#great work us

[deducingcircumference]

your eyes at night

Collaboration with @artycreaty/@fanarain, for the prompt "Ill-Advised Stargazing." Thank you Aina for the wonderful co-writing experience!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Mou, Shinichi, why did you drag me out here in the middle of the night? It’s cloudy and we can’t even see anything.”

She could feel the rough shingles through her shorts as she sat, having followed Shinichi’s lead up a ladder that was surely just looking for the right misplaced breath to break it. Around them, the forest was quiet, with the occasional small rustling that made her shiver. There was no moon. 

“You’ll see,” said Shinichi, settling down beside her. He sounded unbearably smug. “Sake?” He produced a shadowy shape from somewhere in the form of a jug.

“Sake?” Ran looked dubiously at him. “Is that all you brought? Just sake?”

“Of course not,” he chuckled, before gesturing at a basket to his side which she hadn’t seen previously. He reached over with his arm and pulled up a small and thin blanket that was draped onto the top, revealing sandwiches and fruits. “That’s just an appetizer.”

She stared at the basket and then at Shinichi, who was staring back at her, a hand still holding and gesturing at the sake. She just sighed and shook her head in resignation. 

“Sure, why not.”

Feeling reckless, she took the jar and tipped some into her mouth before handing it back to him. She could just make out a pout on his face as he took it from her. 

“Had a bet with myself that you wouldn’t drink,” he said ruefully. “Guess I shoulda known better.” He turned away, tilted his head back, and drank as well.

“Not too much,” Ran admonished. She’d seen her dad stumbling around intoxicated, and had no wish to discover the experience on a slanted rooftop ten meters up. “You still haven’t told me why we’re here.”

Shinichi huffed a laugh, which wasn’t an answer. She heard him rummaging around the picnic basket, and a packet appeared in front of her. “Let’s get comfortable. Egg sandwich?”

She grumbled at the lack of the answer before taking the sandwich off of his hand. “Thank you,” she said as she unwrapped it and then put it in her mouth. She felt Shinichi staring at her as she bit a part of the sandwich, chewing for a bit before swallowing. She blinked down at her hand.

“This is good, really good,” she noted before looking up at him. “Did you make this?”

He grinned, a little smugly. “Of course I did. Impressed?”

She blinked again before giving a grin in return, tilting her head as she did so. “Yes, actually. So impressed that I’m almost proud.”

She was also impressed by herself for wiping that smug grin off of his face. Even in the darkness, she could see him blushing.

His face still slightly shadowed with embarrassment, he reached around and took something else out of the basket. A few seconds later, she heard the crunch of an apple. 

They ate in silence for a bit, till Shinichi wordlessly handed her the sake jug again. Looking down in surprise, Ran realized she had finished her sandwich. She accepted the jug, tilted her head back and poured a more generous stream into her mouth this time. The sweetness of the alcohol lingered on her tongue. 

A breeze started up, rustling through the treetops ahead of them, and Ran shivered, even through her alcohol-induced warmth.

Shinichi must have felt it beside her, because he looked around at her, eyes luminous with concern. “Barou, I told you to bring a warm jacket.”

“I didn’t think we’d be staying outside tonight!” she retorted. “I thought we’d be going from one place to another!” 

He blinked, then deadpanned, “You knew we were still going outside, where it’s colder than the inside. Why didn’t you bring it along?”

“I thought I’d be fine,” she mumbled as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her bent legs. “It’s not that cold. I remember seeing the weather report saying that it would be a little warmer tonight.” She saw Shinichi frown in the corner of her eye, and forced a chuckle. 

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. You know I’ve handled much colder temperatures than this.” Even as she said so, she still shivered. She rubbed her hands onto her arms through the thin sleeves to stave off the cold.

He stared at her for a while, before sighing and adjusting to take his jacket off of himself before reaching over and draping his jacket onto her shoulders.

“Eh?” she blinked at the action. “Shinichi?”

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m only helping you because if you catch a cold we’ll both be in trouble.” Despite this, his touch lingered, and eventually he pulled the jacket more tightly around her before letting go. 

It was warm with his body heat, and she snuggled into it without putting her arms through. She leaned against him, warmed by sake on the inside and by Shinichi’s jacket on the outside. “Thanks.”

He cut a glance at her and grunted. The flush was back on his cheeks.

The next moment, though, his hand landed on her opposite shoulder, shaking it as excitedly as a child on a holiday. “Look! It’s happening!”

She followed his pointing finger upward and saw the clouds shifting rapidly, blown about by some high wind. As they shredded, points of light peeked through first, then the vast, pale river of Milky Way was splitting the sky, the constellations beating down thickly on them from all corners of the heavens. 

Ran gasped.

“Shinichi!” she exclaimed in awe. “The stars!”

Indeed. There were bright points of light shining down upon them, connecting with each other in Ran’s eyes, forming constellations. 

“It’s beautiful…” she breathed in awe. “Shinichi, it’s so beautiful!”

“Yeah…” he replied softly. “It really is.”

Somehow she felt that there was something hidden in the words he’d just uttered out, but she was too awed by the stars to take notice. They were bright, so bright she felt like she was being taken into their embrace. She always knew it, but she was still surprised by how vast the heavens were. She was not the only one, she knew. Shinichi was just as enamored by the stars as her.

“Hm?” she blinked. She didn’t know about constellations much, but from what she could remember from books she’s read before, then that group of stars forming a shape was… “Shinichi!”

“Yeah?”

“Look, there!” she pointed towards the night sky. “That one with the three bright stars close together that looks like an uneven triangle with the other stars that look like animal legs��  is that Sagittarius?”

He didn’t answer at first, but when she turned her head to look at him, he was looking along the line of her finger. She heard him swallow before he said roughly, “Of course it is. Don’t you know anything? You’re familiar with the story?” Without waiting for an answer, he launched into it anyway. “In Greek Mythology, there was a centaur named Chiron who was wise and generous…”

Ran knew the myth, perhaps better than Shinichi, but she leaned back against him as he talked, the sake giving her courage to rest her head on his shoulder. This close, she could feel the vibrations of his voice as he spoke, and gradually his arm wrapped around her back, too. She let his voice wash over her as she soaked in the dizzying expanse of the starry sky.

It lasted until he suddenly sneezed.

“I’m alright, I’m alright!” he said when she lifted her head in concern. Then he sneezed again.

Ran shucked the jacket off hurriedly. “My god, why didn’t you say you were cold? We could have switched off, or I could have gone back for another.”

“I’m…I’m no — ACHOO!”

Ran wrapped the jacket back around a sniffling Shinichi. “Maybe we should go back inside.”

“No, no, I’m alright, I’m alright!” he reassured her, before sneezing a fourth time.

Ran stared at him in concern, before shifting onto her knees, her hand landing onto his arm and lightly squeezed. “Shinichi, let's go inside. It’s getting colder.”

“Ran…” he sighed before looking to the side, mumbling, “I wanted to stay longer…”

“Shinichi…” Ran gave a soft smile. “I want to stay, too. The stars are beautiful. But it’s not worth risking our health. And besides,” she chuckled. “We can still see the stars out the window, can’t we?”

He pouted a bit longer but couldn’t refute Ran’s words, so he reluctantly and carefully stood up. He gave Ran a hand, to which she latched onto and stood up herself. Her vision suddenly went blurry and her foot slipped on the slanted rooftop a little.

“Whoa!” Shinichi grabbed hold of her arm to steady her. She instinctively held onto him in return. “Ran! Steady, steady!”

Once she was able to get her sense of balance back in control, she breathed out in relief.

“Thank you, Shinichi. Sorry!” she giggled and rubbed her eyes. “It’s just the sake making me a bit dizzy, is all!”

He stared at her before relaxing a bit but still tense as he let go of her. “Just be careful.”

Even as he said that, she could hear him slurring a little. She giggled again. “I could say the same for yourself!”

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled softly before carefully bending down and grabbed the picnic basket and the blanket, then handed the latter to Ran, to which she took. He then gestured at the edge of the roof. “Ladies first.”

“Why, thank you,” she curtsied a bit before carefully walking the short steps towards it. She carefully crouched down close to the ladder.

“Be careful,” he cautioned.

She nodded and began climbing down the ladder. Once she reached the stable floor, she stepped away a bit and waited for Shinichi to finish his climb.

“You good?” she asked once he’d found his footing.

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s go inside!” Ran nodded to the door and walked towards it.

Upon opening it, she went inside before stopping and stared behind her at Shinichi, who was still at the ladder, staring at nothing. “Well? C’mon inside!”

He seemed to snap out of his mind. “Uh, yeah. I’m coming.” He turned around and walked, almost stumbled, towards the door. He looked funny walking like that, and she almost giggled again.

Until Shinichi tripped upon the door frame. “Whoa!”

Ran’s martial arts instincts, blurred as they were by alcohol, kicked in, and she caught Shinichi before he hit the ground.

“Th-thanks,” he muttered once he regained his balance, not looking at her, but he didn’t let go of her, and she didn’t loosen her grip either. He was so nice and solid. The outdoors chill still clung to his clothes, reminding her of the cold, clear loveliness of the night sky. “...Ran,” he said hoarsely, and she felt his hand go snaking through her hair, his other arm returning her embrace.

“Mmm?”

“Did you — did you like tonight? I tried my best.”

“I loved it. Thank you, Shinichi.” She finally drew back to meet his eyes. They were more beautiful than all the galaxies and constellations outside, and she couldn’t help but stand up on her tiptoes and press closer to him — even closer, until their lips touched.

His lips were dry and gentle, and though the kiss was short, in that instant Ran lost herself in the soaring infinitude of the stars themselves. Shinichi’s arms were still wrapped around her, one hand tangled in her hair.

“You know,” he said in a low voice, “we have enough food and snacks to last until dawn. We’re down here anyway, and we can grab extra blankets and a better jacket for you.”

“You mean…”

“Do you want to see the sunrise?”

Anything, Ran thought. Anything to stay near him. On a rooftop, on a darkened landing, on the way to school, in her room with the door shut. Beneath the night sky, beneath a roof, beneath the clouds, beneath the sun and wind and rain.

“I wouldn’t mind,” she heard herself saying. She hit him. “But it had better be good, or else!”

He chuckled. “Of course. What do you take me for?”

Instead of answering, she pecked him on the lips and leaned back a little, grinning. He stood still, blinking, before chuckling again.

“Oh, you cheeky little…” He leaned down and kissed her full on the lips. The kiss left her feeling all tingly and warm. She loved it. She wanted to stay in his embrace like this. Forever. 

But forever couldn’t last. Their lips parted for a much needed air. They stayed close, breathing. Their eyes connected for what seemed like long moments, before they laughed.

“Let’s go in before we miss the sunrise!” she chirped. 

Shinichi nodded, bent down to pick up the basket and thin blanket, and led her inside. 

And so they stayed up all night inside, chatting about everything and nothing, with a few make out sessions, staring at the beautiful night sky until the sunrise. And even then, they still stayed past dawn until both of them inevitably fell asleep.

It was the most beautiful night she’d ever had, and she knew Shinichi felt it too. 

Of course, both of them caught colds and they were chewed out for staying outside for too long. But they wouldn’t have it any other way. 

She was planning on more nighttime dates another time. 

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

the fact that shakespeare was a playwright is sometimes so funny to me. just the concept of the "greatest writer of the English language" being a random 450-year-old entertainer, a 16th cent pop cultural sensation (thanks in large part to puns & dirty jokes & verbiage & a long-running appeal to commoners). and his work was made to be watched not read, but in the classroom teachers just hand us his scripts and say "that's literature"

just...imagine it's 2450 A.D. and English Lit students are regularly going into 100k debt writing postdoc theses on The Simpsons screenplays. the original animation hasn't even been preserved, it's literally just scripts and the occasional SDH subtitles.txt. they've been republished more times than the Bible

[blueskittlesart]

Dear Big Brother

kind of a sequel to this comic

[damian-lil-babybat]

They're judging their sibling's life decisions, and they are not impressed.

(And to think Jason and Dami have pit-madness in their system)

[nibbelraz]

OG Shang Qinghua loves his brother even if he says nonsense most of the time

[t00thpasteface]

still very homesick for a lot of little things, like how my brother will just walk into me like i'm a skyrim npc whenever he needs something i'm standing in front of bc he has 50+ pounds on me and knows he can just tip my skinny ass over like a 5'7" telephone pole

[crescentfool]

reunion 🌸

[srapsodia]

Maaaaan, that was close...

[divineandmajesticinone]

"I can't go back and fix it..."

[bet-on-me-13]

Bruce Wayne was never Batman.

So! The night that Bruce Wayne's parents got shot, he developed an Unbreakable Resolve. He needed to get rid of the Crime that had taken his Parents away from him, no matter what.

But that night, he also developed a deep-seated fear of Death. He was face to face with his own Demise and instead of dying himself he saw his Parents die instead. He was Terrified of ending up like them.

But he still needed to stop Crime. He couldn't just let criminals go unpunished, and while he was still using his wealth to try and prevent it before it began, he knew there needed to be something to stop crime After it had been committed. And the Cops were useless on that Front.

He eventually found a solution while looking through his Parents Family Heirlooms.

Ancient Books dating back to the founding of Gotham and even before then, telling of a Creature from another world who his Ancestors had helped in the Past. A Being of Fear and Shadow, who owed a debt to the Wayne Family. He needed that Being. A Monster of Shadows and Fear was exactly the answer to scaring criminals away from committing crimes and punishing those who did.

But he needed to find the Being from another world first.

So he left home, traveling across the Globe training with the best Magicians and Demonologists in the world in search of the Monster who owed his Family a Debt. His travels took him far, from the streets of LA where he met a man named Zatara, to the Snowy Mountains of Nanda Parbat where he learned of the Lazarus Pits and the Demon's that came out of them.

While studying the Lazarus Pits, he was trained by the organization who guarded them. They despised Weakness, and while their leader was in awe of his Intelect he was less impressed by his body's conditioning. If he was to study the Lazarus Pits, he would first have to earn the Right in Combat.

He eventually managed to pass their Tests and eventually left them, having handed over a Copy of his research as the price for being allowed to Study the Pits.

Years later, he finally returned to Gotham, fully equipped to Summon the Being that owed him a Debt.

Bruce drew up the Summoning Circle as perfectly as he possibly could, he had one shot at it.

A drop of his blood and a splash of Lazarus Water later, and the Circle began to glow an ominous Green. Slowing, a shifting shadow began to emerge from the Circle, at first only a mass of writhing darkness before their form Solidified.

The Books he had found on the Spirit said that it would take the form of the Summoners Greatest Fear, which just so happened to be Bats for Bruce. The Form that the Spirit chose reflected that, with large Dark Wings falling over their form as if they were a Cape, and horns looking like the Ears of a Bat. From the Darkness, two glowing eyes appeared.

"Spirit, hear me. My name if Bruce Wayne, and I am calling in the Debt owed to my Family centuries ago. My City is plagued with crime and malice, rotting from its Core. My efforts to prevent Crime from the side of the Light have been in vain, Crime persists despite my efforts. In order for my vision to be fulfilled, the Criminals of this City must have their hearts pierced by Fear. Fear of Retribution. Fear of Consequences. Fear of Vengeance."

Thoughout bis Speech, the Shadowed Figure stayed silent.

"That is why I have called you here. I want you to stalk these streets, punish the criminals of this City and strike fear into their hearts from the shadows, so that they know to stay in the light. I don't want you to Kill them, never kill them. Let them live with that fear in their Hearts until their final days."

After he finished his speech, the Figure finally spoke.

"Your Quest is an Honorable one. You seek the betterment of your people's, and are unafraid to resort to drastic measures to achieve that goal. It reminds me of my Liege's resolve." It Spoke, it's voice low and rumbling. "Very Well. From this day forth, I shall protect your City from the Darkness in its own Heart. I shall be your Dark Knight."

...

Had this idea out of nowhere and needed to write it down. In this AU, Bruce still wants to protect his City from crime, but is understandably traumatized from seeing the Deaths of his Parents. He has a deep-seated fear of Dying, so he chooses to forgo fighting crime himself.

Instead, he finds out about a Spirit that his Ancestors helped long ago, and decides that the most logical next step out be to Summon a Demon to protect his City. Instead of training his Body for a decade to become Batman, he trains his Mind and Studies as much about Magic and Demon's as Possible.

He still knows how to fight because he trained with the League. He approached them with an offer to study the Lazarus Pits and give them his findings, and they accepted. But Ra's didn't want a weakling on his Base so he also required Bruce to train his body. He saw his potential for combat, and was so disappointed that Bruce had chosen a different path. He could have been Great!

Bruce still has a thing with Talia that produces Damian, he is still a point of interest from Ra's since he is insanely smart and has huge potential, and he knows how to fight pretty well. Albeit not as well as in Canon.

Bruce becomes the Benefactor/Guy in the Chair for Fright Knight (who is the one he summoned if you couldn't tell), who looks like a "Bat Man" because of Bruce's fear of Bats. Fright Knight agreed to this because 1.) He had a debt to pay, 2.) Bruce reminded him of Danny, and 3.) He respected Bruce's ballsyness to Summon a demon and command it to protect people.

Bruce still adopts his Kids, but there are some changes.

Dick is adamant about fighting Crime, and eventually Bruce is forced to let him go on patrol with Fright Knight, who has started going by Batman. Thankfully Frighty managed to give him some blessings so he had minor powers and would be safer.

Jason is mostly the same, and he is so excited that Robin actually IS Magical. When he dies, Fright Knight, who had gotten attached to their Family, goes into the Zone to search for him. He is unsuccessful unfortunately.

Tim is kind of funny. He figured out that Dick was Robin, and Jason was the 2nd Robi , but assumed that Bruce was Batman. When he approached Bruce about becoming Robin so he would stop going down his violent Cycle, Bruce Redirected him to talk to Fright Knight, who was not taking his failure to find Jason well.

Damien grew up knowing that his Father was a Genius, and the Master of the Batman, which gave him a bit of an Ego. At first he thought of Fright Knight as a Servant, and tried to command him like he did with Alfred. Frighty corrected him quickly enough.

Any more ideas for this AU? I have so many, but I think I need to stop for now.

[krazieka2]

Here's a big old Fire Emblem Search & Find I did for the FE3H Masquerade Zine! Find the Golden Deer, but see if you can't find the rest of the students as well! For the ultimate challenge, see if you can't name every character! (Disclaimer two characters are NPCs with no names)

[notbecauseofvictories]

More than anything in this world, I hate the fact that if you leave your apartment and go do things, it makes you a happier more interesting person. I know I make this exact text post every two or three months, I have done for literal years, and yet every. single. time. it surprises and frustrates delights frustrates delights makes me feel some sort of way.

[formulanni]

Oscar Piastri as The Fool (redraw):

The Fool represents new beginnings, having faith in the future, being inexperienced, not knowing what to expect, having beginner's luck, improvisation and believing in the universe.

Tag list: @st-leclerc @rubywingsracing @saviour-of-lord @three-days-time @the-wall-is-my-goal @albonoooo @ch3rubd0lls

[consciouschunkofmoss]

Hello, I hope you and your family are well. Can you please help me recycle the post on my account? 🌺 And help rescue my family from the war in Gaza? 🙏 Thank you.

https://gofund.me/bc721399

Hello ! The goal of Abdelrahman is €20.000

There have been 10 donations at the time I'm writing this post, with a raised amount of €163

Here's the original post.

Read his story with great care.

[Edit] Here's their gofund.me

Please, please, share this around, donate, and make sure to keep track of such posts so you know when to be of help, even if you have donated already.

@heritageposts @fairuzfan and for those who can't donate, please do comment on what other blogs could be tagged so this reaches more people‼️

[pokimoko]

It's Ace Week again and that means it's time for even more silly little artworks of silly little critters. (Here are their friends from 2021 and 2022) ✨Stay amazing, aces✨

[freckleslikestars]

MSR & Hand Holding

THE X FILES (1993-2018)