#he just wanted a cleanse

[jarofstyles]

What do you mean our man is BALD?

[fairsweetlonging]

truth serum / system reveal au where shen qingqiu gets hit with an uncloaking spell that reveals the system in the reflection of his eyes every time it pops up.

during one of his missions, in the treasure hoard of some dragon-like creature, he finds a golden, oval shaped hand mirror, its gaudy style more victorian based than anything (airplane you hack!), that doesn't seem to do anything when he looks into it. but when he does, it reveals the system's screen in his eyes.

he doesn't notice this, of course, because he can't see it, and the system, surprisingly, stays quiet.

the peak lords think he's cursed.

maybe mu qingfang is the first to notice, during the mandatory post mission check-up, when shen qingqiu is scrolling through his most recently accumulated points and mu qingfang can see the strange vividly-blue lines reflected in his pupils. it's gone when shen qingqiu blinks, like it was nothing but a trick of the light.

it comes out when yue qingyuan is visiting and, just as he's done laying out the plans for a new mission, shen qingqiu's eyes glaze over and a bright blue box takes over the whole of his iris. shen qingqiu goes quiet; the thing in his eyes moves, shifts, pulses for a second, like static worms crawling all over his pupils. then he blinks, and it's gone, and shen qingqiu accepts the mission that yue qingyuan was almost sure he would decline.

maybe there is an intervention, when the peak lords corner shen qingqiu at qian cao peak and try to figure out what's wrong, subjecting him to all kinds of treatments and curse-finding spells that turn up empty, they can't find anything.

of course, the silencing threat is still very much up and running. at first shen qingqiu was kind of confused by the whole ordeal, but when the peak lords start describing a "strange blue box", he realizes, with sickening suddenty, that they're describing the system. and he can't say anything.

this only makes everything worse, because their fellow peak lord now keeps evading every question and acts like he doesn't understand. liu qingge points right at his face and asks, "that blue box, what is it?" and shen qingqiu laughs nervously and starts talking about how bright the weather is and surely it's the sky and nothing to worry about!

even worse, during the intervention the system thought it was a good idea to start talking to him, so now even the peak lords who hadn't seen it and who might have been persuaded by light tricks and reflections, get a first row view that no, that definitely isn't a trick of the light.

they try to do the whole thing of "are you in danger, blink twice" but shen qingqiu can't even do that because it's still a direct admittance!

maybe eventually he starts saying vague confirmations that don't actually confirm anything, like "this master hears what you're saying", or maybe he goes with a classic "this master can neither confirm nor deny that." but the system starts warning him for that too and eventually he stops saying anything, which worries the others more.

luckily mu qingfang catches on that every time they ask a direct question about the box or shen qingqiu says anything vaguely confirming, it appears. it doesn't appear when they ask about curses or demons, so it must not see that as a threat.

for a little extra angst: maybe the peak lords keep pressuring him for answers, and at some point shen qingqiu gets fed up and snaps out something like, "why don't you understand that i'm not allowed to answer that!" the system counts this as a direct admittance, threatening it's existence. so it punishes. shen qingqiu has a qi deviation so bad it lasts two weeks and takes two people every day to cleanse his meridians. the system doesn't appear in that time. it doesn't appear for a long while after that, either. the peak lords stop asking, mainly because shen qingqiu will instantly leave the room if they do. they don't stop searching for a cure, though.

shang qinghua returns from a business trip and catches on the second someone mentions a blue box and forced silencing.

[pencilscratchins]

to everyone asking when i’m gonna post art again… hey guys i recently acquired six incredibly large clown paintings so i’m sort of booked at the moment

[wyvernity]

been thinking about the sinnohtrio lately......plus misc other stuff

also, casual ko-fi drop!! get something in this sketchy style starting at $10 woop woop

[leafyeyes417]

Danny was Not Happy™️. Vlad had actually managed to nearly kill his Dad. His Dad was on constant watch in the ICU, Jazz in a medical induced coma while needing to recover from minor surgery due to internal bleeding, and his Mom had minor injuries and a concussion.

Now Danny had put up with a lot from Vlad, but he had already been stressed out due to Finals, and honestly he doubts that even if he had been perfectly stress free this wouldn’t have crossed his bottom line.

Usually he didn’t keep any secrets from his best friends, with Jazz being a close second (third?), but one thing he did keep was his plans if Vlad ever did manage to reach this point. He honestly wasn’t sure exactly why he didn’t want to tell them, but it seemed he would find out after he started the plan.

Luckily, Tucker was a technopath, and had unknowingly helped with his plan by finding out that Bruce Wayne was Batman, along with his entire family of vigilantes. And while Danny didn’t generally have much time, Clockwork had actually helped him with some time shenanigans where he was able to scout Gotham and the Bats ahead of time.

Now he just needed to grab some of the things he had created in advance with his barely existing free time, send a text to Sam and Tucker, and he was on his way to Gotham. Hopefully the Bats would agree with his plan if he offered to fix some of the issues he had seen but had been warned by Clockwork was not the time to deal with.

[thevoidstaredback]

Adventures In Gotham

Enough Caffeine to Kill an Elephant Side Story

The first time Danny had ever been to Gotham, he swore it would be his last. He was twenty-two at the time.

In an effort to relax after finals had ended, he, Tucker, Sam, Val, Wes, and Dani had been playing a round of Truth or Dare after finishing a few movies. Sam had dared Danny to wander around Gotham without attracting attention to himself. The catch was that he wasn't allowed to use his powers except to fly there and back. His time limit was Sunday night.

They'd all been planning to stay the night at Sam's anyway, so no one would even notice he was gone. Though, the dare had seemed easy at the time, Danny should've realized his luck was not that good.

Regardless, he flew to the outskirts of Gotham City, dropped his transformation, and entered.

The first thing he noticed was that there was some kind of bubble around Gotham preventing the Shades and overall feel of death from leaving. It was overwhelming at first, but he got used to it pretty quickly. The next thing he noticed was that he had walked into somebody's haunt.

Shit.

He made himself presentable and spoke to the night, "I apologise for trespassing," His voice echoed through the open area as though he was shouting in an empty room. Ghost Speak tended to do that. "I mean no hostile intentions. I simply wish to play a game with your protectors." With any luck, whoever this was would be playful or friendly, at the very least. He didn't hold his breath, though.

A lie. He was holding his breath, but that's only because he was nervous!

The night air stilled as though considering his words. Then, a breeze from behind pushed him further into the city. Flapping wings of bats and owls seemed to hide the whispers of "You may come in." and "Be careful." and "You will lose." and "Good luck.".

A vote of confidence from the City Spirit. "Thank you." He was going to be as quick as he could, but he couldn't draw attention to himself. Easier said than done. Batman seemed to know whenever anyone ever stepped foot into his city, especially if they've never been there before. So, he had to play hide and seek with Batman and Robin.

Again, easier said than done.

Danny knows very little about about Gotham and her heroes and villains. What he does know is that Robin is fairly knew to the scene, but also very serious in what he does. He's still a child, though, and he likes to play around a bit. Batman, on the other hand, has already become something of a cryptid, despite only showing himself a year or so ago. Either way, the two balance each other nicely and work well as a team.

Batman and Robin obviously know the entire city inside out, so Danny has to somehow keep an eye on where they are at all times while not drawing attention to himself. Which would be easy, except for the fact that Danny can only sense where non-living beings are. Batman and Robin are very much alive. He's pretty sure. Unless either of them have a shit ton of Shades attached to them, which is unlikely but not impossible, then he'll have to rely on finding them first and keeping them within his sight as he tours around their city.

Why the hell did he agree to this? He so deserves a reward if he succeeds.

'When', not 'if'. 'If' is pessimistic and implies that Batman might just drop him off a building and watch him fall. 'When' at least lets him continue with the illusion that he may get out of this no deader than when he arrived in Gotham.

All he had to do was basically tour the city, then he'll be done. It went well for the first hour, but then he spotted the shadows moving around him. It wouldn't normally be a problem, but one of those shadows was made out of bright colours. Seeing as his Ghost Sense didn't go off, Danny figured the he'd just run straight into Batman and Robin.

Shit. Fuck. Okay, play it cool, Danny.

He ran. He ran as fast as he could without using his powers. When he was sure he'd lost the two vigilanties, he allowed himself to stop in an alley somewhere in the Narrows. (The map he looked at was coming in very handy all of a sudden)

"Could be worse," he said to himself, backing into a corner.

The sound of shattering glass and the scurrying of mice and rats gave the impression of laughter and taunting. Which, rude, but fair.

"Your Knights, my lady," he spoke into the darkness, "are terrifying."

"Who you talking to?"

Danny did not jump. He didn't! Liar.

The kid, about twelve years old, was in bright green, red, and yellow. His hair windswept and he didn't seem even the slightest bit out of breath, let alone tired. Shouldn't he be in bed? Did he have a bedtime? He should have a bedtime, in Danny's expert opinion.

"Did you know that humans are endurance hunters?" Robin had been smiling since he dropped down in front of Danny. And if that wasn't a scary ass line to hear from a twelve year old up way past his bedtime-

No, he's not intimidated. "It's, um, a good thing I'm not completely human then, huh?" Stupid, stupid, stupid! Shut up, Danny! Stop talking! Right now!

This made Robin frown and the shadows started to move again, Batman taking his place just behind the boy. "What do you mean?"

Damn, he's scary! Danny's a sucker for a deep voice with a growl, damn.

"I, um," Intelligent response, Danny. King of the Realm Between Realms of Infinity. Keeper of Balance, Timeless Protector of the Dead and Living, and he can't even form a proper sentence.

Batman and Robin's stares were uncomfortably similar, even as Robin tilted his head ever so slightly to the right.

For all his wisdom, Danny couldn't see how he could manage to get out of this without using his powers. So, "Gottagobye!" he let intangibility and invisibility wash over him and he slipped through the wall behind him. From there, he let the rings of light cover him and he flew away.

He'll take the L. That was scary as hell!

The night wind brushed against him, the sound of breaking bones and cackling telling him to come by to play again some time. Had Gotham's City Spirit lead her Knight and his child to Danny? Probably. She seemed like the type. At least she seems to like him? Silver linings.

"I'm never going there again," he muttered halfway to Illinois.

Storyboard

Tag List:

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[saetoru]

al-haitham’s the kind of guy who tilts his head slightly for a kiss before you even lean in to give him one. he just knows it’s coming. expects it. trusts it’ll happen.

he’s yawning when he sits at the table for breakfast, hair slightly disheveled from sleep. he sits down and when you place the mug of coffee in front of him, his head angles a little for that kiss you place on his cheek.

he’s drowned in endless paperwork at the akademiya when you stop by to visit, chuckling when he gives you that look of despair at the all the work he has to do. you don’t even manage to walk up to him fully before he’s leaning in and waiting for the kiss to the top of his head.

he’s shirtless in the bathroom, brushing his teeth at night when you walk in to brush yours too, bumping hips with his as you giggle. you don’t even have to turn before he’s tilting his head so he’s exposed and ready for that gentle peck you leave at his jaw.

“have you ever noticed how demanding you are for these,” you chuckle one day, pressing a kiss to his cheek to prove your point.

he grunts, leaning in and burying his head into your neck as you greet him at the door after a long day. “what makes you say that,” he mumbles.

“you’re ready for one before i’ve even come close,” you grin, “what if one day i don’t kiss you?”

“you’d stop kissing me?” he asks, squeezing your hips as he nuzzles into your neck. something tells you he already knows your answer.

and he’s warm. he’s close. he’s here and he’s everything all at once. he’s all you need and everything you’ve ever wanted. he’s the messy hair of your mornings and the pouty lips of your afternoons and that shirtless back of every night. he meets you halfway—maybe even takes the first step so you don’t have to.

he leans in for that kiss before you do. because he needs you, wants you, loves you—and he never lets you forget it. so you turn your head, press your lips against the side of his head and run your fingers through his hair as he sighs in content.

“no,” you hum, falling in love all over again, “no i’d never stop kissing you.”

[doubleaabat]

Filled to the brim with the color of conviction.

[theboykingsmichaelsword]

no thoughts head empty just s4!sam fresh from a session with ruby and still keeping secrets from dean watching his older brother snoring quietly in the dark and thinking how gordon was right, he should've killed himself a long time ago before he could become this thing that confides in demons and lies to his brother but more damningly can't stop wishing it was him sucking salvation from dean's blood like communion that night in the factory instead of vamp!gordon

[sandwichmustbetasty]

half of the season 1 behind and these are my feelings:

making galadriel so un-galadriel - horrible, she is the daughter of high king finarfin and would never behave like a petulant child going on her merry way to seek sauron. she would also not wear feanorian star for fuck's sake

numenor - terribly rushed, don't like it's downfall being sped up like 1500 years, give the Men some credit

the whole people living in mordor story - eh, not great, the men there are kind of annoying, but rooting for arondir

whole weird thing with elvish politics honestly and elrond being somehow treated as lesser because of his heritage (his heritage is literally the most prominent heroes and kings of middle earth. and also a maia. his dad literally ended the war so.)

where the hell is celeborn and celebrian - i so wanted to see the blooming romance between celebrian and elrond, i would give everything to see them together

now for the things i DO enjoy

elrond's baby face - he's my pookie i love him (also writes speeches for gil, very in character, love that for him) just a baby, must protecc

elrond & durin's friendship - yes. just the right amount of sass (and elrond forgetting that dwarves are mortal and not visiting for 20 years might be in bad taste), they are great together, please more

durin & disa - YES, shame they didn't give the dwarf women beards, but still, disa is amazing, they relationship is so precious to me

gil-galad - finally an elf with long hair, very noldor-looking, very nice, very nice (his golden robes are fucking obnoxious but oh well, he's a king, also real fandom-made Finrod would 10000% approve of that choice and would suggest adding some thousand shimmering jewels), he looks so done with everyone's shit and i love that about him (he's a russingon child you can pry this headcanon from my cold dead hands and you will still not succeed)

tyelpe - jesus where do i even start. he is fucking old but seeing his soft face just brings me so much joy. the softest, brightest boy, just wanting to make fancy jewellery, absolutely no harm will ever come to him. i adore him with every fibre of my being. he is so eager with his forge project, so eager to meet the dwarves, just so eager to learn; feanor would be so proud

also adar - it brings new, uncomfortable perspective of something most of us knew before, that the orcs and elves are not so far removed, and whether or not orcs deserve anything other than being stabbed. i always struggled with the bit in lotr where we see that they actually do not all want to fight and are very much slaves. it's uncomfortable to come to the conclusion that the world is not white and black and maybe orcs don't deserve only to be wiped out when their corruption is not of their doing. a nice touch i'd say.

[crayonverse]

cw abuse implications

been awhile since drawing anything canon adjacent lmao anyway heres ein and his manipulative father figure who hates him

wanted 2 go with some holy imagery bc of that line ein has in s6 where he says the only person worthy of respect is Michael n yeah. he has some issues

[jonsnowunemploymentera]

Everyone arguing about Stannis, JonCon, Jaime, god forbid Jorah being the 1000th commander of the NW….when it will be Jon again 🌚

[thatswhatsushesaid]

Was Nie Mingjue qi deviating when he insulted JGY's mom, pushed him down the stairs, and tried to cut off his head? Bc those do not seem like the actions of a reasonable and just man in his right mind, but I've seen some people defending that bit recently and I wanted to check (I don't own the book, otherwise I would have looked myself lol)

- yunmeng-jiang

i'm really glad i haven't seen the posts defending nmj's conduct on the staircase lol. man. okay:

nmj is not qi deviating during that scene in the novel, no. jgy doesn't begin playing turmoil for nie mingjue until after the confrontation on the staircase (and i am not interested in relitigating this discourse again, anyone else who may see this and feel inclined to argue with me). so while i definitely feel that nmj's continued cultivation with baxia has influenced and more deeply entrenched his hatred and distrust of jgy, he is not qi deviating in that moment. his qi deviation happens at the martial conference about two to three months later, if i recall the timeline as laid out in the empathy flashback + wangxian's conversation with lan xichen.

which makes it worse in some respects, doesn't it. 😕

[requiem-rose]

I used to literally be obsessed with storylines where good and heroic people are basically 'infected' by darkness and slowly become villainous (see Emma Swan from Once Upon a Time's Dark Swan arc). If/when Callum is overwhelmed by the darkness, I want to see him STRUGGLE with the new dark instincts plaguing him. I want to see him fight against the darkness for as long as he can, trying to hold on to whatever shreds of decency remain in his heart, but ultimately fail as the darkness slowly seduces him more and more.

Most importantly, I want to see a Callum who, despite all that darkness, is still very much capable of love. A Callum who commits dark acts but won't harm Rayla and Ezran. A Callum who simultaneously wants his brother and love by his side even as he sinks deeper into the abyss and also fears dragging them down with him.

[widowshill]

the locket, motherhood, & marriage.

139 / 139 / 136 / 136 / 191 / 191 / 191 / 142 / 134 / 143 / 143 / 144 / 144 / 139 script / 144 / 280 / 144 / 144 / 192 / 279 / 279 / 279 / 279 / 143

[unohanadaydreams]

I find it amusing Mayuri is the only captain we've seen in the shower, considering he probably wears the most clothes and it turns out he's absolutely smoking hot. Kubo is a TEASE.

I mean, he's the only captain where that's what it takes for the audience to see him that way (we can probably disregard Byakuya's bath reveal in TYBW lmao). There is no battle or place of comfort where we see Mayuri stripped of his frippery. If Kubo didn't show him in a position where he physically can't wear make up, we never would've seen his face!

It took Mayuri at an extremely private moment where he's bathing for him to drop the act because he is forced to. And as the audience we are privy to a scant moment. That never happens again. Ever. At all. In the whole of canon!!! Even when Kubo's done a human world fit for Mayuri, he is still keeping it clown.

But I agree, it's amusing. Top 5 things Mayuri would burn down the world for seeing, for sure.