#he's the greatest freak in all the land

[aliciavance4228]

Bitches be like "Oh Hades always has to deal with his stupid youngest brother Zeus who cannot keep it in his pants."

First of all, Ancient Greeks didn't wear pants.

Secondly, Hades and Zeus are actually decent with each other. Hades isn't ashamed of asking him for help whenever he considers that there's the case, whereas Zeus trusts his eldest brother enough to give one of his daughters as his wife. There's also this whole discourse claiming that Zeus got the best and Hades got the worst, but if you actually give a second thought to it the Underworld actually has some of the greatest peaks: besides the fact that you're extremely rich all the mortals eventually become your subjects. Even poets stated that in numerous works:

Ovid, Fasti 4. 443 (trans.Boyle) (Roman poetry C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :

"[Zeus speaks :] ‘My rank is no greater [than Haides]. I hold court in the sky; another rules the sea [Poseidon], and one the void [Haides].’"

Or:

Seneca, Hercules Furens 53 (trans. Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st A.D.) :

"Dis [Haides] himself, who drew a lot equal to Jove's [Zeus's]."

But if you're so desperate to give Hades a brotherly rivalry then I'm here to tell you that there's no need to erase all of Zeus' qualities (leadership skills, wisdom, long-term planning, determination, cunning etc.) and over exaggerate all of his bad actions in order to portray him as an incompetent asshole Hades always has to deal with. You could simply give Hades and Poseidon this type of dynamic instead.

Poseidon is way more impulsive, temperamental and testy than Zeus. He doesn't hesitate to show his wrath, let aside make others suffer because of it. On top of that, he's the god of the sea and earthquakes, and he's also almost as powerful as Zeus. His attributes and realm could easily represent a threat to the Underworld if he lets his anger go too far.

Take this passage from the Iliad as a relevant example:

Homer, Iliad 20. 67 ff :

"Poseidon from deep under them shuddered all the illimitable earth, the sheer heads of the mountains. And all the feet of Ida with her many waters were shaken and all her crests, and the city of Troy, the ships of the Akhaians (Achaeans). Aïdoneus [Haides], lord of the dead below, was in terror and sprang from his throne and screamed aloud, for fear that above him he who circles the land, Poseidon, might break the earth open and the houses of the dead lie open to men and immortals, ghastly and mouldering, so the very gods shudder before them; such was the crash that sounded as the gods came driving together in wrath."

Dude was freaking out in this scene. During the entire Greek Mythology he's presented as stoic and rarely frightened, but when his brother was causing a strong earthquake he was shitting himself and sucking his thumb like a baby (metaphorically). For the first and last time we see a god being vulnerable and scared by other gods in a similar way a mortal who is about to lose all of his property and belongings would be. Poseidon is pretty much capable of drowning the entire Underworld or exposing it to the Aboveworld if he wants to, so who's actually the more problematic brother? The one who can maintain his calm and control and understands better how distructive power can be, or the one whose anger was on the edge of breaking the border between the realms of the living and the dead?

What if people would stop completely changing the original personalities of the Greek Gods and create more headcanons and fanfictions based on what's actually stated (or at least what is suggested/more plausible) in the myths?

[jinxs-gf]

The Human Spider

The Team x Spider!Reader

summary: you are this universe’s one and only spider-person.

warnings/content: set before the 1st episode of young justice s1, a few marvel references, this whole thing is from the perspective of the reader who’s basically Spider-Man so the writing is a bit silly…but I like it

word count: 2.1k

a/n: this is essentially an introduction to this world, I’m really hoping I can pop a couple fics within this little universe 😭🙏🏽 if not then…I’m sorry LMAO. only time will tell. ENJOY!!!

Life was good.

I mean, how could it not be? You got to fight side by side with some of Earth's greatest heroes. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash...oh and Black Canary and—

Yeah. It was great. Not to mention how incredibly easy it was for you to defeat the bad guys you'd fought. You definitely didn't have four near death experiences because of them!

Well you did, but they were completely your fault and not at the hands of a couple of phony villains. They happened before you got used to your powers and gone through extensive training.

It seemed like a curse at first, but now you take them with stride. Your super strength foreign as you'd broke nearly everything in your apartment (that hadn't been a fun thing to explain to your Aunt and Uncle when they came home to a trashed place). Sticky hands well...getting stuck to literally everything. The amount of money you spent replacing your clothes after accidentally ripping up your whole closet only trying to get ready for school...that was also not fun explaining to your guardians.

And the webs. Oh boy. You didn't want to think about it. The hole in your wrist that shot out webs like a proper spider freaked you out the most. You nearly turned yourself in to the government after that one. It was something that took the most mental work to control, the weird hole (yuck) closing up when you didn't need it.

The one thing you did appreciate immediately was the abs. Yeah, those were nice to wake up to one morning.

Today was just another day in your life. A simple mission happening in the middle of the city. Actually it was a pretty unusual mission, it wasn't the regular Ice Family or Joker cult you were fighting...but a Rhino. Seemingly a man in a Rhino cosplay. And his henchmen? Definitely not something you see everyday, but you have seen weirder.

Speaking of his henchmen...there was a lot of them. Enough to keep each member of the team occupied. They had insanely advanced weaponry, surprisingly keeping the fight going for a while.

You hadn't realized so many of the guys were on you now, all surrounding you and trying to shoot at you with guns that weren't spitting out regular bullets.

You look to your side and see your best friend (he doesn't think so but that's what you tell everyone so deal with it sucker). Speedy, Green Arrow's sidekick, Roy Harper under the mask, and Pain in the Ass (a nickname you'd affectionately given him) to you.

You were in a compromising position, one that you could easily get yourself out of. But now you've spotted an unoccupied Roy and you wanted to have a little fun admist the chaos.

"Hey pain in my ass! A little help here!" The men were now taking shots with their fists, all failing to land their hits of course. And your best friend had completely ignored you.

"Hellooooo you know I'm talking to you!"

"I told you I wouldn't answer when you called me that. And I thought I made myself very clear." Definitely referring to the embarrassing way he took you down in front of the team after harassing him all week with the nickname a month ago.

"Well you answered right now soo...."

An arrow suddenly flew right past you, nearly grazing your cheek. A couple more followed.

"Um hello?! You nearly took me out!"

"That's my way of saying cut it out while saving your ass. And don't your spidey senses detect that kind of stuff? Danger and threats? You should've seen them coming."

"Huh. Guess you aren't as threatening as you think you are. At least not with that silly little hat on."

He simply glared at you. He was definitely going to kick your ass later. (Again).

With your guys dealt with, you turned to watch as Flash and Kid Flash emptied out a school bus on the road. Well, watched was a strong word. The job was done before you could fully process what was happening.

And suddenly that same school bus was being throw your way by the Rhino-man. Directly above your head actually.

Uh oh.

CRASH!

This was the third time that's happened to you this week!

He had good aim, you'll admit. It landed on you perfectly, but thanks to your incredible strength he seemingly didn't know about (how could he not? You're literally the Spider-Person from tv! Spider-Person...pfft what a stupid name. No one seemed to come up with something better), the biggest indicator to this being his shocked face. Oh how you loved that look. You threw it right back at him. Jokes on Rhino-man, you also had incredible aim.

"It's gonna take a lot more than a school bus to take me out!" Although you could feel the nearly broken rib and bruises you'd need to get checked out before you went home today.

You sighed happily, dusting your hands, "light work to me. Maybe try one of those city buses next time? Might be heavier and more effective-"

The words barely left your mouth before a city bus was being throw at you, "Wait I didn't actually mean it!" You caught the bus this time. And although your senses knew the danger was coming, it was still a bus that caught you off guard with its weight. Your legs and arms quivered at the force of having to hold it up, you could feel every bruise spotted on your body with the strain and it was not fun. While your body healed faster than the average human, it definitely wasn't fast enough to recover from the previous hit.

The back of the bus was fully tipped to the sky. You prayed there was no one in this thing. And sure you were strong, but there was no way you could tip it back on its wheels without potentially hurting someone.

Luckily Superman helped you with that, seeing you struggle. He easily took it off your hands (show off) and maneuvered it so it was placed safely back on the road.

"Thanks Supes!" He gave a nod and his famous smile.

It was only a couple more minutes of fighting and cars being thrown around before the whole thing was wrapped up. The adults would give their words to the police and news reporters, blah blah blah...

While they did that, you and your best friends, the teens (the cooler ones) got together like you always did after a mission.

Superman is being interviewed by the infamous Lois Lane (the talk of the teen team, there was definitely tension there).

All while Wally stands a little behind them making faces and ridiculous poses for the camera. The rest of you stood out of shot either cackling or rolling your eyes.

Wally steps back, clearly offended. "What? All he's doing is flirting with her in front of a live audience. Remember what they said last time? No one's gonna be paying attention to me."

Robin snickers, "What? The whole 'no one can take Superman' 'but you sure can'?" He repeats their words in poorly done impressions.

"That was totally an innuendo!"

"Very mature KF."

"Hey! Robin and Spider laughed with me. And I saw Speedy’s smirk, he sat there trying to pretend he didn't find it funny. Maybe you should get that stick out of your ass, Aqualad?"

Roy, completely serious, replies, "Now that's no way to talk to the adults' favorite."

You perk up, "oh, me?"

Your friends immediately explode into disagreement, apparently in disbelief you'd think such a thing.

It was a simple story, how it all came to be. You got bit by a spider (totally cool about it).

Totally didn't scream your ass off because of it and stay paranoid the rest of the day, constantly thinking there was a creepy crawler on you...no. You found out the next day that you weren't actually paranoid—if you were in the first place, which you were not! Because apparently the spider had camped out in your clothes all day and night...

You totally didn't scream your ass off again that morning at the revelation.

You did scream at the sight of abs on your body that same morning though. And that's the only reason you'll ever thank the spider, forget the cool powers.

After that you thought it would be cool to use your powers for good, inspired by your uncle. You decided to have your own cool hero costume, symbol, and name (which you still haven't gotten. You originally thought of the Human Spider. People on the streets called it dumb, claiming they would not be calling you that). You had (unfortunately) been (TEMPORARILY!) named the Spider-Person. Which was insanely stupid and you needed to come up with something quick before it stuck completely. Maybe the Human Spider wasn't so good but it wasn't as bad as your unofficial name now!

Anyways, as for the cool hero costume. You had to use what you had at the time, which was...your normal clothes. Getting a costume online seemed cheap, and dressing up as an existing character in the media and saving people seemed wrong. It would only deny your identity as a hero. So you put on whatever clothes (mostly colorful pajamas) that you had, covered the bottom half of your face with a bandanna, and called it a night. And boy did that get you a lot of ridicule, but you got the job done, right? The only thing it didn't do was protect your body from scrapes and...stab wounds. You hated little knives.

You're not the smartest in the world and it's not like you had the money someone like Bruce Wayne could pull out of their ass and make cool superhero wear.

Once you were recruited by Batman, he gave you your own hero costume—no, suit. Every suggestion you made was followed. It was perfect. The mask had to be your favorite part though. Something you didn't suggest was the some type of magic on it, something called hammerspace. Basically you could have any type of hair, or ears...probably even a pair of headphones on your head and it won't show through. It'll seemingly disappear to this hammerspace (you weren't sure how it worked exactly, but it works nonetheless so you won't question it). The magic was done by a team member who was needed very rarely named Zatara. Another man with a silly hat on his head.

You attempted to try it with Batman to see if his bat ears would disappear (which was completely encouraged by Robin by the way. No- completely his idea!) He was not happy. (You got benched for a month...no patrols, no missions...and Robin got off scott-free! How was that fair?!)

Wally starts to bring up your part of the fight, specifically the bus incident.

"Hey isn't that the third time that's happened to you this week?"

You sigh, exasperated and playing it up, "yes."

Robin butts in before you could say anything more, "Couldn't you have caught them? Y'know with your spidey senses and incredible strength?" He has the nastiest smirk on his face. His smartass totally figured you out.

"Well yeah, duh. But it's fun seeing the looks on the bad guys' faces when they realize I'm not dead and I can carry a however many pound bus! Is that so bad?"

"No but it's embarrassing for us."

"What? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Yeah, our best friend who's powers include crazy senses that gives them insane reflexes? That best friend can't catch a big, yellow bus being thrown at them? Embarrassing." The one time Roy will take the claim as your best friend is when he's insulting you? Unsurprising.

Kaldur cut in, sensing your defense a mile away, "It is pretty shameful of you."

Your jaw dropped, even Kaldur of all of people was agreeing? Oh this is insane!

You point a figure at your friends, trying to get your threat across, "Well I find that incredibly offensive and you should all take that back before I-"

"Isn't the point of your powers to detect danger before it comes? How come that's the third time this week you've been hit by a school bus? It's embarrassing, Spider." Batman's monotone voice made his words all the more insulting. Your frown deepened.

You sigh, "Yup. Real embarrassing for me. I got that."

"No, embarrassing for me. I've got a reputation to keep up."

He walks away without another word.

"I can't tell if he was trying to joke around like you guys were, but I'm still offended."

"He was being dead serious. And for the record, so were we."

I wrote this before I wrote my Conner fic. I just realized I made Batman tease reader at the end of both fics…??

[celaenaeiln]

One of Dick's greatest strengths is his ability to manipulate every single person in existence.

Genuinely I think this makes him the smartest person in the room. Not only is he a brilliant detective, but the fact that he's able to outmaneuver and control virtually everyone including other geniuses and masterminds makes him the most terrifying. There's a reason why his enemies have give up using intelligence against him and simply resorting to brute force.

Now hold your horses before you bring your crowbars and let me explain.

Dick once said, "On an even playing field, I always win."

And it's true. But how do you even the field if your enemies are geniuses, detectives, or metas?

"Well, if you don't like how the table is it, turn over the table."

And that's exactly what Dick does.

Let's begin from his younger years. Dick is 19, newly out of Batman's wing and in no position to take on a skilled mercenary on by himself. But the mercenary isn't going to stop just because he says please. So.

DEATHSTROKE WAS CLEARLY NOT EXPECTING TO GET OUTPLAYED BY A 19 YEAR OLD.

"You're right Slade, he's not a fool so choose a dumber kidnapping victim next time."

Ofcourse this is the least of his abilities.

This cover is perfect because it shows how two of them are literally in a constant game of chess. And evidence of Dick's tactical expertise was never more obvious than the bombing of Bludhaven.

By all means Dick had won.

And he's right. Dick is incredibly intelligent, and he has to be given how he maneuvered the entirety of the world to save him city. Not just the heroes and villains, but everyone - the heroes, the villains, the government, the civilians, the organized crime - everyone. He ruled the freaking world at that moment.

@haroldhighballjordan actually made a post about this that explains this scene so well

But yeah Slade knew he lost so in his petty vengeance what he basically did was set the whole fucking chessboard on fire.

The perfection to which Dick had calculated and moved millions of people to force Slade into abandoning their game and leave him shrieking and seething in rage over his loss. Another reminder that this game only happened because Dick manipulated Rose away from her father, away from his control to a better life.

Spyral is one of my favorite comics because it shows just how good of a manipulator Dick Grayson is.

One of Dick's coldest traits is his ability to manipulate a situation to fit his needs.

In the beginning Dick wanted to calm the meta down and take him in but the second his opponent let out the slightest hint of weakness, look how fast he flips his words. This man is brilliant.

And his planning came to fruition as the meta wore himself out, allowing Dick to take control of the situation and the opponent with no harm to himself-a quick, two second exit. He can manipulate emotions, thoughts, and people to get what he wants like he's playing chess with a child.

But it's not just other people- he can completely change himself to become a whole new person. In the earlier chapters, Dick is learning how to shoot a gun for the agency.

Dick's a terrible shot. Not a single bullet lands in the center of the target-there's no way he's ever going to shoot well....or atleast that's what he wants you to think-

"Yeah, well, that's what spies do."

"We lie."

He's a puppet master and the final boss.

part 2

[cryptidghostgirl]

could you do Alastor and Lucifer with an Living! Adams Family! Reader?

A/N duh. this idea was so fun!! It's giving Beetlejuice in the best way

I Myself am Strange and Unusual (Alastor x Reader x Lucifer)

Pairing: Alastor x Reader

Warnings: Mention of suicide in reference to Dante's Inferno. Bones. Art made from bones.

Word Count: 1,655

Master Lists:

Master Lists 

Hazbin Hotel Master List

Y/n sat before the summoning circle as she lit the las candle. It was a Friday and she was bored, what else was she supposed to be doing besides following some probably fake spell she found in a book she'd thrifted? She took after her mother in that regard but had wound up with her fathers rather flamboyant personality.

"Now, what are those words..." she mumbled to herself, turning the odd slip of paper the spell had been written on over.

Her eyes glazed over them and she cleared her throat.

"Spirits from beyond, I call you Lucifer, who first cursed us, I call you to me. Lucifer, who commands the legions of the dead, I summon you from the last plane to the first. Lucifer, wicked, heartless beast, I bring you to your knees before me. Spirits from beyond, I call you!"

Y/n looked up from the paper in excitement, a look which quickly dimmed as absolutely nothing happened before her eyes. She turned back to the paper, squinting to read the cramped letters.

"Okay, wait. Theres another name here. Uh, spirits from beyond, I call you. Alastor, keeper of the dark defeat, I call you to me. Alastor, demonic overlord, I summon you from the last plane to the first. Alastor, both hunter and hunted, I bring you to your knees before me. Spirits from beyond, I call you."

Again, her work failed to yield any results. Y/n stayed seated for a moment, waiting. When it was clear to her that the spell had not in fact done it's job, she sighed and got to her feet.

"Well that was a waste of a half hour."

She turned on the lights before leaning forward and grabbing the nearest candle. With a short breath of air, she blew it out only, somehow, all the candles seemed to go out as she did this, even the scented one on the shelf that hadn't been involved in the ritual.

"Oh there is no way." Y/n smiled, anticipation bubbling in her chest, "There is literally no way!"

The lights began to flicker as she placed the candle she was holding on the desk. The minute it hit the table's surface, the room fell into a short spell of darkness. As the lights flickered back on, Y/n saw two men standing in the center of the circle.

Well, men was a strong word. They were both humanoid in shape but, neither really looked like people. They looked around the room in shock, taking in every detail before their eyes landed on each other.

The taller of the two demons, the one all in red and holding an old fashioned looking microphone, widened his already close to horrific smile. The smaller one, dressed in all white, narrowed his eyes.

"You." the man in white sighed, crossing his arms, "Of course I had to get summoned with you."

"There is literally no way." Y/n exclaimed, cutting off the red demon as he opened his mouth to speak.

Both men turned to Y/n, in her black dress with her wide excited eyes.

"Ah." the red demon hummed, his voice coming out like radio static as he straightened his jacket, "You must be the one who summoned us. I am Alastor, quite the pleasure to meet you. Yes, quite the pleasure."

Y/n turned her gaze to the demon in white.

"So that means you must be Lucifer. It is such an honor to meet you."

"Huh." Lucifer smiled slightly, "Now that's more like it. Wait, you're not one of those freaks, are you?"

"Freaks?" Y/n asked, her head cocked slightly to the side and her brow furrowed.

"One of those oh! You brought evil to the world! You're my idol people." Lucifer imitated animatedly.

Alastor shot him an irritated look as Y/n's eyes widened and she shook her head.

"No no no! They have it all wrong. You didn't bring evil, you gave us the greatest gift of all. You have us free will, self determination. The ability to be exactly who we are and want to be."

Lucifer turned to Alastor, crossing his arms over his chest with a self satisfied smile.

"Oh I like her. Pretty and she knows her stuff?"

Y/n blushed slightly, looking away. She clasped her hands behind her back. Alastor didn't like that.

"Yes, quite the charming girl indeed." he hummed through gritted teeth, meeting Y/n's eyes.

"And Alastor..." she put a finger to her lip in thought, "Alastor... I am really sorry, I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I don't think I have ever heard of you before."

His eye twitched and Lucifer's grin widened.

"Well, my dear, I just so happen to be one of the most powerful overlords in all the rings of Hell."

"Huh. Neat."

"So, what have you called us here to do?" Lucifer asked amiably.

"Oh, well, I hadn't really though that far. Um..." she looked around the space of her room.

There wasn't anything she really wanted. Y/n had a comfortable life, a loving family. Anyone she wanted revenge on she was more than capable of taking care of on her own. Mostly, she was just bored.

Nodding her head once, she walked up to the edge of the summoning circle and promptly sat down. Her legs crossed, she adjusted the long skirt of her dress over her knees.

"Let's just chat."

Alastor and Lucifer exchanged a confused look.

"You are going to have to ask us for something, my dear." Alastor hummed pleasantly, "Otherwise we wont be able to go home. That's how this little game works, after all."

"So, I am asking you to chat. Do you guys want any drinks or something?"

With a shrug to Alastor, Lucifer sat down on the floor with his legs crossed as well. With a reluctant sigh, Alastor followed suit.

"So, what is Hell like?" Y/n asked eagerly, "Is it dark and full of bugs? It can't really be all fire and lava pits like all the art says. I mean, Dante's version of Hell makes more sense than that. Oh my gosh, is there a suicide forest? I always loved that idea, that they turn into trees. That they get the most peaceful of the options, is it real?"

"Well, there are trees." Lucifer began carefully.

"But they are not made of people's souls. No, it's actually rather close to this world down below." Alastor finished for him.

"Really? You guys have like jobs and stuff?"

"Some of us do. I am actually currently involved in a project helping to rehabilitate sinners. 'Check out of Hell and into Heaven,' that's the whole idea of the thing."

"Like you actually believe in that." Lucifer scoffed and Alastor raised a hand to his chest in false ofence.

"You... are you questioning my motives?"

"Not cool man." Y/n shook her head, "That sounds like a pretty cool project, I didn't even know something like that was possible."

Before Alastor could reply, Lucifer cut in.

"It is my daughter's project, and we aren't actually sure its possible yet."

"You have a daughter!? Is she the antichrist?"

"We-"

"Charlie Morningstar is her name." Alastor interrupted Lucifer, "And she is quite powerful. Talented too."

Lucifer turned to Alastor, glaring at him.

"Don't start this shit again."

"It's not my fault I've been there for her more than you have."

"It's more complicated than that."

"Sure it is."

At a sudden peal of bell like laughter from Y/n, the demons stopped their bickering and turned to her. She held a hand over her mouth as she tried to calm herself.

"Are you guys always like this?"

Lucifer and Alastor exchanged another look before nodding. Y/n lowered her hand, still smiling brightly.

"Maybe I'll ask you to stick around."

"You... aren't like a lot of other humans I've met in my time." Lucifer admitted.

"Strange and unusual."

"What?" Lucifer asked.

Y/n shrugged.

"That's how most people describe me. Strange and unusual. Or wonderously strange, if you ask my dad."

"Well, there is nothing wrong with that." Alastor hummed, "Strange and unusual is the best way to be. Keeps things interesting."

"Oh, no. I know. I didn't mean it in like a sob-story way. Just like, that's how I am. I don't know."

"Not a lot of people summon us. Especially not just to chat." Lucifer stated and Y/n smiled.

"What can I say, I was bored."

"You summoned us because you were bored?" Alastor repeated, his brow furrowed.

"Yeah. My friends were all busy and I love my parents but I do not love being around them on their Friday date nights let me tell you. The dancing is cute but the sword fighting when some old flame of my mother's shows up as they do every couple months? Terribile. Nothing blocks out the clang of steel against steel."

"Sounds like you come from a rather interesting family." Lucifer noted.

"Strange and unusual. I don't come from nowhere."

"Well, aren't you a gem in this dull world." Alastor mused and Y/n looked away, her cheeks slightly flushed again.

"I don't know about that, but I certainly try. Oh! Do you guys like bones? I don't know, is that a dumb question? Was it rude? Racist? Wait. Hell-cist? No that feels wrong too."

Lucifer chuckled slightly.

"Why do you ask?"

"I have a pretty big selection. Mostly deer bones."

Alastor's ears twitched.

"Deer bones?"

"Yeah." she nodded, "We eat a lot of venison at home and ever since I was a kid, my dad let me keep the bones to do projects with and the like. I have a lovely wind chime I made using parts of a spine but, sadly, its at my parents house."

"Strange and unusual." Alastor hummed.

"Strange and unusual." Y/n nodded.

----

A/N I was lowkey not sure how to end this one, I am sorry about that. I hope you liked it!!

[mysterycitrus]

my other thought for today is that i know there's this predisposed fixation on all the bats being Freaks™ but in my mind there are only three that are certifiably freaky on the inhuman scale

cass is the obvious, borderline inhuman combatant freak. the body is a language that she and only one other person truly speaks. she can win against any human on earth, and sees herself in every killer. she makes me crazy. imagine being the world's greatest killing machine and literally taking a life for the first time and reading that pain in the body. that's crazy. 10/10

babs is the actual mega-genius freak in gotham. there's no competition. she's out-hacked brainiac. her online persona has an almost physical presence. she got a law degree in her spare time. her ability to process information is almost unparralled, even among superhumans, and her vast swath of allies just makes her more dangerous. toxic girlboss freak behaviours

dick grayson is a trigonometry and spacial awareness freak. this is probably the more controversial take but i do think that based on his feats and abilities his ability to calculate how to land and where to fall isn't comparable to anyone else. he was an acrobatic prodigy by the time he was four. he jumps off buildings and out of planes with no gear for a good time. he can fold himself up like a pretzel and crawl into the batcave through a hole in the ground. freak!

bruce is an honorary fourth freak but just because he's Like That

[superblysubpar]

modern!steve harrington x you

712 words

warnings: this is a small follow up to "We Got Love" , it's not necessary to read that fic first, but I think you'll enjoy it more if you do | We'll revisit these two again on October 31st, so don't hate me too much | alcohol mentions

a blurb for the "Trick or Treat, Freak?" event - don't forget to vote for tomorrow at the bottom of the blurb!

Yeah, so now he’s really fucked.

Your lips smack together, rubbing the ruby red over them in the mirror. They quirk up on the ends when you spot him over your shoulder.

“Hey Goose.”

His hands land on your hips, a little less precise than normal, though in their rightful place nonetheless. His thumb swipes over bare skin, just above where a pilot’s flight suit is knotted around your waist, midriff exposed under a white t-shirt you’ve cropped. His aviators are pushed up on to the top of your head.

Steve’s lips skim behind your ear, a whispered “Maverick,” slipped out of them and pressed to your sparkling skin that smells like his soap.

He’s so deeply, utterly, tremendously, fucked.

Your hum turns into a sigh that mixes with a giggle when his arms wrap around you tighter, resting over your stomach and drawing you back against him as his mouth delves lower to the collar of your shirt.

“Steve-” you scold around a yelp of surprise when he rolls his hips against your ass, the movement making you fall forward and needing to brace yourself on the bathroom sink, your drink in the other hand sloshing dangerously close to your white top.

He thinks long and hard about his next words, probably too hard for something so easy and simple. His hand engulfs your shoulder and gently pushes until you’re spinning to face him. His fingers drag down the chain of the fake dog tags and pull you closer as you blink up at him with wide bambi eyes and pursed red lips.

He’s about to do something so dumb. He knows it.

“Say my name again?” He whispers as his other hand reaches up to cup your jaw.

A thumb brushes over your cheek so tender, so delicately, like you’re about to disintegrate right from under his touch if he holds you too fiercely. Steve’s hair is wild, like he’s run his hands through it a million times in the two minutes you were apart, his eyes equally so. Lost in a billion different thoughts and clouded with liquid courage infused lust.

Your cup lifts between your chests, your finger running over the rim as you tilt your head and blink longer than you need to, fluttering your lashes as you whisper:

“Steve.”

It’s fun to watch your boyfriend melt in front of you from something so simple. Fun to let the butterflies in your stomach take the reigns and lean into the feeling for once instead of letting your brain wonder if it’s all too much too fast. Fun to let your eyes track his swallow when you kiss his thumb that brushed over your lips as you said his name.

Your cup is still crushed between your chests that heave in equal anticipation as you continue to speak softly against the pad of his thumb, “That what you wanted baby? Just came in here to hear me say your name?”

“Like when you call me baby,” Steve mumbles, staring at your nose that scrunches when you smile.

“Yeah?”

It’s not his fault, not when you look at him like that. Like he’s the greatest thing to ever walk on this earth, like you’ve got little hearts that match his in your eyes. It can’t be his fault when he knows how you feel, or well, he thinks he knows, because you said it in your sleep a few weeks ago and he’s just not sure how to tell you he feels the same way. Not his fault when you’re in matching Halloween costumes like idiots in love, touching him all night, leaving lipstick on his cheek so everyone knows he’s taken. That he’s yours.

‘Cause christ, is he yours. He’s so yours.

The words are so stuck on his tongue, weighed down by too much tequila and slightly soured by the orange he chased it with. His movements are clumsy, his heart is beating so god damn fast-

Red punch splashes against a white top.

The word shit slips from your mouth, but a different words rings in his ears as the room gets a little hazy.

Bullshit.

He’s bullshit.

Love is bullshit.

Steve Harrington’s love is bullshit, and why did he ever think this could be different?

[vampiricgf]

WATER SONG [PT. 1]

merman leon x gov't researcher reader

word count : 7k+

warnings : female reader, reader has a sort of type A personality and some mild anger issues, talk of medical experiments, he's referred to as a subject and specimen quite a lot, descriptions of predatory behavior (animal kind, not the sexual kind), slow pace, sfw, lots of yearning for touch

okay part one isn't terribly exciting im sorry ajdgakab I just wanted to establish a connection between the reader and him in the setting n such before developing any deeper connection. also like 1% research went into this so im sorry if you're knowledgeable about oceanic research this'll probably piss you off lmao. also all credit for this au idea goes to @/bunnivievve tysm for letting me write a lil interpretation of your idea! this was inspired by this post of theirs as well ‹𝟹

JUNE

Subject Zero. 

Male, combined characteristics of humanoids and aquatic species. Captured by a trawling vessel, out in deep waters usually traversed by cargo freighters but occasionally by commercial fishing vessels. A freak happenstance. When the net had been dredged up in a fantastic spray of salt water, the hoard of tuna quickly spilling into the sorting containers, the men on deck had spotted something much larger than white fin tuna thrashing in the net. 

Upon careful inspection they feared they’d pulled up a man, some poor unfortunate victim of a seafaring disaster. A capsized or otherwise destroyed vessel, a near drowning victim that had fallen overboard perhaps. 

Until they spotted the flashing of sharp teeth, and the thick, muscled tail slamming against the wet metal under their feet. 

Thankfully their transmission to the Coast Guard was intercepted, a naval craft catching the broadcast and setting course as fast as possible for the trawler. 

And now Subject Zero finds respite in your “office”. If an office can be counted as more of an observation space, nevertheless. A part of you feels bad, the less scientifically trained and inclined part that is, for keeping such a clearly intelligent creature within a tank inside a black site. The initial placement had been… difficult. It was clear the subject missed the open ocean, and you did feel sorry that it had been so unceremoniously plucked from its home and deposited in such an alien space on land. But there was nothing to be done about it. 

He was far too valuable as a research opportunity. The cold, clinical part of your mind understood that. He was a marvel of nature, flesh and blood proof that man could be intermixed with seafaring species, it was one of the single greatest events in modern marine biology. And an immense privilege for you, the scientist chosen chiefly to study the subject. 

A dream. The government all but telling you to do whatever you deemed necessary, no concern over the expense. Gone were worries of securing grant funding for more piddling projects or the endless anxiety of thinking you would be stuck as one name in an endless list of names relegated to ordinary oceanic study. Not that your peers' works weren’t valuable, but you always held the selfish desire for notoriety. Had dreamed endlessly throughout your undergraduate program of the day your name would be the one filling up library indexes and publications with impressive, weighty studies. Discoveries so undeniable you would join the ranks of the most noteworthy in the field. 

And seemingly, your wish had been granted. Subject zero would be the gravel that paved your road to success. It’s just a pity it has to be such an intelligent creature. 

You sit back, uncuring from your hunched position at the desk, rolling your shoulders and wincing as you hear your joints popping. Documentation was a never ending pain in the ass but it had to be done, if you wanted to keep the convenience of not having to answer to nor justify your expenses to an overhead department. Ordinarily that work would be relegated to a lower priority researcher, but you preferred being able to sign off on it all yourself, comforted by the fact that there were no unforeseen surprises lurking in the documents or spreadsheets or data tables. Nothing anyone would be about to point out as a discrepancy, leaving you humiliated and floundering. 

As you close your eyes you can feel it, the hair on the back of your neck slightly on edge. The feeling of being observed. 

He seemed to prefer watching you when your back was turned or if you were otherwise unaware. If you were facing the ten foot thick glass of the massive elcousure he would recede into the farthest corners of it, shying away into watery obscurity. In a way it was cute, an obvious curiosity for the beings around him but he seemed stricken by shyness, didn’t know if you were trustworthy. Which was understandable. You were the one keeping him there, at least to his limited viewpoint. The one that denied him reentry into his former home. 

That irritatiningly scentimental part of your mind whispered to you again. 

What if he thinks you’re cruel?

So what? We don’t even know to what extend he does think. 

You say that but you do care, at least a little. Thats why you sneak him extra food. 

You sigh to yourself, pushing up from the familiar desk, palms flat on its slick glass surface before rising to your full height. Out of the corner of your eye you catch the white coat you don most of the day, every day, slung carelessly over the back of another chair at a separate station. Your badge attached via a shiny, silvery little clip. Walking over you purposefully keep your eyes directed away from the elcousure, your movements slow. This is a good opportunity to see how long he’ll watch you as long as he believes you aren’t paying attention. 

The badge is solid, though lightweight as you pick it up, bringing it closer to your face. It’s hard to believe you look so excited in the small picture in the upper lefthand corner. Your name in bold typeface as last name, first name all neatly lined up next to the photo. In it’s reflection you can see him, one hand perched against the glass, that thick midnight blue tail swishing up and down in a soft, rhythmic motion as he stays still. Ever watchful. 

Its hard to see in the little reflective glimpse but subject zero does have more… handsome features. You smile to yourself, recalling one of the other researchers giggling while telling you it wasn’t weird to note that because it was true. What man on land, with two legs, had eyes that shade of blue or a jawline that impressive? None that aren’t using photoshop or filters. 

Maybe if the discovery of the subject was publicized there would be throngs of people banging on doors trying to find out where he’s being kept. It did make you huff out a laugh, the idea that a half fish man who couldn’t speak was more appealing than the majority of men on earth. 

Maybe we should open an instagram page for him. 

You shake your head to yourself, still smiling, as you set the badge down. 

The office slash observation room remained quiet save for the occasional sound of sloshing water. It was late, well past time fo anyone other than the usual armed military guard to be roaming the facility. Well past time for you to go home. 

At that moment you turn, just enough to peek over your shoulder and as soon as your eyes fix on the spot he occupied all you catch is a low flash of dark blue, retreating into the shadowy depths encased in glass. 

~

OCTOBER

Three months of observation. 

Hardly enough to form any evidence based conclusions, but enough time to get started on the right path. You had approximately nintey days of solid data on his diet, his presenting condition each day, endless notes on his observable physiology. He preferred deep water fish, clearly an omnivore as he also didn’t mind the addition of oceanic plant species mixed with the fish when it was introduced into the tank. In fact he seemed to greatly enjoy the sudden introduction of variety, although still preferred to eat his meals in a semblance of solitude. 

His distrust was only natural, you had to remind yourself. Until such time as he’s fully used to his new environment you’re unlikely to observe any great variation in his behavior. 

At least he wasn’t showing signs of aggression. That had been a legitimate concern, and still was, of course. All proper safety precautions were followed to the letter when it came to subject zero, and absolutely no one was to physically get in the tank, not until further tests could be done on his temperament and how he reacted to certain stimuli both pleasant and unplseant. 

You grimace seeing a newly sent email notification, the little computerized ding signalling that your attention was required. 

When isn’t it?

You put the sleek desktop into split screen mode, keeping the charts on the subject to the left while your email opened to occupy the right side. Amid the usual low importance emails from general staff there was a new one, at the very top. The name made your stomach twist in preparation of the message. Dr. Gregg had, for lack of a better phrase, a raging hard on for the opportunity to remove the subject from the tank and getting it into a smaller one in order to sedate and extract genetic material. It didn’t matter that he’d already been sedated and had samples drawn when he was initially transported here, no. The good doctor wanted more than that, but you couldn’t accommodate the request in good conscience. 

Or rather, you were worried about the effect it would have on him. It could set back the last nintey days of progress, or worse, inspire severe mistrust and heightened aggression towards all researchers. There was no way, even with sedation, that cutting into him wouldn’t cause pain. And a source of pain that a creature like subject zero had no way of understanding would only lead to problems. 

The two of you had been butting heads over the issue for the last week, culminating in an argument yesterday where you all but told him to get fucked. You were the lead on this, you made the decisions and he wasn’t going to usurp your authority. Your credit. 

But as your eyes scan the email you can feel yourself getting physically hot, your blood pressure threatening to rise. 

You may be the lead, the head researcher on this project, but do not believe for one moment that I will not go above your head. You are not CIA, doctor. You don’t call the final shots here, and it would do you well to remember that. Whatever your personal feelings on subject zero, you cannot stand in the way of necessary elements that better out understanding of the creature. 

With shaking fingers you close the window, not bothering to respond and not trusting yourself to either. Every fiber of your being wanted nothing more than to march down that hallway and wring his wiry old turkey neck. Who does he think he is? He’s just some physiologist, some ancient fuck. Who is he to threaten you? If his contributions were so invaluable wouldn’t he have been made lead?

You squeeze your eyes shut, hands clenching in your lap as you breathed deeply in through your mouth and out through your nose. The meditation app you’d been using had provided you with some useful tools, being that your temper had plagued you since you were small. Always the first to fly off the handle at even the idea you could be questioned, your competence or credibility casted in doubt. 

Inferiority complex, a nasty voice giggled in your head. 

It’s not that it wasn’t true, and it was a bit of an achilles heel for you. But what took priority now was holding Gregg back, keeping him away from the subject and minimizing the risk that he could fuck it all up before you even had a chance to really begin. So, once you felt that initial flashpoint of rage quelling you reopened the email application, setting your shoulders back as you began typing. 

Under no circumstances are you permitted to sedate nor perform any surgical procedures on subject zero. You have not been given any formal authorizations, so it would do you well to remember not to threaten your head researcher in the contents of easily retrievable emails. You are free to broach the topic with any superior officer on sight, and I am more than happy to entertain a line of questioning from said superior officers on why I do not believe it to be prudent at this juncture to allow for another extraction of material. Research is not a race, Doctor. 

You can’t help but smile smugly to yourself, imagining his fury at opening your reply. If he thinks just because you’re young that you’re easily pushed around he is sorely mistaken. Nothing and no one is allowed to jeopardize the most important work you may ever do. 

With that you abandon the desk, it’s dull and mind numbing work, in favor of standing in front of the tank yet again. It was nice, having a portion of it extending into this area as an offshoot of the main tank where all the feeding and the bulk of physical testing was done. He seemed to enjoy it too, which despite yourself you did place some importance on. 

It was important to ensure he was as comfortable as possible. He was still a living being, despite his status as a research subject, and you took no pleasure in the idea of him suffering in any way. It was definitely a slight drawback, you could begrudgingly admit, that you tended to get… overly attached to the species in your care. You’d done the same in both undergrad and postdoc, although it was more important than ever before to keep a tight hold on those tendencies now. 

How would you feel, if you knew that man was so hell bent on slicing you open? 

Probably afraid. 

What are you feeling now?

It would be so much easier if he were capable of speech. The bridges that had to be built between what was known and unknown had to come from the very foundations, things that required occasionally unpleasant experiences in order to build their understanding of him. But if he could just explain some of it, that would be easier. A half formed bridge is faster to finish than one from scratch. 

Uselessly you peered into the clear, clean water. Between swaying stalks of plants there was nothing to see except the seemingly endless expanse of water. Several mind boggling tonnes of it, all kept nicely contained in ten foot thick military grade glass. Bulletproof. Shatter proof. Even if subject zero were to ram it with intent, crack it even, it would still hold. 

You couldn’t help but wonder, as you remained staring through that glass, if he was lonely. Seeing so many strange, upright walkers but being unable to even touch them, even consider the act of doing it. 

As you frown at your own reflection, you feel it again. 

Duel observation.

~

It was bizarre, to him. These two legs, tall men. He knew they existed, they’d always known a different sort of being lived on the land, domineered it and then took to making attempts at dominating the sea as well. It had all become so noisy, so very nearly unbearable thanks to their hulking monstrosities of shining metal and the things they constantly kept dumping into the water.

Every day there were new threats to avoid. Long gone were the days of simply worrying about other predators lurking in the open waters or within the sediment and foliage. 

He hadn’t seen the net, as they called it, until it was too late. Had been too caught in the euphoria of finding such a gigantic school of gorgeous, meaty tuna, that his mind switched off to everything but pure instinct as he’d circled them quickly, calculatedly. His jaw had felt the ache of hunger so viscerally it was like the bones themselves were vibrating with it. 

And then they’d all begun moving. Swept up, trapped in an upward drag that he’d been powerless to fight against while overwhelmed by the wriggling, frantic fish flashing across his vision, no way to know what was forwards or backwards, up or down. 

Then the shock of air. His lungs had seized up painfully with it, the feeling of being constricted by nothing at all yet everything all at once had been horrific, beyond frightening. 

After that it was too messy, too jumbled in his mind. Harsh sounds, their sounds, were prevalent in his memory but just beyond his grasp. Far too loud without the water to act as a buffer between, softening the blows of each reverberation against his eardrums. 

But her sounds were different. Or, it was that she didn’t make many to begin with. The look of them all was mostly similar from behind the thick material they kept him in, in this unknown space. At least they offered readily available food, although not nearly what he was used to hunting for himself and his webbed fingers itched at the thought of clawing through water in pursuit of some darting piece of prey. It would feel so, so good to sink his teeth into flesh, to feel it rip and catch in chunks between his teeth, the iron rich scent of blood swirling around. The roar of adrenaline in his ears. 

It was difficult to keep his focus on much here, save for her. The best parts were when the others disappeared but she would still be in that corner, down the long corridor of water and he would be able to see her, sitting and doing wholly alien things with her hands at something large and flat, but vaguely shiny. Hers didn’t have webbing, none of them did from what he could tell. How did they ever swim competently? 

She was softer than the rest and he enjoyed watching her do her strange tasks, sometimes she would pace around holding a sheet of paper in her hands, chewing on her bottom lip. Her teeth didn’t seem all that sharp, since she never seemed worried about cutting her flesh on them. What did they eat, with useless teeth? 

Just like at the present moment, with her back turned it was easier to look at her fully. Usually he wouldn’t approach openly like this, unsure of the intentions of everyone here, but this space seemed to be reserved for her only which put him at ease. That and none of those harsh spotlights were present, if anything she seemed to prefer it half dark which was fine by him, preferable to that loud bright area behind him back through the water corridor. But she seemed tense, the set of her shoulders curled forward, almost in on herself. Something in front of her was clearly upsetting and in some odd way he felt offense on her behalf. She was kind, gave him extra food before she would disappear through the night, always seemed to be keeping a close watch over him and how the others were with him. 

He may not be able to speak, but he’s pretty sure she was the reason he wasn’t suffering in this place. And that was good enough, at present, to make him feel a sense of kinship with her. Closeness. 

As she carried on with whatever it was that kept her so occupied his mind wandered to what it would feel like to touch her. They seem to enjoy touch, most of them being very casual with the way they interacted. How did she like being touched? Or would she dislike being touched by him outright? Would she find his webbed, clawed fingers disgusting, would she flinch away?

He frowned behind the glass. Hopefully not, but there really was no way to know. They seem intent on keeping a wide distance from him, which wasn’t unwelcome. The only one he was at all curious about was her anyway, not that he would purposely antagonize anyone who ventured inside his new domain, though he certainly wouldn’t circle them like one of the friendly, if a little dumb, nurse sharks do occasionally out in open water. 

He was so caught up in that worry he nearly failed to catch her movement, but his reflexes are faster than hers. Before she could approach the glass fully he’d already retreated a safe distance away. Watching as she stared into the expanse of water, her face unreadable but the set of her eyebrows told him she felt some kind of stress, strain. 

His fingers twitched at his sides, thinking about reaching out to touch her again.

~

You smile to yourself, a soft hidden kind, at the now familiar feeling. It was like there was a strange sense of understanding between you two, although you could just be ascribing things to him he doesn’t possess. Thats always something to keep in mind, as a researcher but more often than not lately you’re coming to resent that line of thought. It was clear subject zero was intelligent. Maybe not to the degree of a human being, but he was close enough evolutionarily speaking, that he was like a cousin in the chain. An offshoot of the formerly solidly established line of human life. Theres no reason, as yet identified, that he wouldn’t be able to communicate if given the chance to learn how. 

You aren’t thinking of him as a subject anymore. That’s dangerous. 

You know it is, know that voice is right. But it doesn’t account for everything. The odd push and pull, hide and seek game you two play here in this office every single evening. Its to the point now that you feel tense, uncomfortable if you don’t sense him behind you, watching you work or pace around nonsensically. You’ve spent over an hour before reading and rereading the same observational notes and data sets because you kept grinning to yourself like a fool feeling those eyes burning holes in your back. 

He’d even made appearances in your dreams a handful of times over the last month, flashes of deep, endless blue that clung to the soft corners of your mind as you went about your morning routines, ruminating over his appearance as steam from your coffee curled around your hands, ghostly fingers clawing at the air. Tension crept up your beck, spreading out over the tops of your shoulders and trapezius muscles prompting you to stretch against the back of your office chair, rolling your joints and hearing their familiar cracking in response to hours of sustained poor posture. Lazily you grasp your phone from the desk, thumbing open the music app and scrolling a bit through your shuffle playlist before settling on something bubbly, but easily tuned into the background. 

You wonder if he enjoys music, what his preferences would be if he could swipe through your library of songs. It makes you smile to yourself thinking about it, maybe that would make for a good test of his thinking abilities, how he responds to different genres, different artists. Standing, you bend slightly to make a quick note on a half discarded sticky tab: musical testing?

And suddenly a somewhat mad thought grips you, what if you tried right now? Whats the worst that could happen, he lurks in the background while you sway around the dim office like a fool? At least the only people who could see would be the guards, not that they’d say anything either beyond thinking to themselves that every researcher here must be insane. That makes your smile grow wider, giggling to yourself a bit as you take slight steps in time with the beat, giving a little spin on your toes to face the take. 

It only somewhat shocks you to find yourself face to face with him, that he hasn’t retreated to the safety of the shadowy corners. His eyes, a remarkably similar color to the water surrounding him, track your movements with abject curiosity as you follow an imaginary path, one foot placed delicately in front of the other to carry your body with the faint sound of the music. All the while his eyes never stray from you, even when he has to move to keep you in his sights, even when you come right up to the glass and offer a little spin in front of him, giggling to yourself a little more freely now. 

And to your amazement, at your laughter, he smiles. He smiles and it makes your chest feel light, like a ten pound weight you hadn’t even been aware of was finally lifted off. Some might find his fanged appearance frightening, to you it was boyishly cute. A toothy little grin, the tips of his elongated enscisors catching against his bottom lip, and his thick, muscular tail began to move. As if, had he possessed legs like yours, they would be moving in tandem with you. 

It felt like a genuine breakthrough, making you hug your arms around yourself as you stopped moving, still laughing and feeling just a tad bit lightheaded. He genuinely smiled at you. 

He was moving with you. 

That was a major breakthrough, even if just a personal one. Increased rapport meant things would be easier going forward, for both of you. 

With a contented sigh you pressed one hand to the smooth, icy surface of the glass, your fingers stretching over the sleek glass and he does something that makes your breath freeze in your lungs. Gingerly, the way people stretch out their hands to scared animals, inch by inch his own rases to be a perfect mirror of your own. One larger, webbed, hand pressed to the glass right behind your own. It felt silly but you were too afraid to even exhale with any effort, for fear even the barest noise would ruin the moment and he would flee right back into the far corners, beyond your reach. 

But he doesn’t, doesn’t stop holding your gaze for a single second and you marvel at the way his blonde hair sways in the water, like the finest strands of silk-

“So, thats why you keep refusing to allow any progress of this “research”?”

You nearly jump out of your skin at the voice from behind you, a signature grating tone you could pick out anywhere. As your head snaps to the side, body following the movement only a second after, you see him standing in the door way with his arms crossed nearly reeking of smugness. 

Fuck. 

~

One week. 

You have one week to figure out what to do. 

After shattering your late night revelation with subject zero, who has been increasingly attached to you ever since, the resident pain in your ass physiologist had made sure to fire off emails riddled with concerns and accusations addressed to the operatives truly in charge of the site. Questions of your ability to continue in any capacity with the project, the nature of your relationship to the subject, insinuating you had some kind of perverse intention, even going so far as to insult your credibility. Not only cc-ing yourself but “mistakenly” sending those emails to every person working on site.

It had effectively turned you into a pariah with regards to your peers. Whispers of conversation that would be cut off as soon as you set foot into a room. Strange looks from your coworkers, ranging from disgust to perverse curiosity. It felt like you were continuously on fire, every minute of every day. There would be a meeting in one weeks time, and until then you were relegated to nothing but the paperwork in your office, per the tense instructions given to you.

But your panic had less to do with your professional reputation, surprisingly, and more to do with feeling very nearly physically sick when you recalled how fixated he was with the idea of getting to cut into subject zero. If you were removed completely from this project there would be no one else to act as a roadblock, to keep that from happening. 

Your eyes slide over to the observation tank, noting the worried way he’s been watching you for hours now. You wished you could haul him out of there, explain what was happening, the risk of what could happen to him. Maybe he would have some idea of how you both could get out of this. But was there any way out? Or is the only option allowing yourself to become a laughingstock, a professional embarrassment and to allow subject zero to languish in whatever horror would surely be inflicted on him? 

You can’t say if desperation is the only thing motivating you, but your mind becomes mostly blank as you leave the office. Its early enough, after you’d been practically climbing up the walls all night, so maybe the choice was fueled by sleep deprivation. Whatever the case may be, you find yourself moving as if through a dream: down the cavernous corridors, turning and twisting to follow the slate grey concrete all the way to the impossibly large main observation chamber. 

With a swipe of your ID card, forcefully and defiantly, the locks give a little beep before disengaging. Mechanically you make your way to where the suits are stored. Specially designed, one of a kind. Made of an interwoven, enmeshed material not unlike chainmail to prevent sharp teeth from being able to puncture both cloth and flesh, and featuring only the best in terms of diving design. The manufacturer had created them after winning a defense contract from the governenment and you wonder if they ever would have guessed someone would be stripping and tugging the suit on in order to come face to face with something most people would assume only existed in a fairytale. 

But here you are: yanking and adjusting the suit before prepping the oxygen tank, also designed to be compact but sacrificing the amount of time one could spend fully submerged at any depth. Either way it would work for this application, although no one had been given clearance to dive yet. 

You knew doing this would come back to bite you far worse than just those vendetta fueled emails. Diving without any clearance, using untested equipment. It was beyond insane. But the circumstances felt insane enough on their own to justify it. Subject zero was overwhelmingly likely to be just as intelligent as you were, and just as likely to feel physical and mental distress in similar ways. Trying to communicate was step one and what better way than face to face. Then you could form step two: proving beyond a reasonable doubt that he was intelligent and thus, could be advocated for medically even if he couldn’t advocate for himself. 

That was the only way to halt the now speeding train of decisions being made on his behalf and without his input. If he could even write out the most barebones statement, even that would work to prove they needed consent to continue with any of this. Tomorrow you could wake up in a whole new world, one where there is technically a second legal classification of human being, one with a tail and gills. The though made you smile despite the tense circumstances. 

What you were doing was a halfcocked, absolutely batshit attempt at a hail mary but it was worth a shot. Your reputation was already in tatters on site, how much worse could it be? If you fail in this all that happens is you’re dismissed and removed from the site, doomed to be a whispered footnote for future researchers. Did you ever hear about the lady that went crazy with one of the subjects? A cautionary tale about getting too attached to your work. 

But fuck that. If you’re not at least a little attached to your work then do you even really care at all about any of it? You would argue that the resident physiologist holds no love for the work, only a love for the idea of something else experiencing pain.

With a deep breath you sit carefully on the steel ledge that runs the length of the tanks open ceiling. Easy, you just flip backwards and hit the water, reorient yourself and try not to get eaten by one potentially pissed off subject. Yeah, a real piece of cake. With that you decide theres no more time to waste, it’s probably already flagged in the system that you accessed the main deck, they’ll be here any minute. 

Good, that means they can all see I’m not insane or inappropriate. He can comprehend things just like we can, the music wasn’t a fluke. 

In the span of a second your worldview dips, swirls, and the splash of water hits your ears at the exact same moment the shock of cold does. The water is kept at approximately the same temperature as the water he was captured in, frigid Atlantic delights. As bubbles envelop you, you manage to get yourself turned right side up, carefully circling your arms to tred water and remain mostly stationary. This would be the key moment, you have to exercise extreme caution. 

You’re another predator that has invaded the territory of a fellow predator. In the natural world, it’s a killable offense. But you keep your eyes open, sweeping the dimly lit, wide expanse of saltwater around you. No sign of him, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t here, watching you, gauging the situation. As you continue to keep your breathing even, your movements slow enough but steady enough to keep your body afloat, you catch sight of something in your peripheral. That intimately familiar midnight blue tail. He was moving behind you now, one webbed, clawed hand slicing through the water like knives as the rest of him came into your view. That sandy, dishwater blonde hair floating in fine tendrils around his face, framing piercing blue eyes that took you in critically, curiously. 

You allow him to keep circling you, doing your best to calm your nervous system that felt on high alert, panic just on the cusp of overriding your sensibilities. Allowing that would spell disaster, you would certanly be killed if you started thrashing or spinning wildly, it would scare him, you could both be injured in any kind of violent altercation. They would kill him if he killed you. 

But your worries abate as he slows to a stop in front of you, and despite your eyes staying locked together you’re conscious of the audience you have on the other side of the glass. The feeling of being watched by many people is something quite unique, it’s also unnerving. You wish you could apologize to him, you hadn’t realized before how uncomfortable literally living beneath a microscope was. 

You raise your arm, hand extended, in a painfully slow movement that makes the muscles in your forearm ache. His attention goes to the appendage now how hanging between you two, eyeing it with equal parts suspicion and what seems to be excitement. The physical equivalent of a high pitched alarm happens in your body as he moves closer to you, the air suddenly locked in your lungs as you wait. This was another critical moment. Would he grasp your hand? Rip it off? It was entirely unknown, beyond dangerous. 

But none of those things happen. The painting, god touching adam, comes to mind as he raises a clawed index finger delicately up to yours. They don’t touch but rather hover in proximity to one another before a grin works its way across his face, those sharp incisors catching against his bottom lip as his eyes flick back to your goggled face. 

You hope he can see that you’re smiling too, but you hope its not like it is with monkeys where grins are signs of aggression. But it seems that fear is unwarranted as his tail twitches erratically, the wispy bits of filigree flesh on the split end swirling through the water in a gorgeous display of deep blue and white. Like sheer fabric winding through the air. 

The ecstasy that floods your brain is a feeling like no other, a full body sensation that spreads from the tips of your fingers to your fabric covered toes. His tail moves to brush against your kicking legs, the heft of it is shocking. You can immediately imagine the sheer power of it kocking into you, it would feel like being hit by a freight train no doubt. For something that looked so elegant and otherworldly, it was still a threat. 

But you couldn’t get distracted you needed some display of his intelligence, and you needed it now. 

So you shake off the awe, do your best to refocus on his face. Carefully you draw back your hand, pointing to yourself and then at him. You repeat the gesture several times, hoping to receive a reaction that displays understanding. 

And he doesn’t keep you waiting long. 

In a flash one clawed, webbed hand encircles your wrist and halts your movement. 

It’s like time suspends, a complete and total pause as you feel a different kind of chill within the suit. It’s like you’re watching in third person, your throat seizing as your fingers intertwine hesitantly. It’s an oddly tender gesture, and then your body is tugged through the weight of the water, pushed against the solidness of his chest. Your arms came gingerly around him, and his enveloped you in turn. He was all firmness, so solidly built it shocked you. You hadn’t properly appreciated the sheer mass of him, the way his body had been crafted for underwater pursuit, hunting. But also to accommodate displays of affection, just like your own. 

And as you two embrace you can’t help but smile again. It wasn’t perfect, but it was enough to form one hell of an argument on his behalf and you would shout until your face was blue that going forward, communication would take priority. Worrying about the innerworkings of his physiology could wait until later.

[shower-phantom-ideas]

Yall don’t understand how obsessed I am with Danny messing with the Justice League. Like just pranking them mad wild. Or “haunting” them.

Maybe it starts as a mistake. Someone was getting close to him and he just vanished. Maybe he was walking around one of their cities cause he wanted to “see how a real hero does it” but tried to stay out of the way.

Hes following Superman and doesn’t realise hes been had. Superman keeps seeing this odd child on the edge of his vision. It’s only weird because of how quickly he is traveling. He should be followed like this. So he tests it out and flys off to somewhere far off, but secluded. Edge of some farm land would work. Trying to not give it away he doesn’t make a show of looking for the boy. He then spots him. His eyes slightly glowing as he stands in the edge of the woods. Clark focused on the boy and hears slight breaths but nothing else. Which he should have realised sooner was wrong.

He returned to the team to report this odd being following him. To also warn everyone else to be on look out just incase.

Weirdly enough it was the Flash who noticed him next. Even weirder was that he could never get close. Even with his speed which was alarming.

Cyborg started seeing the kid too. He tried using cameras to get a better look at him but nothing ever showed up. Always missing was the boy from the video. Sometimes the whole video would get distort.

Wonder Woman probably got the closest as she used a fight to get “thrown” in his direction. She got close enough to see worry about her. He seemed so concerned and like he was going to step in until he met her gaze. A whole new kind of fear crossed his features. Then he was gone.

Everyone of the main team (and even some not) reporting in of spotting the kid except for Batman. And he looked. He tried everything to see if he was being followed like the rest but nothing. He read their reports on their encounters and tried to emulate it but never saw the boy. Maybe it was all a big prank being pulled on him? He couldn’t rule it out. Still he kept up constant watch.

Then one night he was out and got into a fight. Distracted by looking for the kid he got messy. Or maybe the criminals got desperate but he didn’t notice the rocket launcher being targeted on him in time and it fired. Only then did he notice it. No time to fully get out of the way he braced for the worst. When all of a sudden a body slammed into him shoving him out of the way of the blast. They rolled onto the ground. Bruce quickly recovered and looked for his saviour. On the ground, blown slightly to his left by the explosion was a black haired teen in a white t-shirt. Before he could move the boy groaned and looked right at Bruce. The haunting blue eyes meeting his even with the mask in the way the boy knew just where to look. He was about to speak when the boys eyes went wide with fear and then nothing. The boy just vanished into this air. Bruce didn’t have much time to be stunned by this as the thugs before started to cheer, thinking they had finished off the Bat. So he went to make quick work of them before any could get away. Well now he knows hes being followed too

Danny just freaking out about Batman seeing his face. Turns out he never followed Batman unless fully invisible. All he wanted was to see how “real” heros did it. And it had been helping him with his fighting. To see how the pros are. He was always worried the “worlds greatest detective” would figure him out though so he stayed hidden. Also maybe hes a bit of a fan. I made Wonder Woman get the closest cause shes his fav probably.

[akutasoda]

hi! jing yuan,aventurine,blade, dan heng and sunday with a teen!reader like collei? (not for the event)

they were used as an experiment from a very young age, thankfully [insert character]rescued them, they also took them in but they were still traumatized from their time as an experiment,they are chronically ill which makes them weak and are scared of being touched due to their time as an experiment subject

experimental beginnings

synopsis - they save you from a past of experimentation and try to help you get back on track includes - dan heng, blade, jing yuan, aventurine warnings - gn!teen!reader, fluff, angst w/ comfort, mentions.of experimentation, wc - 1.7k

dan heng ★↷

↪the astral express always stopped at other planets to help them. meeting plenty of people and experiencing vast cultures. dan heng normally went with the group when they landed on new planets or re-visiting old ones - often being one to help those that need so.

↪but he hadn't expected to help you. normally the express crew would help those after seeing the situation through and deciding what was best - although this time, everyone could agree that you needed rescuing.

↪the unanimous decision led to the express crew very quickly rescuing you and getting you to board the express - they knew that they needed to get you as far away from that planet as possible and as quickly as they could.

↪the astral express crew understood why you were so closed off and scared, they didn't blame you but they did wish they could help you even a little. they would have to quickly learn to just try and help you break out of that shell little by little.

↪dan heng didn't quite understand at first why you began spending most your time with him. you barely spent time with anyone and they couldn't blame you at all, but it was a surprise that he was the first one you began seeing a miniscule amount of trust in - but he didn't see it that way.

↪he understood that trailblazer and march could be quite overwhelming or confusing at times, that welt and himeko could be rather intimidating. so he began to reason that his usual calm and reserved demeanor might seem like the best option to you.

↪he didn't mind you hovering around him. he could tell that you weren't much better off than the first day you boarded the express, but atleast this could be seen as a little bit of progress.

↪due to your unfortunate illness, you were extremely weak and so he'd have to keep on you to make sure that your condition dis not worsen - they all kept an eye out but since he saw more of you, it only made sense. they couldn't cure you but they didn't want you experiencing more pain.

↪dan heng would be happy to help you with anything, he wanted you to trust him so he could help you. he wanted to help you forget all about everything taht you'd been put through and hopefully make better memories with the found family that helped him.

blade ★↷

↪elio always knew how missions would play out, it would be weird if elio didn't seeing as it was always “elios script”. but elio never told them exactly how their missions would play out, only telling them who as required and where they would be going.

↪a rescue mission wasn't exactly blade’s first thought when elio told him and kafka that they had a new mission. blade never complained however, he would go along with elio's script.

↪when kafka and blade found you, he seemed indifferent to your situation - if anything it seemed like he couldn't care less about your sorry state. but in truth, it was quite the opposite.

↪kafka's concern was much more obvious, from the way she gently tried coaxing you to come with them and leave that horrible place, to the way she offered you help along the way. blade's concern was more concealed into anger, a rage directed toward the sick freaks that thought they could get away with doing what they did to you and who knows how many others.

↪you being put into the arms of the stellaron hunters didn't seem like the greatest option after everything you've been through, but it was in the script. clearly it was meant to be. the hunters could just hope that they'd help you get back on track.

↪most would've assumed you would first start opening up to any of the other hunters, blade didn't exactly seem like the best option. but due to his normal silence and rather neutral actions, he provided you the comfort of knowing that he wouldn't do anything. so you started hanging around him because he seemed like the best option.

↪blade didn't push you away, in fact he wouldn't dare. he knew what you'd been through and he knew how kafka or elio would reprimand him for making your state worse - that and he wanted you to recover himself, to try and re-build your life.

↪eventually, the time you spent in a comfortable silence with him developed into you starting to trust him - admittedly not massively but it was still a very welcome step. blade seemed like he would protect you, and you'd be right although a verbal answer would never occur, that he wouldn't let uou fall back into the hands that hurt you.

↪in a very distant way, blade could sympathise with your illness more than the rest of the hunters - in a way, his mara was an incurable illness. and because you spent most your time with him, blade was automatically put in charge of watching over you and your condition.

↪blade would always look out for you, he may seem cold and distant but he had his own ways of helping because they were determined to help you in any way they could.

jing yuan ★↷

↪jing yuan was first introduced to you when he was called to assess a rather serious situation aboard the luofu. you were placed under bailu’s care for the time being, your state was not one of a healthy body and nobody else seemed suitable enough to care for the extent of your “injuries”.

↪although bailu was having a difficult time. due to what you'd been put through, you trusted nobody and they couldn't blame you, so you refused to let anybody come near you. jing yuan felt an immense amount of empathy for you, he couldn't begin to imagine what they did to you and he could only regret that it wasn't discovered quicker.

↪he saw it as a personal fail on his part, representing the whole of the luofu's failure to save you sooner. and so he decided that he would personally see over your recovery - with the help of bailu of course, but he would help you any way he could.

↪again, you were very opposed to being near anybody and it took alot of convincing from jing yuan to eventually get you to come with him. he wanted to help. no matter how long it took or the challenges he would face along the way.

↪initially, you showed him zero trust and he respected and understood it. jing yuan would always go out of his way to try and prove that he was trying to help. although he was extremely glad when you began taking a liking to mimi, who also seemed to take a liking to you as well.

↪eventually, you developed a small bit of trust with the general and jing yuan was over the moon. he saw it as a massive step for you, it was a starting point for helping you get back on track.

↪it pained him to hear from bailu that you had an illness that couldn't be cured. he hoped that you could get better but now that wasn't possible, but he'd still insist that there must be a way to help you a little bit - even if bailu found something for you, they both knew you'd be against it and they would understand.

aventurine ★↷

↪he met you by accident. it was more of a wrong place wrong time situation, but he knew that he couldn't do nothing. he couldn't ignore it and so his main goal was no longer whatever his original intentions where, it was now rescuing you.

↪you unfortunately reminded him of himself around your age. it pained him to see that in you but it pained him even more to know just how much and how long you suffered - and if anything, aventurine was determined to help you himself so that you wouldn't fall into the hands of the IPC like he did.

↪he kept you to his private life, away from the IPC's prying eyes for that exact reason. although you were extremely distant and rather scared if anything at first, he couldn't blame you and if anything it hurt to see someone as young as you like that.

↪slowly but surely, aventurine tried to build up your trust with him, if he was really going to help you he needed your trust and cooperation, but he didn't mind how long you needed to build that trust.

↪it didn't take long for him to notice how you were much weaker most if the time, it worried him in honesty. so aventurine reached out to a very close acquaintance of his to see if he knew anything about how to help you. it pained him even more so to learn that you had a chronic illness - there was nothing he could do to help and it hurt to know that.

↪aventurine was dedicated to giving you the best life possible. with all that you'd been subjected to up to recently meant that he needed to help you recover - he understood he wasn't exactly the best person for it but he was determined. determined to help somebody.

taglist - @little-miss-chaoss, @frankiesteinn

[moralesluvr]

thinkin about a cheerleader reader who’s the opposite of earth 42 miles…she’s super sensitive and sunshine-y and one day she has a bad practice and she comes home to miles and he pulls her into his lap and comforts her :(

cheerleader!gf ft. miles morales

♡ pairings & aus: miles morales x cheerleader!black!fem!reader, college au. ♡ summary: after having a bad day at cheer practice, you land into the arms of your boyfriend to comfort you ♡ warnings: miles and reader being total opposites, miles teasing the reader, my bad spanish...i think thats it? ♡ a/n: i'm totally projecting bc i had cheer camp this week and im so dead (i sprained my thumb...yikes.) ♡ got a request? | masterlist ♡

↳ translations: "Dime qué está mal, mi amor." - Tell me what's wrong, my love.

TODAY WAS NOT YOUR DAY, to say the least.

This morning had already started off...not the greatest. Your bow had a stain on it and you almost lost your favorite pair of shorts, not to mention you accidentally showed up to practice wearing the wrong shirt.

But things really started to deescalate when a girl's foot had accidentally collided with your nose, leaving it severely red and irritated as fat tears trickled down your cheeks, a red swelling blossoming against your skin as your coach sat you out of practice. You swore it was broken by the way all your pain was leveraged onto one side of your nose over the other, but the trainer insisted that it was probably just severely irritated and bruised.

As practice ended, you made your way into your car as your short, manicured nails grasped around the gear shift in utter pain. You put your vehicle into drive and flew down to your shared apartment that you and your boyfriend resided in, the courtesy of going to colleges that weren't too far from each other.

When you walked into your home, you made your way to your bedroom as you knocked twice.

"Come in, baby." You heard your boyfriend announce, the rhythm of your knock letting him know that it was you. You pushed the door open and sighed, leaning against the doorframe as your cheer bag slung over your shoulders. Miles is sitting propped up on the couch in your room, controller nudged in between both hands with a headset on. He turns to you and starts to ask you how your day has been, but when he takes note of the tears pooling in your puffy eyes and the ice pack that rests on your nose, he slowly takes off his headset, "Yo, I'mma have to hit y'all later. I need to talk to my girl."

He motions for you to come here, and you drag over to him, standing in between his sweatpant clad thighs. He furrows his eyebrows as he looks up at you with glossy eyes, "What's the matter with you, ma? Why you got that ice pack on your nose?"

You start your sentence, but Miles places his thick hands on your upper thighs, pulling you onto his lap. He licks his lips intensively before cocking his head to the side, maintaining sincere eye contact with you.

"Dime qué está mal, mi amor."

Sniffling, you gave him a weak shrug, "Got hit 'n bruised my nose...look at it!" You exclaimed with an element of downheartedness laced in your voice, taking the ice pack off of your nose to let your lover see. "This freaking girl kicked me in my face and now my nose is like, on the other side of my face. And my coach didn't even ask me if I was okay, he just sat me out! Do you now how discouraging that is? I-"

"Shh, mami." Miles cooed, one of his hands coming up to lightly feel your nose. He brushed the sides of it with the padding of his gentle fingers, his brown irises widening when he feels a bump on the side of your nostril. "It's swollen as hell- I won't hold you, but it'll go away soon, I promise. But I'm sorry you had a bad day, princess."

He places his lips on your neck, peppering kisses there as you sniffle a laugh at him, your sensitive skin tickling at his touch. He then tilted his head to the side, "You gon be okay? You still pretty, even with a broken nose."

You feel your eyes water at his statement, worry coursing through your veins as you pouted at him, "It's broken?"

"No, mama," Miles chuckled, lightly pecking you on your pretty lips, "It's perfect. Just perfect."

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 ☻ thank you for reading!

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓: @enj4i // @chrissytalia // @chaoticevilbakugo // @motheroffae

𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐑-𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓🕷️: @queenesther996 //@sukunas-slutty-bitch // @c3f21 // @wydney // @rinnyisnothere // @brieryann // @moisttowllet // @Dee-m-cee // @liliummz // @starhrtz // @daisydark // @randomhoex // @solanawrld // @whore4hobie // @tanakaslastbraincell // @simp4miguell // @nyrovi3 // @my3tumbles // @aziulsworld // @enchantingfoxsparkles // @mancerseedu // @cafehyunji // @personofyou // @mcdvsr // @kopiivie // @ellatienesuscosas // @venuswash3re // @calliarlerte // @pr0wlerpunk // @tzuyuzzs // @wisepoetrycheesecake // @clearskiiiess // @d3atht3hek1d // @vienreina // @pixqlsin // @caulifloweron // @aizawassimpblog // @stvrgrl // @zerosinterweb // @ishqani // @mookiebut

𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 ✎: @Dee-m-cee // @euphorichappiness10 // @adoree-kaelynn // @mhadnirb // @mmst4rz // @iris-theflower // @fleurrieerecs // @kenlani // @kala2022 // @ilyless // @milesmolasses // @laylasbunbunny // @all444miles // @thecoloredpages // @bl00dsuccker // @evacowan // @popeheywardssecretgf

[joe-spookyy]

finished the reanimator novelization and here are my notes.

stoner dan cain is real and true and he’s in my dream blunt rotation

in the comic his middle name was elston but in this it’s jonathan. what’s the truth…

canonically canadian herbert was shocking but not as shocking as the serum he used on his shitty roommate to turn his semen green forever.

also he’s 24. what a young fellow.

this book was not edited very carefully. not to be a dweeb but i haven’t seen anyone mention the amount of grammatical errors, incorrect references (looking at u larry talbot/tolbot), lack of attention paid to paragraph cuts in the reprint, and literal page by page contradictions on the lore. (claiming hill’s brain/head can feel every sensation that his body feels and then literally on the next page saying that there is no shared sensation)

meg gets a lot more character depth here and i love it i love her meg halsey you will always be famous

and yes she was a horse girl. this is very important to the lore in my opinion.

everyone’s seen the famous “dan cain tells a cop he has AIDS so he can sneak into the hospital scene” but i can tell you all with certainty that it doesn’t make any more sense in context. he could have lied about anything. how and why did he land on that.

they’re a lot clearer about how exactly the reagent works which i thought was neat, although they kept describing it as yellow. that shit is geen

herbert west canonically not Not queer (says nothing when accused of it, looks at floor awkwardly) and everyone in the hospital has clocked him.

way more in depth about how much of a freak dr hill is.

they named all the reanimated corpses which was nice cause even when i’m watching the movie there’s too much going on to recognize any of them so it cleared things up and i finally comprehended for the first time that it was hill’s intestines that strangled herbert and that it was because of the reagent overdose. or whatever. that was probably obvious but i missed it on every one of my watches.

herbert mentions saints and how he wishes gruber could be canonized. this fuels my raised catholic herbert vs raised protestant meg theory and adds to their already powerful beef.

the controversial laid to rest/plagiarist line is in the book sort of. and i’m sorry to say it’s laid to rest. they did swap up some other lines (side note: why did they mess with who’s going to believe a talking head get a job in a sideshow) so this could mean nothing it is just interesting.

this line was crazy.

TLDR: not the greatest piece of literature but pretty fun and adds some cool background information for the characters. would reccomended.

[totalswag]

Can you write that Drew x actress!reader are at home with their first baby boy while relaxing and suddenly, a huge surprise that they didn't expect so soon, especially Drew, as a Christmas present

Inspired by this 😊: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C03sQNHIjf3/?igsh=MWF0cno2M2tubjZ3Ng==

first words — DREW STARKEY

authors note this is such a cute request! i’ve seen these videos and they are so freaking adorable. thank you for the request <3

summary drew and you have been trying for your son to say his first words. one day he blurts out his first word making your christmas better

warnings wholesome content

Christmas is right around the corner.

First Christmas with your seven month old son, Noah. First Christmas as a family of three.

Drew and you finally have a month off from filming to be with family. The both of you have had busy schedules these past few months with filming and to get this break is wonderful.

Noah, your eight-month-old, will shortly say his first word. There have been times when he almost uttered something but ended up babbling baby gibberish.

mama or dada

One of the two words Drew and you are aiming for.

Yes, you and Drew have been teaching Noah simple words that he can readily speak. You two are constantly talking to him and reading to him in the hopes that he would say one of the words.

Every parent wants their child’s first words to be mama or dada.

The three of you were in the living room on the couch with the tv playing a Christmas movie. The Christmas tree was a couple feet away from the tv, making the moment feel more magical.

Noah was lying on his stomach on Drew’s chest— arms folding in front of him, holding himself up to look at Drew who was talking to him and making faces.

The father and son duo with these two is the most beautiful thing ever to witness. Their bond continues to grow by the second. Now Drew and you are back on filming for Outer Banks, it’s hard being away from Noah.

"Oh really and what else?" Drew inquired, and Noah responded dramatically in his baby language.

Noah stares between you two, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly open, before becoming even louder.

In the mix of Noah talking in his baby gibberish, he says the word dada, catching Drew and you off guard immediately.

Your hand slaps over your mouth with shock. Tears form in your eyes. As a parent hearing your child’s first words is one of the greatest moments.

You immediately take your phone out to record this unforgettable moment.

Drew looks at you, shocked, emotional, and a smile beginning to grow on his face.

“Can you repeat that again?” Drew whispers to the eight month old, hoping he repeats the word you two just heard.

The sounds of your little sniffles can be heard from behind your phone.

Noah turns his head to the side, blinking a few times, trying to figure out what his father told him then opens his mouth to speak.

Noah moves his upper body around “dada dada” he blurts out, putting his small hands into a fist, punching Drew’s chest.

“Ahaha yes!” Drew cheer, wrapping both arms around Noah as he slides to the left landing on a soft pillow.

Noah let out a couple giggles, leaning his head on Drew’s chin as they swayed side to side. Drew gave him kisses all over his face as he shed a few tears.

Drew had the most biggest smile on his face. Hearing the words dada come out of his first borns mouth really does something because he’s always going to remember Noah’s first words.

“This is one of the best Christmas present I’ve ever received and Christmas is only in two weeks” Drew blurts out, whipping away the tears.

my taglist

if you would like to be in my taglist and be notified whenever i post my fics leave a comment.

@runningfrom2am @winterrrnight2 @brooklynscherry-z @kaydsr3venge @johannelis2302nely

[matan4il]

To the Nonnie who sent me an ask in relation to Standing Together (Tumblr is being weird and swallowed your message, but I saw it), here is the vid you linked:

-> Okay, first, a rough translation of the Hebrew comment exchange featured in the vid:

Rula: Really, Muhammad? Children died today. Women. Displaced people. Not a word about 210 Palestinians who died during a rescue operation? We already have one Yuseph Haddad.

Muhammad: Really, Rula? 210 children and women died today? Unarmed? Only children and women? And if we're dealing with civilians... Not a word from you about the fact that hostages were held in the homes of civilians, by civilians? Don't lecture me.

Rula: Oy, you've completely lost it. Shame.

-> I'm not sure Standing Together is the biggest Jewish-Arab organization in Israel. Before Oct 7, it claimed to have reached a peak of 5,000 members, which out of a population of almost 10 million people is pretty negligible. And when practically every organization in Israel has both Jews and Arabs, including the freaking Israeli parliament (the Knesset), it just feels... weird to think there's nothing bigger than that. Then again, maybe when we talk specifically about an organization claiming to be political and to be serving the idea of Jewish-Arab solidarity, there isn't one with more registered members. Maybe.

But for example, the vid mentions an Israeli Arab activist called Yuseph Haddad, who's the CEO of an organization called "Together - Vouch for each other" (it corresponds with Jewish tradition, as the Hebrew word choice specifically echoes the Jewish phrase, "Kol Yisrael arevim ze la'ze" - all of Israel vouch for each other), which I know has both Jewish and Arab volunteers, though it puts Arabs at the forefront. IDK how many volunteers it has, but Haddad is actually one of the most beloved activists in Israel, people recognize him everywhere, he gets his own impression on Israel's most popular satire shows (performed by one of the show's Arab cast members, who's also one of Israel's most loved and recognized comedians), he got the honor of lighting one of the torches at Israel's Independence Day torches ceremony (seriously one of the greatest honor here), and I've seen some of his work with the next generation of Israeli Arabs. I also know that "Together" has worked with Yad Vashem to make educational content about the Holocaust more accessible for Arabic speakers. I find it hard to believe "Together" has less volunteers than ST does, but I don't have official numbers on them. Still, it's probably wise to keep in mind that ST's numbers are self reported.

-> BTW, this is also a response to a lovely Nonnie asking me what alternatives there are to Standing Together. "Together" has the mission of better connecting Arabs to Israeli society. They don't look away from criticizing Israel when it's needed, they do talk about where the state needs to do better, but on the basic level, they do talk about loving and embracing Israel. The way Haddad explains it, the recognition hit him when he was at the age to decide whether to volunteer for an IDF service or not, that the enemies of Israel are willing to kill Israeli Arabs in order to get to Israeli Jews, while the army is defined as the Israel Defense Forces, not Jews' Defense Forces, that it protects all Israeli civilians, and from there his connection was born and grew, and he tries to pass it on to other Israeli Arabs, and uplift and empower those who already feel it. He won't tell you there aren't issues or racism in Israel, but he does seem to believe that a cornerstone in overcoming those, is to build on the sense of shared fate we have here. "Together" isn't the only organization working in this direction, there are many more, working in various ways, but I don't think there's another that's as recognized, respected and liked by general Israeli society)

-> To the Nonnie who asked me about "A Land for All," I'm not sure if I'm the right person to answer this question, because I know one of the founding members of this movement in real life. He's a very nice person, honestly. He's a religious settler, born into that society, where most people are right wing, and are seen as violent, racist and extremist. I think painting any sector of society with a wide brush gets things wrong. The man I know certainly is none of those things, and from what he says and how I know him, he hated being seen that way, he wanted to break away from that perception of settlers. At the same time, he does love the place where he was born, he doesn't want those Jewish communities uprooted, and he also recognizes that Jews do deserve a state of their own (as well as Palestinians). "A Land for All - Two states, one homeland" was born from this duality. It's the idea that there will be two states, Jewish and Palestinian, that will exist by each other, but they'll both be a part of one confederation (one homeland), which will allow open borders for everyone within this union. So you seemingly don't deprive either side of self-determination, while still allowing Jews to live in the Judea and Samaria settlements, that current two state solutions would uproot, or return to Gaza, or move into any part of Hevron they'd like to (currently, Jews are only allowed to live and to access about 3% of one of our 4 holiest cities), while giving Arabs the right to live inside Israel if they so choose, anywhere they want to.

I think it's a nice idea, from very well meaning people, who are actually really thrilled at the notion that maybe ironically, peace between Jews and Arabs will originate with the settlers, of all people. I still have questions and doubts. First, because I've noticed different members of ALFA have different takes on some practical questions. Some say the settlers will be Israeli citizens living on Palestinian soil within this one confederation, others say they would be Jews with Palestinian citizenship. Either option raises more questions. Who will protect these Jews living among Palestinians? If they're Israeli citizens, the responsibility would be on Israeli security forces, would they be allowed to operate freely on Palestinian soil? If they're Palestinian citizens, can the Palestinian forces be trusted with the security of these Jews? Past experience suggests... no. Before there was a State of Israel, Jews living among Arabs were attacked and killed simply for being Jewish. No one came to their aid. And when Israel in the 1990's helped set up the Palestinian security forces that serve the Palestinian Authority, some of the weapons and training Israel provided as part of a peace process which was giving the Palestinians self-rule for the first time ever, ended up being turned against Israeli Jews, used against us in terrorist attacks. But even the mere question itself leads to another one, because if we're back to asking "Will non-Jewish authorities protect their Jewish minority," then where is the self-determination we've fought so hard for, the right to protect ourselves, shape our own fate, instead of forever being dependent on the good will of non-Jews...?

You can surely think of similar questions about what would happen with Palestinians living on Israeli soil, what would their citizenship be, and what would happen if they use this freedom of access to attack Israeli Jews? And how about that confederation, how would it work? What would be its joint authority over Israeli and Palestinian citizens vs the autonomy of each state? And how would the power be divided between Jews and Arabs in representation within the joint ruling system, will it be equal no matter what the demographics become over time (making it unrepresentative, some might argue undemocratic) or will it make each side's power relative to its population size, turning one side in reality into a minority, and therefore vulnerable to the power of the other side?

My first reaction was to like the idea enough, that I started thinking about it in practical terms, and got to many of these questions, and I haven't gotten good enough practical answers from ALFA members, sometimes I didn't even get consistent answers (telling me this initiative has not been serious enough, to sit down and iron out all of the differences of view their members have on practical (not ideological!) matters. So yeah, I just... can't really join the movement, even though a part of me still likes this notion, which allows me, as a Jew, full access to every part of my ancestral homeland, not just... to the sections that haven't been occupied by Arab forces in 1948, and ethnically cleansed at that time (like East Jerusalem), or before (like Gaza and Hevron).

On top of that, when I look at who ALFA collaborates with, we're back to sketchy partners, many talk about Jewish-Arab solidarity, but don't really implement it in a way that's fair to Israelis and Jews, such as ST. Or another thing that made me groan is that I saw ALFA celebrate a column by Thomas Friedman which supported them, that's fair enough and natural enough, except they included in their celebration the part of his column calling for a unilateral recognition of the Palestinian state, something that's an anti-peace move in itself, and in this context, I sincerely don't get how this move would help promote this solution, if the Palestinians will get a state anyway, without agreeing to it existing as a part of such a confederation...

This is my perspective,

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[dr5amatic]

THE ADVENTURE BEGINS ,

a sentence starter prompts list comprised of quotes from the d&d actual play fantasy high from dimension 20. please be advised that this list may involve topics including, but not limited to, murder, death, violence, and religion. change verbiage as needed.

she can’t have been that good an oracle if she didn’t see the storm coming

why would it be impractical to fight with a two foot diameter orb?

i don’t have a lot of friends even though i’m pretty social so that’s weird. 

it’s not great that you’re doing this. 

i can be your man on the inside. 

why am i encouraging this? don’t do this.

try and tell me even one good bard that learned how to bard in school!

i’ve got a song called “my dad is a demon but he’s also a deadbeat.”

do you want this metal flower?

a hero is someone with the strength of heart, courage of spirit, and the might of will to go to strange lands and enact violence on things there. 

a hero is a violent wanderer who enacts their will bloodily and with strange magicks upon the world. 

does a hero truly stand alone?

the strength of the hero is the strength of the party. 

never forget that the greatest magic of all is chronomancy, the magic of time. 

where i’m from is the same place i’m going, buddy. nowhere. 

god, i’m just like jesus!

you’re just another maternal figure that has let me down. 

i am hashtag blessed. 

it’s not your time. you have more work to do. 

i met god and it was really disappointing. 

you gotta not touch the body!

oh, don’t be spiteful!

i’ll put you in the ground before i let you kill me. 

what do you think about rage?

i’m sorry, you’re a little freak and i love it. 

i’m really mad but that’s okay because this song is about being mad and that being fine. 

as the poets say, the heart wants what looks good. 

there is no one in this world more important than you. 

i actually met god and he sucked. 

dude, i think your mom’s bi. 

there is one law and only one law: the law of the blade. 

now why did you draw steel last night?

your objective was to draw weaponry until it got less scary?

i have no use for dead men, only men that can make me richer. 

i fear no one. 

death, to me, is nothing more than a joke. when the time comes, i will jump into hell and kill the devil. 

my dad is so metal. 

are you starting a religion?

did you kill something with a ladle?

who can truly know what lives in the heart of another?

i need three cc’s of coffee!

you know, kindness begets kindness. 

there’s no god. there’s no devil. 

wind chimes are fucking annoying. 

plant some trees or some shit. 

if you’re not playing for your own team, how can you expect anyone else to?

the time is coming and it’s worse than you think. 

maybe i should hit people more. 

you and i were raised very differently and i’m realizing that now. 

we are not going to get our security deposit back. 

you have a ton of work ahead of you that in a more just world you wouldn’t have to do. 

so i think i maybe accidentally started a war. 

be careful on ships because when shit goes sideways there’s nowhere to go. it’s just ocean. 

when push comes to shove, i imagine you’ll make the selfish choice. 

i’m glad you’re alive. 

you always got to be kind, you always got to try your best, and there is no sense in being a fucking pushover. 

you have to fucking pull yourself together. 

fuck. i should’ve killed that dude. 

quit it, dad!

the only thing special about you is that some god decided you were special randomly!

you’re not clever enough for the library, and you’re not brave enough for the world.

your father’s more man than you’ll ever be.

so unlovable that your father would rather go to hell than stay with you.

you might have a jail cell waiting for you.

it’s really bad!

having panic attacks is not a character flaw. you are not a coward, you have a goddamn medical condition. 

i came here to fuck shit up and help children. 

did you kill god?

recreation is the highest form of self-medication. 

the heart and soul of magic is having a good time. 

so you’re a god now?

bad things happen to good people because things happen all the time and it’s up to the people to determine whether they are bad or good. 

in the same way that your heart feels and your mind thinks, you mortal beings are the instrument by which the universe cares. 

if you choose to care, the universe cares. 

what is a god worthy of worship?

i had a whole plan! i did everything right!

everything in this world is bullshit, but understanding how is the key. 

[masha-nikita]

The Archetypes of Red Rose, White Rose

I need to balance my brain out due to sudden onset of depression. It is the result. Rommel is probably the only general who, even if you draw him from the back, he's still recognizable- flowers, a camera, and love for beauty. Rommel has a Venus-Mercury conjunct with a direct Neptune influence; he is going to appreciate artistic expressions.

In fact, this colored-doodle with an unintentional Mucha vibe has the energy of his wife Lucy in mind. According to some sources, Rommel wrote home to Lucy daily, as it was reported to be his mental crutch- I imagine it to be transcendental emotional support, not unlike my own experience, my own relationship with our Tumblr community here. Whether you guys interact with me directly or not, you keep me alive. My sincere thanks to you.

Lucy was a formal dancer in Danzig with a decent middle-class background, her father seemed to be a land owner- Lucy being able to do art, probably added to his admiration for her- fellow artists, angelic companionship.

I suppose he did need emotional supports, and a lot of it-- Rommel is the only high commander with whom Kessering "the smiling Albert" did not get along-- which is a feat. After all, Kessering was very renowned for his exceedingly cordial and diplomatic temperament. The same could be said of von Rundstedt, the calm, gentlemanly, old Prussian field marshal. These two could put up with some bad BS from any one else, except Rommel. He was too intense, too mentally off-balance, too difficult to deal with for his colleagues.

There are a few things I noticed from Rommel's biography (including the Trail of the Fox, 2005), that allow me to make some observations. His love for Lucy appears to be non-sexual. They had their only son 12 years after marriage. That is a pretty long time, not customary with a Scorpio man who has a 8th house Mars (who is supposed to have at least above average sex drive).

As a matter of fact, Rommel had a daughter with Walburga Stemmer before his marriage with Lucy was finalized. At that point Rommel’s family felt the need to step in and strong-armed him back with his fiancée-- one reason being to prevent the young lieutenant from the pitfalls of sex and alcohol. In my humble opinion, the subtext here might be Lucy would not lead him astray in that regard, therefore his conservative family would rather have him marrying Lucy.

A side note, Stemmer family still holds a collection of hopelessly romantic letters from Rommel. Did Rommel write comparable letters to Lucy at that point in time? A bit hard to tell.

I could not recall which article comments that Rommel was "hen-pecked' in the household, but Lucy was dominant at home, that part had been very true.

Ouch, I don't know, some aspects of this living environment must've been toxic to Rommel no matter how much some folks wants to romanticize it. It is horrible to be in a friend group where there's a mean girl boss who takes pride in ruling over her husband and turning any girl who crosses her into a persona-non-grata. But I digress. Back to my title.

Nevertheless, for me, Lucy being archetypal White Rose still holds water as a concept.

The Red Rose- White Rose archetypes originated from the same-titled short novel by Zhang Ailing, one of the 20th century's greatest female writers. She depicts love's tragedies as Chin dynasty fell apart and China marched into an era of post-colonialism, world war II, civil wars and partisan conflicts-- and eventually, modernity.

White rose is your ideal wife, the guardian of your family's social standing. She is angelic, she seems docile, she reminds you that you are from a place of honor and integrity, not of seedy backgrounds and carnal desires. White rose kills love by loving you, by being stable, by calming you down whenever you freak out. Very slowly, she castrates you, she brings you home to domesticate you.

The Red Rose symbolizes those dark desires, a black hole that sucks you in to have sex with you, a fragrant bed, a sex dungeon you do not have the will power to claw yourself out of. Red rose loves you by conquering you, destroying you and everything you represent and cherish with triumphant strides. Very quickly Red rose tears you down, burns all your bridges, until you are beyond recognition, until you are flesh, blood, fire and desire, a literal mess.

It is implied in Ailing's novel that men invariably choose the White Rose, because they are human, all too human. Marrying her, he regrets it; not marrying her, he regrets it even more. Such is love's tragedy in the face of humanity, and tragedy is the only inevitability in Ailing's universe. That's why I pull Lucy in as a faint through-line in my Montgomery x Rommel fanfics... not that I am going to write any more, I don't think so.

And yes, Red Rose is synonymous with Bernard Montgomery, in my fandom brain's humble opinion.

I know I am weird.

[tetitous]

Yugo and queerness in Wakfu part 3

Part 1 Part 2

Yugo’s crush on Tristepin: You may not believe that one, and you would be wrong for not at least trying.

Based on Yugo’s feelings towards Amalia, you could infer a few traits that Yugo tends to be attracted to, and also the stuff that he can go over when he does crush on them.

I believe Yugo is attracted to people with heroic tendencies, with a noble, dedicated and adventurous spirit, because those are some of Amalia’s greatest qualities. I think he also likes people with a lot of ingenuity, people that he finds impressive, due to how genuine and effective this attempt to flirt back into her good graces was:

“Yes, I’m impressed by you Amalia.” with the light twinkling in his eyes and everything, at her finding a way for everyone to stay connected at a distance.

His attraction towards those traits tend to overcome his obvious distaste for some of Amalia’s more self-centered and sometimes egotistical habits (which I would argue is still better than Yugo’s self-centered and often self-sacrificial tendencies), though they are sometimes too much and become cause for tension.

You know who else embodies a lot of those traits? Tristepin.

Ingenuity aside (and even then, he has his moments), Tristepin is someone who aspires to be a hero, and as such does his best to embody these traits, though at the beginning it is mostly on a superficial level. Yugo is smart enough to know Pinpin is not quite all of those things at the time, but contrary to some other members of the team, it is still visible that Yugo does find him heroic. For example, he never call him a Iop brain, whereas every other member may have called him some degree of idiot.

Not only that but after his death and resurrection, Yugo develops a sort of unhealthy obsession with Tristepin’s safety (I won’t show you all examples of this, this file is already quite heavy, and it gets obvious if you watch the show). Would seem just fair, but it’s important to notice not even Eva is as worried about it as much as him. Adamai knows it’s one of his brother’s greatest fragility, that’s why he gratuitously exploits it at the beginning of s3.

Honestly the most fucked up thing he ever did. Yugo is seeing all that through his eyes.

Yugo would literally put the world in danger for him.

In OVA3, this is literally the reason for Ad and Yugo’s conflict.

I’d also like to add that even though their bond has eventually been labeled as brotherly it doesn’t mean that Yugo’s feelings on the matter have ever been totally platonic, or that there cannot be more complexity in the way he feels, so I genuinely don’t think it invalidates anything. They also share a few moments that can be read in a romantic lens.

In s1ep6 there is a slightly distasteful but short scene that was clearly intended as a gay joke.

You guys both agreed on sharing that bed, why are y’all panicking?

In s1ep12, when Tristepin defeats Kriss la Krass, leaving everyone dumbfounded, he decides to not keep that victory to himself. Instead, he shares it with Yugo.

A show of nobility from Tristepin, one that probably deeply touched Yugo as he decided to carry him towards the goal.

In s2ep20, when Yugo is freaked out due to his connection with Ad being interrupted, it’s Tristepin who gets to comfort him, making a clear parallel with Cleophée’s attitude towards him at the beginning of the episode, but mentioning that it’s Eva, his girlfriend, who taught him about comfort in intimacy, it’s heavily implied Yugo ended up putting his head on Tristepin’s shoulder as the episode ends.

He actually manages to get a smile out of him too.

During OVA3, as the fight with Ogrest comes to an end and they’re on the verge of being defeated, Yugo and Tristepin land on each other and have that terribly bittersweet small interaction.

“We lived some amazing adventures, right?

- Amazing ones, Pinpin.”

At that point they’re both embracing death, glad that at least, they’re at each other’s side when it happens. Keep in mind that Pinpin is very much in a committed relationship with Eva, sure, but it is a very strong moment between the two and it deserves to be acknowledged.

Yugo’s other guy “crushes” (a non exhaustive list): some of them look more like crushes than others, but you get that it’s there.

Kriss la Krass: From s1’s boufbowl arc we know one thing only, Yugo finds him very cool.

Kriss demonstrates a few traits Yugo typically doesn’t like: dishonesty, cheating, egocentrism,…

He almost makes Yugo cry when he pays for 4 minutes of cheating.

But all of this is done with one goal in mind, to offer a show worth watching to his audience, to whom he’s very devoted.

Kriss takes being defeated by Yugo very personally,

He’s actually the first person in-show to consider what Yugo may look like as an adult. Way off-mark, but points for trying.

and yet he still accepts his loss by shamelessly acknowledging his victory

It may not sound like much, but added to his easy acceptance of defeat at the end of the episode, it will of course make an impression on Yugo. To him, Kriss is probably what heroism looks like when applied to sport.

Right after a scene where Eva goes on a date with Jay, Yugo gets an interaction with Kriss in which he gets a signed photo of him.

They meet once more in s2, in Brakmar, when Kriss is basically about to be executed for being a traitor to the nation. Yugo immediately decides to take his defense.

He’s taking offense in people laughing at Kriss so strongly he actually goes angry red, which we never saw before. It’s almost personal at that point.

He brings up all of these traits mentioned the s1 part, confirming what was previously inferred. You can say he may have become his greatest fan (I am here referencing s2ep12 once more, in which there is a flashback of Kriss asking Maud if she would like to become his fan in Bonta, with the implication being romantic in nature)

After this Yugo and team starts looking for a new player, and a familiar photo appears:

It seems Yugo kept that photo on him for a whole year. It’s been folded into a tiny rectangle, and the corners are damaged, so it may have been looked at more than once.

Yugo gets very angry, and sad that no one seems to want to help them, that they laugh at Kriss, at them instead.

Eva looks worryingly at Yugo. She knows it means a lot to him, just a bit more than typical hero stuff.

Well they find a way, and during that match, if someone gets worried about Kriss it’s typically Yugo. Until the identity of the Masked Boufbowler gets revealed, then we get the whole deadnaming debacle, and Yugo ends up in a very dangerous situation. It’s Kriss who saves him from this by mastering Maud’s secret technique, then Maud and Kriss collab together and defeat the character, whose name is very annoying to write. The three of them end up landing the winning point.

Justice Knight: I don’t think I need to add anything to s2ep8.

Yugo looks at the guy like that, eyes twinkling, and even Eva starts to take the guy seriously because of how atypical it is for him. We also get confirmation that he and Amalia kinda share a type, and it’s the Justice Knight kind.

Ush: There isn’t much to say about their very first interaction. Yugo and Ush were on opposite sides, and time was of the essence. Yugo was only interested in the guy insofar as he was trying to get two Eliatrope Dofus back from him. They do have a sort of mind game dynamic being set up, with Yugo at first at an obvious disadvantage.

Ush explains the rules of the curse he inflicted upon Yugo right before wrecking his shit. For some reason he does call him “my dear little Eliatrope” during that explanation though.

Yugo ends up outsmarting him by deducing the fact that the Dofus are hidden in the statue within the time limit, and it’s the first time Ush actually loses one of his bets.

He ends up looking at him longingly as he leaves, right after Yugo calls him a liar and Ush foreshadows the events of s3. This time he calls him “my little Yugo” btw.

I believe the scene above is setting up that Yugo thinks there is more, not just to everyone’s actions, but to Ush specifically. If what he said after losing is true, then he does have a sense of honor that probably doesn’t fit the image Yugo had of him. And it does get followed up up in s3ep6.

“Ush!” upon their second meeting. For some reason Yugo’s eyes are twinkling.

This time, Ush calls him “the great Yugo”, about as mockingly as his nicknames in OVA2, but with a more respectful undertone, he doesn’t infantilize him this time, and actually asks about his whereabouts, in an almost friendly manner.

S3ep6 is the episode where an actual dynamic, a rivalry, is set up between the two. Ush, who is still bitter from OVA2, admits to having been obsessed with his very first defeat, and therefore with Yugo. His tone in that interaction ranges from mocking to almost flirty, though it is implied to be in part his natural way of speaking.

“You’re not being very convincing Yugo, let me teach you how to really beg.” Sir, are you flirting??

He is once again having a run in the park with Yugo and his team,

The tension between two people playing cat and mouse really isn’t like any other.

until once again, he gets outsmarted (the rules are not clear, but basically it was implied the inhibitor was not meant to be tempered with, except, since it wasn’t an explicit rule of the game, the team messing it up and Yugo gratuitously using his powers to win wasn’t cheating)

He was very proud of that one. (btw sorry if I’m taking a lot of time with that one I happen to really like this episode)

There are a few surprising things about his defeat. First is how well he is taking it, for a guy who lost only twice, and to the same person, as he seems to mainly focus on Yugo, he even admits he had fun. Yugo smiles at him, and recognizes his sense of honor, you can tell that he went from not really caring about him to genuinely wanting more of his company.

Actually his attention remains so much on him that he just mindlessly teleports Amalia to safety without looking at her. Typically Yugo would be all about her. That’s what a rival does to you.

During their very short interaction in s4, Ush is slightly more antagonistic, and acts as if he couldn’t stand too long near an Eliatrope, because of Yugo. Part of me believes he’s just being a bit of a tsundere and having a hard time admitting he does like him to some extent, but Yugo doesn’t have much of a reaction for him.

Goultard: listen, I have no clue what they ate during the end of s4’s production, but this image exists now.

Somehow became the endgame battle duo.

And we’re all the better for it.

Small Count Harebourg addendum: there is nothing there but it’s funny that he tried to convince Yugo to use the Eliatrope Dofus for him while trying to marry Amalia at the same time. If you watch the episode while thinking of this as him attempting to start a polycule with them it’s funny how pathetic that kinda makes him look.

Hi I just wanted to say I really like your vibes.

Yours are rancid, get lost.

The Eliotropes (again): If that wasn’t obvious, they were the thing that convinced me Yugo’s queerness might just be canon. Going back to the notion they are “versions” of Yugo, while their sexuality is not revealed, it is implied they feel some of Yugo’s feelings. Specifically, Oropo confirms that the reason he’s attracted to Amalia is because Yugo is. Did they all feel that way? Oropo seems to imply that might be the case, and since there are female Eliotropes, either all female Eliotropes were lesbians and male Eliotropes were straight, or, depending on the variability of Yugo’s attractions, many degrees and forms of attraction could be found in all of them.

I want to counter Oropo’s argument with his own feelings. He wasn’t just in love with Amalia, he was with Echo as well. Therefore there is more to an Eliotrope’s attraction than a mere reflection of what Yugo felt for Amalia. They can, and they do fall in love with other people. And if that’s the case, then once more, at what point do those feelings only belong to them, and at which do they start to belong to Yugo? Oropo was shown to be attracted to women, but who’s to say he was straight? And who’s to say the others were?

This part is mostly based on supposition, obviously, but since Eliotropes were shown to be very different from one another, I still believe it’s possible that there was a huge diversity of sexualities within their group, and again, that to some extent, they were a reflection of Yugo’s.

Well, that’s it! Overall all of this is based on me overreading elements present in the show, and I’m aware of that. But there is a lot, a lot that can be read into when it comes to Yugo.

If I may leave somewhere, let it be on this image of Yugo proudly harboring the colors of the pansexual flag.

Yup. Those are almost the same colors. Happy Pride everyone!