writing, because it’s not worth it.

50. How did you get into reading and/or writing fanfiction?

Ummmm I think I was just curious? I was new to internet culture, I saw fanart of Superbat and I discovered Ao3 and was like “wow, this stuff exists??? Words for free????? About my favourite characters being happy and dating each other??????????” and it was a downward spiral. I was like, 11 when I read my first fanfiction. I was obsessed with Superbat fanart, and I thought, what would it hurt to try actually reading it? Like, that was so taboo to me. And now we’re here. Tadaaaaaah

51. Rant or Gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction! Go!

Oh, a chance to ramble. Yay. I’m gonna rant because I’m a rant-y person.

I think something that annoys me about fanfiction is not necessarily a probably within fanfiction, but rather the outward view of it. Fanfic has an awful rep within the real world. The one-time fanfiction really took centre stage was when Fifty Shades came out, which only hurt the platform by furthering the stereotype that it’s all porn made for horny freaks who just want to get off.

I should not be ashamed to say I write fanfiction. I should not feel childish saying it to myself. No one should. At least half of my ‘fans’ are nearly a decade or more older than me. It’s clearly not something that’s immature or silly. Of course, it can be, but any hobby can be dumbed down to a kiddy version.

But fanfiction at its core is ignored for what it really is. When adults talk about fanfiction they belittle it and only see a tiny subsection of it, ignoring what it’s supposed to be about. It’s about creating transformative works for media you’re passionate about.

Fanfiction gets a worse rep than other transformative works such as fanart or whatever. Writing as a whole does. Fanfic is painted as this utter trash.

I’ve read fanfiction that made me cry, laugh, feel shit. I’ve read fanfiction that tackled heavy topics. Even on a sexual standpoint, I’ve read fanfiction that was willing to write erotica that published authors wouldn’t fucking touch. Both in a kink sense, but also in terms of how the relationship functions. I’ve read shitty fanfictions, sure. But I’ve read fanfictions that were better than 90% of the published books I’ve read. Even fanfics I didn’t like.

To put fanfiction into perspective, the average YA novel (the age group fanfiction is generally but not always aimed at) is 70k words. I’ve read fanfiction that blows that word count out of the water. And it takes fucking skill to write something that long. It’s not just writing a bunch of porn or cute scenes, that takes serious world building and character arcs.

Fanfiction kills so many tropes that are common in YA and literature in general. I read a YA after reading nothing but fanfiction for a long time and I was fucking appalled? It was a popular YA too. I won’t name what one because you could literally imagine anyone and it’d probably fit. The characters were flat, the romance was outright manipulative and toxic, the plot was dull, even the writing itself was bland. This was the type of book years ago I would’ve loved. But compared to most (of course, not all. Shit exists, but I think in fanfiction, we’re able to better filter out the shit) fanfictions, it was fucking trash.

When I started reading fanfiction, I assumed it’d lower my standards. The first time I picked up an actual novel I was relieved, excited to not have to deal with the problems that are in unpublished writings. But I quickly realized it was the complete opposite. Fanfiction threw my expectations through the roof. I expect fiction to include representation, fresh plots, interesting characters, thrilling romances, and decent fucking sex scenes if they’re there. But it just wasn’t there. It all fell flat. As someone seriously into the writing and reading community I hear so often that it’s hard for plots to be original and you shouldn’t judge on originality, but then I read fanfiction written by fucking teenagers that’s fucking mind-blowing with plot twists and original ideas, and I have to wonder is it really that hard? It’s clearly doable, you just have to take away the fanfiction part.

I have YA novels sitting on my sheld I know I’ll never read and enjoy because fanfiction just made my expectations too high. Which is good in a sense because I pray some of these amazing writers, when they get older will go on to write mind-blowing original novels and I hope that this generation of writers will put out great literature in ten to fifteen years, but for now I’m just… underwhelmed. I think it’s why I read a lot of classic literature too. Shit was better back then.

And yet despite all that, fanfiction is still made to look like shit in the modern media. It sucks so badly for fanfiction writers not to look like serious writers. I could publish one book, have it get the amount of attention my biggest fanfic got and be considered a serious author. My biggest fanfiction currently has 40k notes on Tumblr. Imagine if that were a published short story. It’d be a fucking hit. And there are others that make my numbers look small. And yet it’s brushed aside as unimpactful.

I think a lot of that stems from the fact that fanfic writers do generally start out younger. I’m 16. Others either are or were my age. But age does not equate to skill in writing. Sure, that is a factor, but it is not the entire story. I know a 14 yr old who writes some of the best prose I have ever seen. And even if younger fic writers aren’t on level yet, fanfiction is what’s helping them grow as a writer. But because we’re teenagers, we’re turned away just because of that. Even more specifically because we’re teenage girls (for the most part, I’m not saying other genders and/or age groups aren’t writing/reading fanfic) and we all know how society feels about them. It’s just a fucking shame that fanfiction can’t be respected for the legitimate form of writing it is because of the stigma. I’ve seen fanfic writers say they aren’t real writers because of the stigma, it’s awful. We feel the need to tear ourselves down for an admirable hobby. I can’t say my favourite book is a fanfiction I read, when I has every right to be a valid answer.

We’ll cut this ramble off here because wow I really went on didn’t I.

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bluboothalassophile · 7 years

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Hello. I'm sorry, please bear with me, I'm not going to make any sense , as I find it hard to put my thought on to paper. I love your blog. You made me fall in love with Jason and raven. I would have never thought of them together. I'm a sucker for Jason with the kids. I kinda wanted to put in a request but now can't think of any. Anyway I love your writhing and always look forward to when you write something new. Thank you. (Sorry if it's just a bunch of words that don't make sense)

Hello,

You’re thoughts are very well articulated and I’m so happy to hear you enjoy my blog! I know you didn’t put in a request, take your time on that, drop it off when you’re ready and I’ll work on it. In the mean time, you said you like Jason and Kids, and have fallen in love with JayRae so…

Here’s a snippet of an Untitled Hopes for a Bastard story and I hope you enjoy! =)

SPOILERS FOR HOPES FOR A BASTARD AHEAD!!!

Nothingbut a Ghost…

13 Years Earlier…

Hazel eyes watched from above as the spare took place.

The kid had black hair, a white streak, gangly, scrawnyteen, fifteen at most. He was small, under weight and size for sure. Theycalled him Shabh, he was good, a fast learner, vicious little fucker though.

The opponent for the kid today was the American, anAmerican, with blonde hair, blue eyes, brutish features. He was bigger thanShabh, though the boys were roughly the same age he guessed. The Americanthough was a meta, with full use of his brain, enhanced agility, speed,strength, and a healing factor. The American was proving to be the biggestasset from H.I.V.E., but the American was a brute and familiar.

The American was also the best of the apprentices they had,but today he felt would be a true test for the American.

The Demon’s Head had favored the American.

However, the Daughter of the Demon was favoring Shabh.

He glared down at the pit assessing the boys.

“What are you thinking Tiger?” a voice as him which had himglancing over his shoulder at the Dark Archer, who stared listlessly at thepit, there was a devoid of emotion in the Dark Archer. Bronze Tiger sat perchedjust a little ways off.

“American,” he answered. Shabh, for all his skill would nothave the strength or endurance to fight the American. This match would provenothing but what he and the rest of the League of Assassins knew, the Daughterof the Demon was too sentimental. The practical pick was the American, for theboy was stronger, faster, bigger and better.

~~~*~*~*~~~

His hair flopped in his eyes, and he stared across the wayat the American and he felt the familiar, heavy weight of the sword in hishand. The heat was mercilessly beating down on them, and he felt sweat rollingdown his temple as he stared at the other teen. The other teen looked like abrute, way older than he was, about the age of a college freshman which had hiseyes narrowing.

This was Ra’s’ champion.

He could see the appeal, guy was a warrior, and dangerous,and arrogant. The American smiled cruelly, and winds gusted, picking up thedirt.

The American moved, he got a proper hold on the katanna he’dbeen given. The American moved first, closing the distance, he charged to.Metal clanged, and he was hit by the full force of the guy. He went for speedas they rushed each other. His opponent was skilled but showy, he moved justfor killing, no show.

Twisting around he slammed his elbow into the guy’s side andknocked him back a bit and bought himself some breathing room. rushing hisopponent, he snarled a bit as he leapt up, metal clanged as they fought, hetwisted through the air. He landed and twisted as he felt the harsh air slashthrough his hair. There was a slash, he felt the blood the searing pain fromthe slash, as he narrowly evaded the sword for his head. He twisted and ran abit to get some distance between them and the American leapt over him. Henarrowly evaded the sword going for his head as he blocked, defense was hisgame. The American went for his feet which had him scrambling to keep his balancewhen he kicked dirt into the man’s eyes, knocking him back with his knee andlunging with a snarl.

The world took a green haze as he attacked without mercythen.

The blonde stumbled beneath the force of his assault when therewas a loud crack and he gasped as he was knocked sideways and off his feet intothe wall, his ribs were singing. He blearily glared up at a tall middle easternman with hazel eyes.

“Let me finish it!” the American snarled as he came at him,he tried to lunge for the blond but he couldn’t breathe!

“That is enough,” the man who had broken up the fight spoke.

“Yes,” he heard Talia said. “Take him to the healers, I willdeal with him.”

Firm hands hoisted him up and he shoved her off him as hestumbled on his own, there was a blood thirsty fury in him demanding he killthem all, but suddenly the world went black as he felt a sharp prick on hisneck before he collapsed.

~~~*~*~*~~~

Groggily he opened his eyes in his quarters as he winced,moving to sit up he saw Talia sitting at the edge of his bed glaring at him.

“You lost control,” she snapped.

“I was winning!” he growled. Suddenly there was a sharpstinging in his check as a loud smack filled his room. He looked up at her andglared.

“Losing control of the Pit to gain a victory is not winning,it is Suicide!” she snapped. “And you will learn control your you will be putdown.”

“Really? After all the trouble you went through to bring meto life again,” he sneered.

“You are nothing if you cannot control it! It will drownyou, and consume you! Get control!” she hissed before she stormed out and hefell back on his bed. Well… FUCK.

~~~*~*~*~~~

It was hours later when he was wandering the halls, lookingfor an escape, his hood up, his knuckles wrapped, the bruises from today werehealing on their own, and the world had a slightly green tint to his mind. Or atleast he thought it did.

He looked over his shoulder when a sound had his eartwitching, and he shoved his hands in his pockets as he ran a fingerreassuringly over the blade. A startled gasp escaped him as he tripped oversomething that he hadn’t remembered being in his path before he went crashingto the ground and there was an ungodly scream piercing the air. Covering hisears he begged for it to stop as there was this heated rage beneath his skinwhich had him wanting to howl in agony. Slowly pulling himself to his knees hesnatched the thing which was screaming to calm it and himself down.

“Shhh…” he cooed in the small ear as he ran his fingersthrough thick black hair and he felt the tiny form relaxing. “I got you,nothing bad will ever happen to you,” he promised as he pleaded with the kid tostop crying.

At those words the crying ceased, and he peered at the kidin his arms, he looked familiar and severe with those wide, icy blue-emeraldgreen (in no way hazel would be the appropriate way to describe these eyes).The toddler patted his cheek and smiled.

“Hafid!” Hands snatched the kid away from him and a sharpkick had his world going black as he slumped back against the wall.

“Stay away from that monster, he is beneath you!” was thelast thing he heard.

~~~*~*~*~~~

Present Day…

“Miss O’Mara says I’m the smartest in the class!” Terrygrinned as he sat on the passenger’s seat.

“Is that so?” Jason mused. He’d been stuck on kid duty forhis visit, so that meant taking Terry and Damian to school, as Helena was sickshe wasn’t going in today, and Matt was too young for school right now. Damian gloweredin the back seat, the kid being the classic moody teen; Jason was finding thatfunny as fuck.

“Yeah! I even get to go to the zoo! Daddy said so! I did sogood!”

“No shit, you’re a regular genius Terry,” Jason ruffled thekid’s hair.

“Yeah! Oh, did you and Rae make up yet!?”

“Queen and I aren’t fighting,” Jason sighed tiredly.

“Then why she dating this Jeri guy?” Terry demanded.

“Because Jason is a moron!” Damian muttered sourly.

“Because she and I were never together, and she is free todate whomever she pleases,” Jason countered.

“Jay big idiot,” Terry said twisting around to tell Damian that,and Jason groaned at Damian’s superior smirk. For the love of God someone getit through these people’s heads that a guy and girl could be friends!

“He is.”

“See, I smart, if I was big I’d marry Rae Rae!” Terrydecided.

“Oh, would you now jailbait?” Jason mused dryly.

“Yeah! She pretty, she smart, she fun, she cool, Raeperfect! Why aren’t you married!?” Terry demanded.

“Because maybe that’s my business and not yours, duck!” Jasongrinned maliciously at Terry, Damian rolled his eyes. Finally! Silence, he thought as he pulled up to the school and gotout to let Terry and Damian out. Terry clambered out, hugged his waist and ran forthe school and his friends.

“Terry is right, you are an imbecile,” Damian said gettingout of the car.

“Talk to me when you actually get a date,” Jason warned hislittle brother.

“You have been an imbecile for years about this! Now she’sdating a Wilson!” Damian grumbled.

“Hey, shorty, did you ever to stop to think that maybe sheand I don’t want to date and are happy being friends?” Jason asked coldly. Hisyounger brother rolled his eyes and stalked off which had Jason prayingdesperately for patience. He sucked at the good big brother act.

Driving home he got out of the Audi as he walked to thekitchen. The Raven and him thing was fine as it was, and Joseph Wilson treatedRaven like a Queen as far as he knew (and since he had stalked them on dates hewould know!). And if Joseph Wilson broke Raven’s heart then he, Harley, Ivy,and Victor would all be lined up to kick Joe’s ass into the grave. However,Terry, Helena, Mar'i, Lian, and even Matt thinking that he was dating ormarried to Raven wasn’t helping! Lian had kicked Joseph’s shins the other daywhen Joe had shown up to talk to him about getting Raven a gift.

He looked up when Bruce walked in, a crying Matt on hisshoulder.

“Terry and the Demon Spawn are at school,” Jason said as hewalked to the fridge and pulled out orange juice for Matt.

“Duke is coming home for the weekend,” Bruce said tiredly.

“He must be liking Princeton,” Jason said, he kept the envyout of his voice. That was a lifetime ago, and shit happened.

“The funny thing is the dean thought you were her studentthere once, Jason Peters,” Bruce said.

“Do I look like I could get into Princeton?” Jason grinned roguishlyand made a sippy-cup of juice for Matt who looked ready to cry with his unhappiness.

“Jason,” Bruce started.

“Could you get the Duck, and the Demon Spawn to STOPthinking I’m married to Raven, please?” Jason said changing the topic. He hearda set of footsteps coming, and pour another sippy-cup of juice for Helena.

“And what brought that on?” Bruce asked, his amusement clearand Jason glared at his dad as he caught the riot of curls that was HelenaWayne and hoisted her up to his hip.

“Because Terry asked if Raven and I were done fighting and Idon’t remember Rae or I being in a fight,” Jason sighed. “Besides, she’sallowed to date,” he pointed out.

“I don’t think I should get in the middle of this,” Brucesaid.

“Why the fuck not!?” Jason sputtered. Bruce got in themiddle of everything else! Why not an actual problem like this!?

“Because, Terry is right, as is Damian,” Bruce said.

“There is nothing between Raven and me,” Jason defended.There wasn’t! she was the best friend he’d had for years now.

“I saw the aftermath Jason,” Bruce said tiredly.

“Doesn’t prove anything,” he stated haughtily.

“Jason…” Bruce sighed.

“We Are Not Dating, Nor Will We Be Dating!” He growled. Hewasn’t fucking up everything he had with Raven for this to go sideways. Andbesides, if she knew everything about him she’d run as far and as fast away asshe could. They all would.

“Jason, don’t live to regret never acting,” Bruce said.

“You’re just saying that because you danced around marryingSelina for thirty years,” Jason sneered.

“Yes. That’s part of it,” Bruce said. “The other reason is Idon’t want you to be like me, and I don’t want you to have regrets!”

“Regret what? Not fucking up my best relationship because Idon’t act on a possible, unconfirmed attraction to her, or acting on it andfucking it up beyond repair; because I’m King of Fuck Ups B,” Jason snapped. Hedidn’t want to fuck up Raven and his thing.

“Jason,” Bruce sighed.

“Talk to the kids, please!” He said tiredly. Someone get them to stop this, someone get thefamily to stop shoving something that wasn’t there on him. He wasn’t fucking uphis friendship with Raven when she was literally the best damn thing he had inhis life.

“Don’t do something you’ll regret.”

“Oh, I’m not regretting this, I’d rather have a friend thana lover,” he assured Bruce. He just didn’t want to lose his best friend.

~~~*~*~*~~~

He watched them from afar, he watched them carefully as heassessed his options.

The League was destroyed.

His father dead.

His revenge squandered.

His leader dead.

And it was all because of Shabh, he would enact his revenge.He would finally show who was better, and he would rebuild the League ofAssassins with it’s true purpose.

But first he’d have to draw Shabh from the shadows…

He watched the pretty little woman on Jericho’s arm as shetalked levelly to the blond. The streets were tranquil.

He’d seen the woman before, with Shabh, and he had seenShabh’s great care for the woman. He could use that to get a ghost to come outto play.

He could finally show who was better! And the world wouldknow, once he had beheaded the infamous Red Hood for them to see. They wouldall see. He was not second best, he was the best.

#bluboothalassophile #spoilers #hopes for a bastard spoilers #fanfic #one shot #jason todd #terry mcginnis #damian wayne #bruce wayne #helena wayne #matt mcginnis #raven #joseph wilson #jerirae #jayrae

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huilian · 7 years

Text

House-full of Kittens

Characters: Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne, Barbara Gordon

Summary: Damian was missing. Where in the world is he?

A/N: Hi!!! Finals took me and didn't want to give me back. Then life happens, yada yada. Hope that I can write a lot during this holidays, because when the school start again, oh boy, it's going to be hell. Fun story, this actually happens to my next door neighbor. Not the missing part, but the kittens inside the house. The house empty, and it was raining season, and well, read the fic. Not to worry, no kittens were harmed in the making of this fic.

Damian was missing. They had just returned from patrol, and Dick was looking for a peaceful day. There were no charity event, no business meeting, and no truly heavy case for Batman. It was supposed to be a relaxing day. That hope vanished when he didn't find Damian anywhere in the Tower.

Dick's first thought was that Damian had been kidnapped. God knows it happened often enough. Yet his gut told him that that was not the case. The Tower's security was too tight for regular kidnappers to come, and Damian was trained enough for the 'irregular' kidnappers. Not to mention that Damian wouldn't have come quietly, regular or irregular kidnappers.

His second thought was that Talia had come for Damian. No, that was not the case either. Talia would gloat, or at least left a note telling him that she had Damian. It was something Talia would definitely do. But there was no message, no call. This was not Talia's doing.

So that left only one thing. Damian went out of his own volition. Now, Dick only need to figure out where Damian went.

He tried to track Damian's phone at first. That reminded him of when he was Damian age. He would throw a fit whenever Bruce tagged his phone. He gave Bruce a silent apology. It was very useful in figuring out the whereabouts of unruly children. Besides, every phone had a GPS now. He didn't have to tag Damian's phone. He just had to track it's GPS.

Damn. He should have known. Damian left his phone at the penthouse. He would have to bring the big guns.

He called Barbara.

"Babs? Are you busy?"

"I'm always busy, Boy Wonder." Dick could hear computer keys clicking. "What do you need?"

"Can you track Damian?"

"Damian?" Now the clicking stopped. "Isn't he with you?"

Dick shook his head. He knew Babs could see him, even thought the Penthouse was supposed to be a camera-free zone.

A sigh came from the phone. "What trouble has he gotten into this time?"

"Well, I was hoping you could tell me." Dick knew he was teasing. He also knew that he should be frantic. His baby brother was missing for goodness sake. But Damian could handle himself. Especially when all the Rouges were inside Arkham and there was no vehicle missing from the Bunker. Damian was probably on a quest that he was too ashamed to tell Dick.

Most likely something age-appropriate.

"Of course I could tell you, FBW. But what will you give me in return?" Barbara's voice was teasing. So Damian truly was nowhere dangerous. If he was, Babs won't be teasing.

That left him time to tease back. "Am I not enough?"

"Oh, stop that. Damian's on East 13th Street, house number 25. Any idea what he could be doing there?"

"Well, I'm going to find out. Thanks, Babs!"

"No problem, Boy Wonder. See you on patrol tonight?"

"'Course, Babs. Bye! I've got a baby brother to fetch!"

Dick put down the phone and started thinking. East 13th Street. What is Damian doing there?

***

Babs were right, as always. Dick could hear Damian's voice from inside the house. It was muffled enough that he couldn't make out the words, but Damian was speaking in a soothing tone. Like he was speaking to victims. Or small children.

Meow.

Or cats. That would make Damian speak in a soothing tone.

Dick sighed. So Damian left the Tower without notice to go see a cat. Of course he would. That was Damian down to the bone. Dick was pretty sure that he would have to stop Damian from smuggling this cat to the Penthouse.

A chorus of meows was heard from behind the door. Not this cat, then. These cats.

Dick opened the door, which was clearly broken into, and stepped into the house.

The house was abandoned. The floor was dirty and the windows looked like it hadn't been opened in quite some time. There was barely any furniture, just a closet that seemed to be nailed to the floor. In the middle of it was Damian, with a kitten on his hands and five others next to him.

Dick immediately wished he had a camera. The sight of Damian gently holding a kitten with the rest of the kittens snuggling up to him was something he wanted to cherish forever. And show to everyone who think that Damian is a mindless killer.

"Grayson," Damian said, completely unbothered but the fact that he was sitting in a filthy floor surrounded by kittens in a place he had obviously broken into. Oh, and let's not forget that he had just ran away.

Dick was at lost for words. He was not that bad as a child, was he?

"Damian," he began. he didn't know what to say, so the only thing that came was, "Are those kittens?"

"Tt. They are clearly kittens, Grayson. Is something wrong with your vision?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Dick let exasperation color his words. Now that he was pissed, he found that words came easily. "Hi, Damian. Are those kittens in a place you broke in into, when you left the Tower without notifying anyone where you're going?"

Damian's face turned sheepish. He cradled the kitten in his arms and turned towards Dick. "You were tired. I didn't wish to disturb you."

Dick pinched the bridge of his nose. Damian was a kind and thoughtful child, really. He just didn't know how to express those kindness and thoughtfulness in the right way. Dick sighed. "When you left without notice, did it occur to you that it would disturb me more than you simply telling me where you want to go? This time you were only in an abandoned building playing with kittens. What if next time it was a kidnapping?"

Damian lowered his gaze to the floor. "I'm sorry, Grayson. It didn't occur to me that this would be a distress to you."

Dick sighed again. This kid is going to be the death of him. "It's all right. Don't do it again, okay?"

Damian nodded.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Dick found himself asking.

Damian gestured to the kittens.

"Yeah, I know you're here for the kittens. Why are you here, specifically here, with the kittens?"

Damian shrugged. "I heard them when we were passing through on patrol. They were meowing incessantly. I gathered that they must be in some kind of distress. But we were chasing that robber, so I thought to come here after patrol."

Wait, patrol? Oh yeah, they did went through this area on patrol. Dick didn't hear anything then. Damian must always be listening for sounds of animal in distress for him to be able to hear this. Well, and the bragged genetics excellence.

"I was right. It appears that the mother gave birth here, and then was locked out of the place when she went out again. All the windows were closed and the door was locked. She didn't return here. The kittens were half-starved when I came."

Now Dick register the box full of supplies. Milk, kitten food, and blankets were just what was at the top of it. "Have you fed them?" Dick asked.

"Of course I've fed them. What do you think I am, an imbecile?"

"Okay, okay," Dick placated the boy. "Just checking." They fall into a companionable silence, each one content with simply savoring the moment.

After a while, Dick said, "You do know that the kittens will need a home, right? We can't keep them."

"Tt. Of course. You have made that quite clear."

They fall into silence again. This time, it was not so companionable. Dick could tell that something was bothering Damian, and it wasn't that he couldn't keep the kittens. It was deeper than that.

"We can give them to the shelter, or to Selina. The will be well cared for. But that's not what's bothering you, is it, Damian?"

"Who says I'm bothered?" Damian bit back.

"C'mon. You know I know you better than that. Do you want to talk about it?"

Damian shifted. He put down the kitten on his arms down to the floor, then started to wring his hands. Dick waited patiently. Damian couldn't be rushed. Not for something like this.

"The mother left," Damian said suddenly. "The kittens needed here, but she simply left."

Dick understood immediately. "Oh, Damian."

"I don't want your pity, Grayson," Damian snapped.

Dick sighed. Of course Damian didn't want his pity. Even though it was not pity. "All right. What do you want, then?"

"To get this kittens a home."

Right. Misdirection. Classic. Dick would humor him, though.

"We could do that. The shelter, or Selina?"

"Kyle would do."

"Okay, then. Let's go."

They worked together in preparing the kittens to give to Selina. Dick moved all the supplies out of the box, while Damian wrapped each kitten in a blanket. Then, they put all the kittens in the box. Damian lifted the box and they got on Dick's car.

"You know that there are still people who cares about you, right?" Dick asked on the drive to Selina's current apartment.

Damian was silent for a moment. He looked towards Dick, then back down towards the box full of kittens on his hands. "Yes, I do know that," he finally said. "You've made that quite clear."

#dick grayson #damian wayne #barbara gordon #dc #fic #lian writes

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