#i just want to put this offer out there but if anyone who writes rogue ever wants to do rival type threads between her and laura

[veillcd]

.

[sanguineterrain]

Kurt wagner and tail stuff!!! I love that boy! I love how you write! I love the tail! Smashing them together we got a a little piece of heaven! So Kurt wagner with s/o and some tail action pretty please!!

(Like if you need some more then that: for example, the times before they were together Kurt’s tail always seemed to gravitate towards reader (I’m an advocate that Kurt’s tail is like a fricking mood ring) wrapping around them, touching them. The times when they were together! And the time reader wraps their hand or something around his tail or something)

Love your writing! You’re awesome and amazing! And I want to say in advance, thank you so so much for doing this ask! I will treasure it dearly! And if you don’t do the ask then thank you so so much to taking the time to read it! Have a lovely day!

ouuu this is a sweet request <3 tail boy! thanks nonnie :) hopefully I did him justice 🫶 changed the request a bit but kept the same idea about the tail. may write a part 2... we'll see!

kurt wagner (nightcrawler) x gn!reader. fluff, cooking, gambit and rogue trying to talk some sense into the reader.

note: I tried to capture kurt and gambit's accents. however, as always, I'm open to feedback on them. It's definitely not my intention to offend or miswrite anyone!

****

The smell of bubbling cheese wafts from your pot as you stir. It's been a while since you were able to cook for yourself and have a nice meal, always running out to do something or another for the good of the planet.

"Smells good," comes a familiar voice. A moment later, a tail curls around your wrist as you shake some paprika into the pot.

You look away from your stirring into golden, irisless eyes. Kurt grins at you.

"Mac 'n cheese," you say by way of greeting. "Want some?"

"Please und thank you."

Anytime you cook, you offer Kurt to share. You frequently have the thought that you spoil the hell out of him, but you can't help it.

He helps you out by putting away the milk and cheese. But he's never far; his tail remains on you. It slackens from your wrist, then explores up your arm and around your elbow.

It's nothing new, of course. The first thing you learned about Kurt Wagner is how physically affectionate he is.

"That tail seems to have a mind of its own, elfie," you say, smiling down at the pot.

"What do you mean?"

"It's always holding onto me." You turn off the burner.

"Ah." Kurt drops his tail. "My apologies. I can ease up, as you say."

You shake your head. "Don't. I don't mind. Never have."

So Kurt gives you one final tail squeeze. The fur on his arm tickles you as he brushes past. You watch him in confusion.

"Where are you going?" you ask, halfway through scooping two servings of the pasta.

"Not far," he says brightly. "Jean wanted me to bring spoons from the kitchen." He holds up three metal spoons with his tail.

"Spoons?"

He shrugs. "An experiment. Who am I to question a scientist's whim? I promise I will be fast."

He teleports away, and you have a mind to cover Kurt's bowl with a plate. You bring both bowls to the table. At last, a proper meal.

You don't mind eating alone, but that hardly ever happens with Kurt around. Even if he's just eaten, he'll nibble on whatever you've made. You don't know where he puts all that food—perhaps in another dimension—but he makes it a point to eat with you, regardless of whether you've cooked or not. Even if you're in the middle of the forest eating a tin of beans, Kurt will plant himself right next to you and keep you company.

He's a good friend. The best friend you've ever had, actually.

"Woo, smells good!"

Gambit comes in first, followed by Rogue, since the two are never seen apart anymore. Gambit, nosy that he is, makes a beeline to Kurt's covered bowl.

"And what's in here?" he asks, lifting the plate.

"That's Kurt's," you say. "You can get some from the pot."

"Mais, it's Kurt's, huh?" He glances at Rogue, who grins. "Hear that, chère? Not sure if I should take from the pot. Might take my head, too."

You squint as they share laughter. "What're you talking about?"

"Oh, nothin'," Rogue says sweetly, taking the seat diagonal to you. Gambit sits next to her.

Your frown deepens. "I didn't say you couldn't have some, G, I just—"

Gambit shakes his head. "Don't go worryin' 'bout that. I'm just teasin'. I think it's cute how you feed the furball."

"Excuse me, I feed myself first," you say, and shovel a forkful of pasta into your mouth.

You hate not being in the know. It happens frequently, being that you're not a mutant. You're here on a personal invitation from Charles due to your "technology skills."

Really, you'd been brought here to fix Cerebro. And after that, you'd sort of just... stayed at the school. Charles had offered you a room, Kurt had won your friendship (or, perhaps, you'd won his), and you'd never left.

"Well, what do you mean, anyway? So what if I feed Kurt," you say, unable to stand not knowing.

"Just seems like where you are, Kurt's never far," Rogue says, watching you eat.

"Yeah, so? He's my friend."

"Oh, un ami. Is that what we're callin' it?" Gambit asks, eyes gleaming with mirth.

"What else would you call it?"

They look at each other in that Siamese cats way. Often, you've had the thought that they can read each other's minds—no powers needed.

"You really don't know?" Rogue asks, voice softening.

"Know what?" you ask impatiently.

Gambit makes a quiet noise in his throat. "Y'all don't know. He's gone on you."

Your brows rise. "Kurt? Don't be silly, Remy."

"Oh, great. You're both in denial," Rogue says, rolling her eyes. "Haven't you noticed how touchy he is around ya? Always huggin' and clingin'."

"Kurt's like that with everybody," you say. "He's like that with Logan!"

"Mais, the tail, it never lies," Gambit says with all the wisdom of someone centuries older. "He don't go wrappin' that tail 'round anybody."

Rogue nods sagely. "True. And he's always puttin' that tail around you."

"But he's..." You put your fork down in frustration. "That's ridiculous. Kurt would've said—I mean, there would've been a sign. He would've told me. Kurt doesn't hide anything from me."

"This is new for him, honey," Rogue says. "He's never been in love for real. He's not gonna act rationally."

"Alors, look at it this way. La Raison parle, mais l'Amour chante. Hm? His body betray his words. It sings to you. Jus' like I sing to ma cherie."

He reaches to take Rogue's hand, eyes practically heart-shaped. Rogue lets him, smiling in that secret, shy way of hers whenever Gambit is sweet on her.

L'Amour...

"Kurt is not in love with me," you say. "End of story."

They both heave sighs.

"Just watch his tail," Rogue says. "Kurt can hide a lot, but he can't control how he—"

BAMF!

You flinch as Kurt teleports into the kitchen. He grins and waves, then bounces around the table to greet the others.

"I'm back!" he says. "I hope my mac did not get cold. Will you be eating with us?"

"No, that's okay," Rogue says, looking at you meaningfully behind Kurt's back. "Rain check. We've gotta go train."

Gambit winks at you. "See y'all."

They disappear quickly. Kurt turns to you, blissfully unaware of your newly formed nerves.

"I am sorry I was gone for so long," Kurt says, sitting down to his bowl. "Jean had some questions about my abilities. Apparently, she's trying to replicate them in a machine."

"That's okay," you say. "Rogue and G kept me company."

Kurt beams. "They are so good for that, yes?"

He shovels a mouthful of mac 'n cheese into his mouth and groans in appreciation. His tail instantly curls around your wrist.

"Amazing!" Kurt says. "Perhaps your special ability is your cooking, hm? I would believe it."

You laugh. "Danke, elfie."

"Bitte schön," he says, eyes lighting up at your German. He frequently informs everyone about how good your German is becoming, even though you hardly know ten phrases.

His tail begins to stroke your arm. You wonder if he's aware of it. If he knows how his tail betrays him.

But no, that's outrageous. And even if it was true, it's not like the feeling's mutual, right?

"Oh, and," Kurt says. "I got us tickets to that show you wanted to see. They're playing it at the theater downtown. We can go on Saturday, ja?"

"You... oh. Wow. I told you about that ages ago, Kurt. You remembered?"

"Why wouldn't I?" he says, tilting his head. Like it hadn't occurred to him to be anything less than thoughtful.

"No, I'm just—thank you. That's really nice of you."

Kurt beams. "I am excited to watch the green witch und her pink friend sing!"

He keeps eating, unaware of the way he's made your world tip on its axis. Because now you know.

You're in love with Kurt Wagner. And the feeling just might be mutual.

[too-much-tma-stuff]

Finally Getting Help (prt. 10)

Mastterpost

A/N: Thank you all for the well wishes about my dog. Unfortunately he didn't make it and pass away Tuesday morning in the vet's office. I was able to get some writing done but I don't have the energy to edit. Let me know if you find any mistakes.

-----

Jason: hey, thanks for the gun and the tech, it's really cool.

Danny: new phone who dis 😝

Jason: I hope you haven't given too many people guns in the last couple days.

Danny: no I haven't, thanks for texting me Jason. Have you got a chance to try the gun?

Jason: not on anything moving, I've been doing some target practice to get a feel for it though. Looking forward to when I can test it on Vlad.

Danny: aww are you going to avenge my honor 🥺

Jason: if you want me too. I'll bring you his head if you want me too.

Danny: 🥰 you're so sweet. I wouldn't say no to seeing him suffer for what he's done but don't get yourself in any trouble okay? And if you do call me right away. I'll come rescue you 😘

Jason: hey I'm the one offering to protect you! 

Danny: we can protect each other. And fight each other, can you come spar again soon?

Jason: I wouldn't call that sparring, more like brawling.

Danny: eh potato potato, do you want to come fight me again?

Jason: if demon brat won't kill me for it, sure. Can I take you out for dinner afterwards? I have some questions

Danny: It's a date! Just tell me when

Jason: Day after tomorrow? I have some work to take care of first.

Danny: Sounds great! And it is a date right? You don't mind that I'm going to have kids?

Jason: the kids aren't a deal breaker I promise but let's not jump the gun okay? We're going to be family through B so we don't want this to blow up in our faces. Let's hang out, take it slow, see how it goes. You need to be careful about who you let into your life now anyway, you can't just let anyone around you and the babies.

Danny: don't tell me what to do 😠 but you're right. I'm bad about rushing into things. I'm still looking forward to it.

Danny: By the way Jazz uploaded the power point she made about Liminals and Ghosts to the bat’s server thing. You have access to that right? You should read that before we meet and I can fill in the gaps.

Jason: Sounds good, I’ll have a look at it and I’m looking forward to it too. I'll be there at 5 so we can spar before dinner. Don't forget to warn B and your guard dog.

Danny: Damian is a good kid. I'll let them know.

Danny stared at his new phone Tim had given him with apprehension. The chat with Jason had gone very well, and Danny was glad he reached out but there were other people he really needed to reach out to and he was… frankly scared. Sam and Tucker were his best friends and had always been there for him but they both had tempers. Would they be mad that he hadn’t told them he was pregnant? Would they be upset he had left Amity and wasn’t planning on coming back?

He needed to reach out though, the longer he waited the harder it would be to talk to them, and things wouldn’t stay calm as they were now. Vlad would be back to cause trouble again and even though the JLD had control of the portal but he was sure his rogues would find their way through eventually. Vlad had his own portal anyway, and Danny wouldn’t put it past him to open it just to annoy Danny. Maybe try and weaken him a little so Vlad could swoop in and pick him off.

Today was quiet, he needed to take this chance. He sighed and got up off the edge of his bed where he was sitting and ducked out of his room. He didn’t want to do this alone, so he wasn’t surprised when he found himself in the library where Jazz was studying. 

He sat down across from her and reached across, laying his hand, palm up on the table. Without looking up from her book she reached over and placed her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. He smiled at her and took a deep breath before putting on his earbuds and sending a message in the group chat.

Danny: When you guys are ready can we call?

Jazz phone went off too and she checked it, smiled at Danny, and then silenced the chat and went back to her book. She didn’t need to be part of this call but at least she knew what he was doing. 

Sam: Yes, let me just grab Tuck. He’s playing Doomed.

Danny took a deep breath and put down his phone while he waited for them to call and tried not to panic.

When the phone buzzed he jumped and reached for it, joining the call quickly. 

“Hey guys,” He said, awkwardly, waving with the hand that wasn’t holding the phone.

“Hey yourself! What the heck happened Danny?! Basically the whole town joined in in chasing Vlad when we found out what he did but why did we have to find out on tv?! Why didn’t you tell us?!” Sam said, but at least she just seemed stressed, not actually angry.

“I’m sorry guys,” Danny said, wincing a little when he heard Tucker sniffling a little. “I hadn’t told anyone yet. I hadn’t even fully accepted it yet honestly.

“I still wasn’t ready to talk about it, bur Cass is really good at reading people's body language and I guess she clocked that I was carrying them by how I kept unconsciously touching my stomach. When she asked me about it it sorta broke through my denial and I broke down which started the ball rolling on… all this,” He said with a vague gesture.”

“All this is right!The justice league really brought the hammer down on Amity. They’re dismantling the GIW and really pissed at the government and basically all the adults in the town for letting this happen. And they arrested your parents!” Sam said sounding almost excited.

“Sam! That was really insensitive! They’re still his parents, what if he didn’t know!?” Tucker broke in furiously. 

“No it’s alright I knew, Jazz told me. She’s here with me,” He said squeezing her hand though she wasn’t paying attention to the call.

“Okaaay so where is Here?” Tucker asked warily. 

“Ya are you safe? We haven’t seen you since all this went down! Are you really with Bruce Wayne?” Sam asked sounding wary.

“Yes I am. He’s got a foster license and since his kids were the one that found out what was going on it just made sense that I’d stay here.”

“And he’s Not another Fruitloop?” Sam asked warily. “You need to be careful with these rich people you know? They’re basically all crazy!”

“Sam you’re rich,” Danny pointed out, amused. 

“Ya, and? My point stands!”

“Fair enough,” Danny laughed. “But no, I did some snooping the first night I was here and it seems okay. And since he’s got close ties to the Justice League he was able to get the help we really needed, and he says he might be able to help me meet Martian Manhunter!”

“Don’t fanboy out too bad,” Tucker teased him.

“Oh ya? And what if I helped you meet Tim Drake? Would you not be just as bad,” Danny accused Tucker.

“Touche,” Tucker said. “Could you though?”

“I mean maybe? He’s my foster brother now and he seems cool. You two are my best friends, if I’m going to stay I’m sure you could come visit me and meet all of them.” 

“Are you really going to stay there though? I mean once the GIW and everything is cleared out you could stay with either of us. I know my parents aren’t your biggest fans but I know they’d let you stay,” Sam said sounding worried. 

“And I know my family doesn't have a ton of money but they adore you, we’d make it work,” Tucker added looking worried.

“No, guys I really appreciate the offer but… I don’t want to come back to Amity. The Justice League said they shut down the portal and I really need a fresh start I think. I think I’d rather stay here. Jazz too, she’s gonna study at Gotham U and intern at Arkham,” He said. She looked up at the mention of her name and gave him a small smile.

“I’m sorry, you guys are my best friends and I’ll miss you, but there are too many… memories in Amity you know?”

“Ya I get that,” Sam said, looking sad and distant.

“We can still call, and play Doomed together, and visit on breaks!” Tucker said, his chipper tone sounding a little forced. “We’re going to say friends!” He insisted and Danny smiled.

“Of course we will Tuck,” He promised. They might grow apart with the distance between them, but he hoped not, they really were his best friends.

“Ya, my parents will probably be thrilled about this development and want me to come over all the time. They love the Waynes,” Sam chuckled though her optimism also seemed a bit forced. Of course she was more of a pessimist, she probably thought they would drift apart, but knew Danny needed them right now. 

“Soo what’s been going on in Amity since I left?” Danny asked, letting them ramble about the drama, the rumours, and the bullshit that was the bullies and everyone in the school sudden;y pretending they cared about Danny soooo much.

After they finished telling him about it there were a few beats of silence and Danny was just about to suggest they hang up when Sam spoke up again. 

“So, what actually happened with Vlad? If you don’t want to talk about it that’s okay but…”

“No, it’s okay. It’s not what- what you’d think. It’s superhero bullshit really. When I wouldn’t be his son he decided to try and clone me, you met Dani with an I right? She was one of the clones. But he didn’t know I was trans, and my DNA got all fucked up in the portal so none of the clones were stable. I have no idea how many he tried to make that died. But when I found out it was because he had lied to Dani and told her he needed me to stabilize her clone brothers. It was a batch of ten.

“But he lied, he didn’t actually care about stabilizing them, he was going to let them all die. I was only able to save the two that were most stable and only by taking their cores into myself. So I’m not normal pregnant, I’m ghost pregnant. 

What is my life huh?” He finished, chuckling awkwardly. 

“Oh fuck,” Sam said her shoulders slumping a little even as her expression went through a range of emotions. “That’s better in a way but still a whole different type of fucked up! I hope they catch him soon.”

“I hope so too but I don’t think they will,” Danny said with a shrug. “Not before he tries something else. I’m not lucky enough to be able to just move past this,” He said with a bitter little laugh.

“Well, we can still hope. And even if he does cause trouble you have more allies now! You’ve been able to handle everything else he’s thrown at you basically on your own, with the Justice League behind you I know there’s nothing you can’t handle. I mean, Vlad is kind of pathetic anyway,” Tucker encouraged making Danny smile. 

“Ya, you’re right, I’m sure it’ll be fine. Thanks guys,” he said fondly. 

“Of course dude! We’re here for you!” Tucker said.

“It’s really good to hear from you too. Don’t be a stranger okay?” Sam said, a bit worried.

“Of course not, I’ll keep you posted I promise.” Danny assured before they said their goodbyes and he hung up. 

He put down his phone and leaned back with a sigh, closing his eyes for a moment. Next to him Jazz chuckled and there was a soft snap as she closed her book. 

“You did well little brother,” She told him, getting up from her seat she moved behind him and rested her hands on his shoulders.

“How do you know? You weren’t listening.”

“No, but you reached out to your friends and had an honest conversation which isn’t easy. You did well,” She reiterated, squeezing his shoulders.

“Well thanks Jazz. I hope that they’re right that we won’t lose touch, and I’ll be able to handle whatever Vlad does,” He grumbled. 

“I’m sure we will,” Jazz promised. “And either way there’s no point in worrying about it now. Has Jason texted you yet?” She asked, giving Danny the excuse he needed to change the subject and launch into his more petty worries about the upcoming date as she sat back down to listen.

Next

[emergency-plan]

DPxDC Idea

I had a little idea an have no time to actually write a fic, so I just wrote a sorta-summary and am posting it like this.

This is inspired by the game Home Safety Hotline and may contain hints to spoilers for that game. It's really clever, I really like it. I recommend you play it if slightly spooky without any "real" horror appeals to you.

Alright, Danny's been Ghost King for a few years and has realized more than just his usual rogues make their way to the living world, and a lot of those ghosts don't stay in Amity. By himself, it'd take forever to track down all those spirits and specters that are out causing mischief. Luckily, not many that escaped his notice are all that powerful and could only cause minor disturbances, just enough to get noticed by the living.

Many people outside Amity don't even recognize the activity as ghosts, so they blame other sources. Scratching in the walls is mistaken as mice, whispers and apparitions are mistaken as hallucinations and carbon monoxide hallucinations, attempted overshadowings mistaken as stokes or migraines. In this day and age, where does everyone turn to when looking for advice or how to solve problems? The internet.

Team Phantom devise a method to try and track down ghosts that are stuck or tormenting the living by building a website meant to look like a help hotline, and with some algorithm trickery make it one of the top options when searching for signs similar to ghost presences. Add some bits and bobs to make it appear as a more normal-looking website on any computer affiliated with government organizations, and you’ve got some protection from the GIW.

Calls start slowly, so the three of them can handle it by themselves. Once more people are calling, they decide to start a call center. They hired some trusted people around Amity and even a few ghosts who want to help. To get around worrying about the ghosts messing with the tech while personally taking a call, they decide to automate the system to record caller’s reports for the employees to listen to, and then send a report back, offering their services to bring the spirit back to the Realms.

It’s been surprisingly lucrative, and Danny hasn’t had to dip into his kingly funds much other than at the start. He still keeps prices low, just enough to not garner suspicions at offering a free service while paying his workers fairly (he doesn’t want to know why some of the ghosts want mortal money). What he’s started having more trouble with is not enough employees to take the calls. Sometimes ghosts lose track of time and don’t show up for their shifts (he doesn’t blame them, time gets weird in the Ghost Zone), and he’s run out of people he trusts who want the job.

Eventually he decides to put out an ad, deciding he’ll slowly trust whoever takes the job with a little more information over time, see how they react, and measure to see if they’re trustworthy.

What he doesn’t think about is how posting it on the website will let more people than just those that live in Amity apply.

Meanwhile, in Gotham, one Cassandra Cain is looking for a job. She doesn’t need the money, B gives her access to way too much, but she wants the experience. She’s at the age she’s heard most kids get a job, and she wants to see what it’s like.

And she quickly found out retail and fast food are NOT for her. She doesn’t think those conditions are fit for anyone, honestly. She’d have to see if she could get Bruce to work on that. But that still leaves her out of a job. She got overwhelmed with a lot of people, so virtual options would probably be best, and something that let her interact with people without having to speak. There weren’t a lot of options out there, and she wasn’t skilled enough with a computer yet to take programming ones.

That’s when she found the listing for the hotline call center. Based in a small Illinois town, but had virtual options, listen to recorded customer calls, diagnose their issue, and send an information packet on potential next steps. It was indirect, could also help her practice her reading, and flexible. It was perfect.

It didn’t take long to hear back after she applied (Danny was freaking out, he didn’t think anyone outside Amity would apply. He’d turn this kid down, but she’d mentioned her difficulties with speaking in her application and SWEETY YOU DONT MENTION STUFF LIKE THAT ON AN APPLICATION. But she said the job would be perfect for her and he just couldn’t…) and she got the job!

Her first day rolls around and she’s given access to the database. A lot has been redacted, but she has descriptions for common problems like mice, carbon monoxide, black mold, etc. she gets her first call recording and carefully reads through the entries before selecting the one that sounds right. She sends it off and waits for the next. The calls come a little too regularly, with too similar intervals between them, so she figures her new employer is testing how well she’s doing (Danny’s giving her previous resolved calls that weren’t anything supernatural. She even got the ants right! He had even gotten that wrong!)

Eventually, her shift ends and she tells her family how well her first day went at dinner. They congratulate her and go on patrol as usual. The next day, things ramp up a little.

She logs into the database at the beginning of her shift and noticed some new entries. She now had access to descriptions of shades, blob ghosts, will o’ wisps, and more minor spirits. She gets a recording reminding her all this info is confidential and that she’s not allowed to share it with anyone. She’s a little confused, but she reads through each just as carefully. The calls come less regularly, so she figures she’s actually connected to the system now (Danny gave her access to the most common ghosts they get calls about and is listening in while he’s handling ghosts to make sure she doesn’t get anything she’s not prepared for).

Her shift ends and over dinner, she mentions that she’s had to diagnose some odd things. They assure her there’s more pests and hazards out there than you’d expect. She doesn’t tell her family about the distraught woman haunted by the Ecto-Echo of her husband’s habit of making her coffee every morning after he passed a few weeks ago. Or the person who had a Shade masquerading as their shadow. Just about one of her caller's cockroach problem.

The next day follows a similar pattern; more entries, slightly more powerful ghosts, reminder that the info she's been given access to is confidential and could get people hurt if it got in the wrong hands, congratulated for her good work, read through carefully and learn signs of each, diagnose calls, before calling it a day (Danny was so proud of her, she'd only confused a blob ghost with a ghost animal once, and it hadn't caused him any trouble when he went to collect them).

She'd used the bat-computer to check up on some of the callers she'd diagnosed, and they seemed to be doing fine. Some had posted about their weird experiences on their social media and how her employer had somehow helped them, but often didn't quite know how (Danny liked to hide his powers, so most of what customers saw was him using ghost tech. When it couldn't be solved with just a quick souping, he had to pull a little ghostly trickery while the customer wasn't watching). She didn't know how her boss was somehow across the world multiple times a day to help clients in different countries, but he seemed to at least be helping people. She started not having any stories she could tell her family at dinner.

At some point, she heard reports that one of the speedsters probably messed with time travel again before clocking into her shift. She had almost all the available entries and had gotten very good at recognizing tricky cases. She answered a recorded call, just like at the beginning of each of her shifts, but this one was a little different. Danny had sent out an announcement to be on the lookout for a specific phenomena that often occurred after shifts in reality, as they were highly dangerous and needed to be dealt with swiftly.

She studied each entry and paused on what she was supposed to keep a careful eye out for. Revenants, corpses that came back to life, often seen shambling around the graveyards they were buried in. Something about that sounded familiar. A section in their entry said the person brought back often had a ghost in the Realms (which she still didn't know what that was) that was in terrible pain from shifts in reality trying to pull them back to their body, but the separation of dimensions preventing them.

Expectedly, she did get a call from someone convinced there was a zombie wandering somewhere along the east coast. She double checked it couldn't be anything else before submitting it and notifying her boss.

Curious, and she knew no one would be in the batcave around this time of day, she brought her laptop with her down to the bat-computer. She found cameras in the area the caller reported, and froze at what she saw. Shambling across an abandoned street was a rotting corpse. It really did look like a zombie. It was covered in dirt, wearing an old-fashioned suit, and had skin sloughing off its bones.

But what Cass could only focus on was how much its movements read that it was in pain. It was suffering in such a horrible way its mindless being didn't even deserve. It was horrible.

Then, there was a flash of green and an area of the cameras were covered in static. The glitched portion somehow read with kindness and pity. It slowly approached the corpse, simple reaching out gently (what was presumably a hand), ignoring the way it lashed out. It suddenly fell, caught and slowly lower to the ground by the strange being she couldn't see. It closed the thing's eyes before carrying it off in the direction the map said a graveyard could be found.

After that, she finished her shift and went to dinner. Her family asked if she was alright, and she only replied it'd been a long day.

She clocked in early the next day and messaged her boss for more information on Revenants. Dinner that night was one of the few times Jason agreed to come by, and if he noticed how she kept glancing at him, he didn't say anything.

A week later, she asked her boss what might happen if a Revenant was exposed to, as it was called in its entry, a "Corrupted Ecto-Spring" ("...an ugly hole in the fabric of reality that connects the world of the living to the Realms. The ectoplasm that leaks through the tear stagnates and festers into toxic pools that kills humans and makes ghosts sick."). Danny requested a video call.

[newtthetranswriter]

Hi !! Can I have some hc for Natsu , Gray , Sting & Gajeel planning a fancy date for their s/o and their anniversary ? Like would the date go well & will they ask for help ?

Sorry to request so many time lol ^^

A/n: Thank you so much for requesting. I'm sorry it's taken so long to get this out but I hope these were worth the wait. Anyways enjoy and remember to hydrate or diedrate.

Natsu:

this boy is clueless on what to do for a fancy date

He originally was just going to hang out with you at the guild hall for your anniversary but when Lucy found out she told him that was not how people spend their anniversary

Natsu was understandably confused and asked her what she meant, when she explained what most couples do, he immediately asked her to help plan a great date for the two of you

Lucy would be all for helping out, telling how he needs to dress nice and even making reservations for the two of you at a fancy restaurant

To help keep the surprise Lucy would convince you to go shopping for new clothes with her and convince you to get a nice outfit

When the day of your anniversary with Natsu comes up, He shows up at your place dressed up with a bouquet of flowers, he tells you to put on the new outfit you got and that you are going out to dinner

this boy is nervous the entire time, he is shaking and slightly sweaty hoping not to mess up this fancy dinner that Lucy helped him plan for you.

When you notice he looks nervous you offer to just leave the fancy restaurant and go back to the guild hall he instantly relaxes accepting the offer

Once you get back to the Guild, Natsu can't hide his smile know that his original plan was fine as is.

(Lucy can be seen sulking a few tables away after realizing you guys abandoned a dinner at such a fancy restaurant)

Gray:

Gray is significantly better with relationships then Natsu

He would want to take you out for nice dinner, nothing super over the top, but something different than just sitting at the guild

I don't see Gray asking anyone for help, he believes he can do this on his own, after all who would know what his partner wants more than himself

On the day of he would be a little nervous but he'd play it off well

Gray would show up at your place and give you a couple flowers not wanting to go to over the top

The dinner would go smoothly and he some how managed to make it through the entire dinner with out stripping in the middle of the restaurant

He'd be so proud that he managed to plan such a successful date on his own

Gajeel:

He is not better with relationships than Natsu, but at least Gajeel is able to know when he needs help

He won't be super proud to have to ask how to plan a nice anniversary dinner for his s/o but he would do it for you

The obvious choice for him to ask is Levy, after all she is the most level headed person in the guild that doesn't drive him insane

Unlike Lucy who would plan the date herself and let the guy take credit, Levy would help by pointing him the right direction

She'd help him brainstorm ideas that fit the both of you and then help him plan out what ever choice he made

Gajeel would likely settle for a simple dinner and writing you a song, Levy tired to discourage the song but Gajeel was set on it

It's not a super fancy dinner, but it is definitely a little classier than what Gajeel would normally suggest

He'd be a little anxious during the dinner but he'd make it through without making a complete fool of himself

The anxiety would really show after when he starts to play and sing the song he wrote for you

He would stumble over his words but seeing you smile at him as he sung for you, he would quickly over come the anxiety and finish the song strong

Overall the plan went well and he made sure to thank Levy for her help

Sting:

He's not stupid, he knows he probably wouldn't be able to plan a great date for your anniversary

When he first starts thinking of plans for it he will go to Rogue asking him for advice, only to realize Rogue is just as clueless as him

After asking around the guild for help, eventually Yukino would offer to help him out

She's not the best with these kinds of things, but together they manage to plan something special

The two decided that a nice picnic on the hill just out side of town was a great plan and so they set to work

The day of Yukino enlisted the assistance of Rufus and Rouge to help set up the picnic spot while Sting kept you company all day as to not give away the surprise

Once the picnic was ready Yukino let Sting know and Sting proceeded to usher you out of town towards the hill

He couldn't hide his nerves as he bounced on his feet waiting to see your reaction to what he had planned, but once he saw your awestruck smile the nerves washed away

The evening would go smoothly, eating the lovely foods Sting had picked out knowing they were your favorites, talking about all the time you spent together, even talking about what the future may hold for the two of you

It'd end with the two of you going home, happy to be together and Sting silently reminding himself to thank Yukino for all her help

(dividers by cafekitsune)

[vigilskeep]

also have you ever talked about your quibbles with leliana's writing in dao? got curious, i love reading your thoughts

i have a little, yes. um mostly i just find it deeply confusing what they were going for. her bard backstory just doesn’t tally with her painfully naive dialogue, i don’t really find her compassion convincing so as a “good companion” she just doesn’t land for me, and her faith doesn’t really land either... she never has anything interesting to say about it and it doesn’t feel like the writers really care that much lmao. then there’s the whole baffling thing where they couldn’t decide if morrigan or leliana was the more traditionally feminine one so they commit to neither and both have weird moments jumping between complaining about each other’s gender conformity or lack thereof. there are huge missed opportunities to actually make her relevant to the plot: leliana’s mixed orlesian and ferelden identity could have fixed a massive hole in how dao lands emotionally by making the past conflict with orlais relevant, and yet it’s discussed exclusively in banter with loghain, who most people never recruit. and they cut late game chantry involvement in the landsmeet so that’s nothing

to me frankly it feels like they made up the bard backstory and then decided they had to offer a “nice girl” romance to counter morrigan and just sort of frantically smashed the two together and imo it rarely works. it’s obvious the bard character was something they really wanted to do and they had various thoughts on how to do it, because they put another one in the stolen throne. the lack of real sharpness of characterisation for leliana means that for me when you’re selecting your party she just can’t remotely stand up in dialogue quality to our other available rogue option. leliana needs a really good banter partner to sort of lift her up and i’m always disappointed by her plot comments i’m like... wow... you’re glad we could help some people... again... riveting... could’ve brought Anyone Else... like it’s mesmerising that she has a whole mechanic where you can ask her about locations while you’re walking out and about and she never once has anything really fresh and interesting to say. how are you a bard. as an aside, i really don’t care for the VA work and i’m mesmerised to have just discovered on a google search that the actress is actually french. i was really going to say with my whole chest that maybe she just had to devote all her effort to maintaining the accent but no! wild. it feels deeply unconvincing to have this be the skilled voice of the subtle bard when claudia black is doing her thing thirty feet away

I FEEL LIKE I SOUND RLLY MEAN... whenever i talk abt this... idk i can never decide whether there’s really something wrong with the writing quality or if i simply personally Don’t Get It and am self-consciously trying to justify that. perhaps both. i seek to convince no-one, this is just how i feel. and it’s not character hate i swear i do not mean to attack anyone’s girl and she’s probably the thing i most enjoy in what i’ve played of inquisition

[remidyal]

Bad Ideas of the Day Part 8 - The Ocho

Part 8 of the series of my occasional roundup of my bad ideas of the day from the D20 Fanfic Discord, as always the link back to the prior one is available here and as always anyone who wants to do something with these ideas is moreeeee than welcome to do so, though I'd love to hear about it!

This list contains spoilers for FHJY through current as of writing (episode 10) as many of the ideas on this edition involve events from this season; I've put it below the read more for that reason. Some of the ideas mark where spoilers are contained up through.

Bad Idea of the Day, Trust Issues Edition, FHJY spoilers through episode four: Fabian, wanting to cash out but not wanting to give Chungledown Bim 18 million gold pieces, tries to find a convincing nemesis who the bank will believe and who will use the money they get in a way that won't bother him, such as to further shitting in his mouth. He finds someone who both has a history that often leads to nemesis-dom and is willing to commit major financial crimes for money: His ex-girlfriend, Aelwyn Abernant. Now, they just need to stage a public enough fight to get her on the list before he cashes out…

Bad idea of the day, Total Party Kill edition: The bad kids and Aelwyn cut a little TOO loose during the fight at Ostentatia's, and instead of nobody getting THAT hurt during the timestop they actually collapse the house on top of all the hudol kids inside, landing all of them in a world of trouble BEFORE they can meet up with Biz…

Bad idea of the day, 'fake' dating edition: Kristen decides that she can maybe make her parents okay with her being a lesbian if she starts off with the worst possible partner for her parents and then backs down to just a normal girl like Tracker. So she asks her friendly local tiefling to come with her to a family dinner as her girlfriend…

Bad idea of the day, the beauty of nature edition: On a trip to the far haven woods to spy on the ratgrinders, Adaine is alarmed to discover that as she grows up the Oracle becomes imbibed with full disney princess powers, and it is very difficult to go about one's business sneakily when all the trees and wildlife are constantly singing to her as she goes

Bad Idea of the Day, spoilers through JY episode 5 edition: In the middle of a fight of gods at the mall, one man whose soul truly represents the very worst the mall has to offer appears, immune to the rage from the stars, wielding a comically large sword and looking like a reject from the Armour Zombie and Lich catalogue: One Cody Walsh.

Bad idea of the day part two, I can't believe I forgot about this detail from the Seven edition: The Ministry of Adventure, in a timeline where their shit isn't pushed in by the Seven, send one of their honeytrap agents to try to ensnare one of the brightest up and coming adventurers in all of Solace. Then, when that one fails, they send another, and another. How is eligible bachelor detective Riz Gukgak seeing through all of their schemes, they wonder?

Bad idea of the day, reclassification edition, JY spoilers through six: In a determination to make certain Kristen can stay in school even without a god, the Bad Kids look for another class to fit Kristen into. Can she try out for Rogue or Fighter or anything else without stabbing herself with her -3 dex?

Bad idea of the day, backup escape routes edition, spoilers through episode 5 of Junior Year: Instead of being bailed out by Connor Counterspell, the Bad Kids are forced to take a different exit from the Mall of the Synod of Spyre through the only obvious portal: The one into the strudel dimension in Oodles of Strudels. There, they find themselves in not just a strudel dimension, but in fact an entire plane of pastry, including a giant octopus-esque monster who is very angry with Adaine in particular as the strudel she has been chopping has been one of its tendrils. Can they survive long enough for Adaine to hit level 13 and get Plane Shift, or will they fall to the forces of the Pop-Tart King?

Bad idea of the day, impractical bard forms edition: Encouraged towards something that is 'respectable' and in which her 'lack of wizardly talent' won't be as much of an impediment, Adaine ends up a bard of visual arts. Specifically, oil paintings. Can she be a useful party member with a form of bardic work in which even a simple spell takes an hour, just because it's the sort of thing that's okay in Fallinel's high society?

Bad idea of the day, soulmates edition: Every pirate gets a birthmark that appears within the first few years of their life indicating the highest rank they'll ever hold on a crew. Bill Seacaster's heart is crushed when his darling boy Fabian's birthmark appears and indicates that he'll never be higher than a First Mate.

Bad idea of the day, courtesy of tumblr edition: Adaine, party wizard, has a sister with crazy drug dealing stories and a dad with crazy drug dealing stories and a need for cash. Who could have seen, when she started drug dealing at parties, that it would end in crazy stories and pain?

Bad idea of the day, Fantasy High edition, spoilers through episode 7 JY: The bad kids do, in fact, do drugs at the party, and there's a fight to the death with Grix during the assembly instead of happening later. Can they rally the other students to not be cowards for once?

Bad idea of the day, stop spreading the news edition: Pete and Maddy lead a strike force against the evil wizard who is running the New York Times and using it to spread all sorts of hate and propaganda, especially on a personal level to them the transphobia.

Bad idea of the day, Aguefort didn't know what he was doing REALLY edition: After the murder-suicide in the cafeteria, left with nobody but the corpses of three staff members and some other confused freshmen, Gorgug Thistlespring and Kristen Applebees are brought back from the dead… Shame their souls went into the wrong bodies, isn't it?

Bad idea of the day, wizard tomes editions: Less a plot idea and more just a general notion, we need more cursed items, and in particular here I'm thinking cursed spellbooks. Give Adaine a book that seers knowledge out of her brain, or reverses portent rolls to be the opposite of what she thinks she's doing, maybe (Though actually on that latter note - it would be EXTREMELY on the nose, should Adaine ever become a follower of Cassandra, if her portents stopped working as she became only able to see the worst that was to come but not prevent it.)

Bad idea of the day, keep your friends close and your frenemies closer edition: In the time in between The Unsleeping City 1 and 2, an insurance investigator comes knocking about a very suspicious house fire. Sofia thinks she'll be fine… until she realizes that the investigator is also going to ask Ricky, as the heroic firefighter who first responded to the scene. Can she train Ricky into convincingly lying, or will she be visiting that famous New York prison of Riker's Island?

Bad idea of the day, class swap secret santa edition: Following a decree from Arthur Aguefort that students are too reluctant to try new things and they should dabble more, every student at the Adventuring Academy is required to try out a class they have not previously attended for two weeks that the rest of their party secretly votes on without consulting each other. What will each Bad Kid be stuck doing, and can everyone else figure out a class they're certain Fig has never snuck into?

Bad idea of the day, stunning strike edition: Realizing that they're being exploited by a system that risks their lives and pays them only with grades, not money, for saving the world, the students of Aguefort go on strike. Can they remain united in the face of the Ministry of Adventure and their union-busting assassination squads?

Bad idea of the day, dirty laundry edition, spoilers through jy 10: Taking Adaine's offer to come over and do her laundry while under the invisibility spell so she can avoid people other than Adaine caring for her, Aelwyn unfortunately triggers an investigation from Fig, Kristen, and Sandra Lynn into why their washing machine is suddenly haunted and running on its own. Can she remain unnoticed without causing a problem, or will Kristen banishing her clothing to the Elemental Plane of Detergent?

Bad idea of the day, with grating power comes grating responsibility edition: Adaine never manages to become much of a wizard, but instead manages to tap into something even more core to her personality than the anxiety: Being a petty insulting brat, and finding herself a Lore Bard on the strength of study + cutting words combined. How does her family handle it when the bickering at the table becomes much more deadly?

[mancer-in-the-abbey]

Been putting a bunch of smaller headcanons in a larger post that maybe one day will see the light of day. In the meantime uhh Ghouls as D&D classes GO

Dewdrop: That’s a rogue right there. Although there is a real argument to be made for fighter, I’m going with rogue. He’s got that kind of sass, you know? He’s also INCREDIBLY good at the things he’s proficient in (expertise anyone?) and has a massive chip on his shoulder. I’ve yet to meet a rogue that doesn’t have a chip on their shoulder.

Rain: Hard choice, but ima go with warlock. You think I’m joking, “ooh band about Satan has a warlock, who would have guessed,” but I think it would fit HELLA well with his whole deal. Despite stumbling in the beginning, dude has very good stage presence, although in a bit understated in comparison to the other highly charismatic ghouls, just like how Charisma being a Warlock’s main ability takes on a different form in comparison to other charisma casters. Also… Pact of the Fathomless? Tentacles? Writes itself, really.

Phantom/Aeon: It took some figuring out but I think Sorcerer fits best. Think about it, despite being shaky in his stage dynamic with the rest of the ghouls when he first started, he had such big stage presence right out of the gate with all his cool guitar tricks! That to me reads as someone who has such innate charisma that he’s able to keep up even when out of his depth. That to me reads like someone whose magic has always been a part of them and whose abilities stem from their willingness to fake it till you make it. He for SURE is a Sorcerer.

Aether: Oh come on. Anyone who knows about d&d knows Aether would be a cleric. That’s not even fair at that point. Twilight Cleric too, purely for the vibes of it. The whole point of rhythm guitar is to be the backbone on which the lead guitar’s melody can shine and the bass’s riff can keep pace! Support is what the cleric is all about! Also healing. Just. Cleric. Next question.

Cirrus: Fighter! Fighter! Fighter! Fuck yeah she’s a fighter, and she is having SO much fun! She is a woman that can kick your ass, make it look easy, and make you thank her for it. Her and Lus’s keys are such a key part of what keeps things running smoothly and you ALWAYS need at least one martial class person in your party if you want to make it. You just know she’s the one people go to to open the stuck lids when Aether isn’t around. You love to see it.

Cumulus: Tough call, but something in me says Paladin? She is SUCH a strong presence in the backing vocals, something non-charisma feels like a disservice. Not a bard though, she doesn’t actually show off that much on stage. And yeah, outside of the actual stage performances, she strikes me as the kind of person to have a strong moral code that she adheres to. She could definitely get herself a Paladin Oath through sheer force of will if she wanted.

Aurora: Okay this one was INCREDIBLY hard cause I don’t actually know that much about her. With that in mind, based purely on vibes? I honestly am feeling Wizard. She seems to exude a lot of excitement and eagerness which, to me, translates really well into curiosity. She is so incredibly interested in everything the surface world has to offer and that includes how magic functions differently from how it does in the Pit. It might take her some tries, but once she gets the basics she would be a MENACE of a spell caster. Maybe Bladesinger so she can learn cool spells and swing a sword at people simultaneously?

Sunshine: This might be a bit of a weird call but to me, Sunshine is a monk. Like, in shows she’ll sometimes be super high energy and sometimes go full unflappable, intimidating ghoul. It’s like step of the wind vs patient defense to me. Also, I think just very generally she has some great speed if you let her. That woman has a “can’t stop won’t stop” attitude, and isn’t that just the monk in a nutshell?

Swiss: Bard. I don’t even think I need to explain it but I’m gonna anyways. I mean, the multiple instrument proficiencies, being one of the main back-up singers, fuck man, that dude RULES his tiny stage of shame with an iron fist and every time he’s let off of it all hell breaks loose. Also, the Jack of All Trades feature is very in-line with how we as a fandom interpret his abilities as a multi-ghoul. He is literally good at everything! Bards are just like that! HE is just like that!

Mountain: Could you imagine if I just picked something like Barbarian? Could you imagine if I said Mountain “Forest Cryptid” Ghoul was a Ranger? Druid. Full stop.

[phoenixkaptain]

If you're taking prompts, could you write something about Tim being the most spiteful, feral teenager ever and the rest of his family wondering why the hell everyone presumes he's the sweet, well behaved one?

This isn’t precisely what you requested, but I did have an idea of something similar a little while ago! Only, it’s Tim being terrifying and everyone in his family realizing it, but Tim not understanding what they’re talking about.

I never finished it entirely, but I’ll share the opener, since I think it has the vibe:

Tim felt like he was perpetually exhausted. He’d felt this way since he was three-years-old and trying to work out the confusing mess of emotions that came with watching two people die the first time he went to the circus. His parents offered no support. In fact, they seemed to believe he would just get over it on his own.

Really, and people wondered why he became Robin. As though he was normal. Ugh.

The exhaustion had only gotten worse over the years. With every problem he solved, more anxieties crept into his mind, poisoning his thoughts. He couldn’t sleep unless he passed out. He could barely breathe when he saw any of his so-called “siblings.” Ra’s Al Ghul was still sending him thinly veiled threats, or maybe they were abnormal declarations of affection? Bruce seemed to think so.

Anyway, Tim was tired. There were times when he wasn’t, of course. There were times when he fought alongside Kon and Bart and Cassie, just like old times, and they all devolved into acting like fifteen-year-olds. Fighting criminals still gave him a sense of living, something he intellectually knew was adrenaline but also didn’t care. There was the thrill of a case solved, a plan gone correctly, his teammates working in harmony with him.

He probably should’ve been worried about it all. The only times he felt alive were when he was in mortal danger, after all. But, he’d come to accept that he might’ve lost a few screws when he let Ra’s Al Ghul kick him out of a building without full-proof backup. Even before then, really. He kinda tuned into it when he realized that he was trying to pull a mad scientist and clone his best friend.

Tim was very aware of himself. He could be suave and charming, but he was mostly a perpetually slouching young man with his hair grown out and his clothes mostly being stolen from his friends. He could keep up his poker face all the way to his death. He could lie to Batman. He faced death every evening and ran towards it.

He still remembered when Kon muttered that he was creepy. Tim still maintained that Kon shouldn’t have gotten distracted to the point that he didn’t notice Tim’s presence until Tim was right in front of him. Kon retorted that he had been eating cereal at the Kents’ farmhouse and that Tim shouldn’t have dramatically appeared from a shadowy corner. Tim told him that if they didn’t want people to dramatically emerge from a shadowy corner, they shouldn’t have any shadowy corners to begin with. Kon asked if Tim thought the Kents could afford lamps to put in all the corners of their house. Bart told them to stop arguing because even he wasn’t capable of following their leaps of logic.

Tim didn’t believe he was scary. Not like Batman or Nightwing (Nightwing was occasionally scary… when Dick felt like being so). Definitely not on Red Hood’s level, because Tim would have to be a criminal to be on Red Hood’s level. He was criminally disadvantaged when it came to comparing himself to Robin because Robin carried around swords. Oracle was a force of pure evil when angered. Black Bat was just scary in general.

Honestly, compared to anyone else in Gotham, Tim believed he was the one rogues worried about the least. He hardly ever went out, honestly, so they probably all forgot about him.

(There were some rumours, spread amongst the criminal underground, that there was a Gotham vigilante who was never caught on camera. Who was impossible to see coming and even more difficult to keep track of. Rumours said this vigilante wasn’t human, was metahuman or worse. They said the vigilante must’ve fallen in battle, because the vigilante suddenly reappeared like a demon, attacking ruthlessly and yet… Still no images of him. The rumours said he was a ghost, a vampire, or maybe even a demon.

Tim figured they were just being dramatic and told Dick to stop telling him about weird things that didn’t relate to anything. He’d asked if Dick knew why Hood kept laughing at him every time Tim saw him recently, not if Dick knew any fairy tales among criminals. Dick had stared at him blankly for a long time, then turned on his heel and left. Tim wondered if it was a bonding tactic. He wondered why Dick thought he needed to use bonding tactics on him. Tim was pretty sure any extra bonding was just overdoing it.)

Tim didn’t think much of himself in general, but in comparison to the other vigilantes in Gotham? There was no way he held even a candle to them.

Or, at least, he assumed.

[mara-xx217]

A Brief Overview of Fear & Hunger

I made an earlier post about it here but I wanted to put it out in a long form just in case it would be easier to view.

I'll touch on the game's over all aspects and what it's about in this post.

If anyone is interested in hearing more about this game (or its sequel) feel free to let me know and I can go into greater depth!

FEAR & HUNGER

I love this game enough that I wanted to talk about it and show it off. As much as I do love it, I know full well that this is definitely not a game for most people. It’s unkind and unforgiving to beginners- even to veteran players- and it has a LOT of themes that center around things of a SENSITIVE and UNCOMFORTABLE nature. The content warnings in the opening screen isn’t simply for show and should be taken very seriously. With this in mind, I’ll be giving a basic look into the game so people that are curious about it, wanting to play it, or uncertain that it’s something they would be interested in will get a better feel for the game. That being said, as someone that has sunk a good amount of time into this game, I’ll say this:

It’s the meanest goddamn game I’ve ever played and I absolutely love the pain.

Warnings

There’s plain warnings for *extreme* violence, gore, sexual violence and drug use. They AREN’T kidding! I write horror erotica for a living. I’ve written some crazy shit in my time, and even I was left taken aback and surprised/shocked at some of the things that happened in the game. It doesn’t sugar coat anything and there’s definitely no room for weakness in the dungeon of Fear & Hunger, so take these warnings to heart. If you need some brief examples so you don’t waste your time:

First enemy in the game has a stinger dick and yes- he WILL use it for its intended purpose. 

Human sacrifice is okay!

Cannibalism is okay!

Blood orgies are a thing and it’s probably exactly what you’re expecting.

Child abuse! 

Pocket Cat (ew)

And one of my favorites (/s)- genital mutilation!

All of these are (pretty much) graphically displayed and not censored, so if anything of this is a major hard ew fuck NO for you, it’s definitely not a game for you. Which is fine, cause damn this game is fucking mean, as I stated before. But if you are still interested (or curious) then we’ll get into the very basics of what the game is, the playable characters, and the general feel for what an average (not Hardmode) run would look like. 

Playable Characters 

There are a total of four playable characters in the game, all of which act as a sort of separate “class” system, if you will. They all have their own abilities but every single teachable skill can be learned by any of the characters… IF the correct requirements are met. There’s lots of small, specific details when dealing with creating the character you want to play as (both as you start the game in the “backgrounds” section and in the game, itself, as you progress) but I just want to give a feel for exactly what they have to offer instead of the little things that will complicate things unnecessarily. For the moment, we’ll just see what (or who) we can play as in Fear & Hunger. 

Mercenary (Cahara) 

First of the four listed. He is the “rogue/thief” class, if you will. I highly recommend him for beginning players, as his perks are some of the most useful early on that remain relevant throughout the entire game. He can use any weapon type or any armour kind.

The Mercenary’s perks are as follows: Lockpick, Steal, Escape Plan, En Garde and Dash.

Lockpick: Exactly what it advertises- you can pick *MOST locks in the game (if it requires a Small Key, it can be picked, however some doors are “locked from the other side” and thus cannot be picked.)

Steal: Again, you get what you see. This is a skill you use in combat, which can award you with some pretty decent loot at the cost of a precious turn. 

Escape Plan: Pretty much as it states, it gives you a far greater chance of successfully running from/escaping a battle. Extremely useful, as you will be doing this… A LOT, regardless of how well equipped you are throughout the entire game. 

En Garde: Hold the skill button (SHIFT on keyboard) before an encounter gives you an extra move in battle. An excellent skill, as the only other way to get such an opportunity is through item/accessory/in battle skill usage. 

Dash: A special one, as this is something ALL characters are capable of starting with, as long as you choose the right options when creating a backstory for your character. Another perk I recommend for ANY player, regardless of their familiarity with the game. It’s something I, personally, cannot play with because you outrun most enemies with this bad boy in your arsenal. 

Decent starting equipment: a scimitar that does slash damage (great for early enemies) and a leather vest with okay defense.

Knight (D’arce Cataliss) 

Second of the four listed. She is the “warrior/knight” class, if you can believe it. She’s definitely a lot harder than the Mercenary in terms of not having a lot of perks to access different areas/items, but she makes up for this in her starting kit. She can equip any armour and wield any weapon.

The Knight’s perks are: Fast Attack, Defense Stance, Leg Sweep, Counter and Dash. Important to note: the ONLY perks you can choose for the Knight in the beginning are Fast Attack, Defense Stance or Dash. Leg Sweep and/or Counter can only be learned through special means in game, which I’ll explain when I go into depth about the Knight.

Fast Attack: Skill used in battle. Make enemy attacks more likely to miss and you gain an extra turn. Very good and likely a skill that would get you out of a bind if you have no choice but to fight.

Defense Stance: Skill used in battle. Prevents critical damage and greatly reduces the melee hit rate of enemies. It uses a valuable turn but the boons you receive will likely outweigh the risks of missing a damaging turn. 

Leg Sweep: There is a surprising use for this skill that you probably wouldn’t expect. (I sure didn’t.) It’s a skill used in battle that targets the legs that does damage. Obvious, right? Well… if you initiate a “fight” with a wooden door (just hear me out) it will break down the door. I don’t know what else to say other than it’s super useful but could be inconvenient to come by.

Counter: This is an unusual one. It’s a skill used in battle that causes your character to “brace for oncoming damage”, or guard (the in game option of a similar functionality), only with this skill, if any damage is inflicted on the character, a portion is directed back to the enemy. Definitely has its uses, though highly situational and likely something you would use if D’arce was a party member rather than the player character.

Something that makes the Knight highly attractive is her potential starting gear. She can start with either: Iron Spear (two handed), Iron Cuirass (very good defense), and Arm Guards (protects against limb loss), or Long Sword (good attack), Eagle Crest Shield (good defense), Plate Mail (excellent defense) and Leg Guards (protects against limb loss), all of which are EXCELLENT throughout the entirety of the game!

Dark Priest (Enki Ankarian) 

Third of the four listed. He’s the “mage/dark mage” class and pretty much a glass canon (a character with low health but has the potential for high damage output). Pretty tricky for first time players, as you need a pretty decent understanding of how magic works in the game as well as how to LEARN new spells.

The Dark Priest’s perks are: Counter Magic, Greater Blood Magic, Blood Sacrifice Pray, Necromancy, Mastery Over Insects, Pyromancy Trick, and Dash. 

It’s important to remember that perks are determined by the character’s backstory, though all can be learned later. The Dark Priest is especially tricky, as all of his skills rely on the Gods, which I will get into at a later time. 

Counter Magic: A skill that can be used both inside and out of combat. It improves resistances to different magic forms or even cancels some types out completely.

Greater Blood Magic: Increases the potential of all spells. It requires a greater in depth look, but think of every spell you learn getting an upgrade.

Blood Sacrifice: Remember when I said human sacrifice is okay? Yeah, there 

you go. Kill some unwitting bastard in a special place for a pat on the back by a specific God. 

Pray: This is something ALL characters can do immediately in game. It is done in specific places and increases affinity with a chosen God. 

Necromancy: Used to raise the dead. But only specific kinds of dead things. Cross your fingers and pray to Gro-Goroth. 

Mastery Over Insects: A passive ability that has a surprising amount of uses. You can talk to bugs. Yay! They give you hints and you can talk your way out of a few different scenarios…

Pyromancy Trick: Used in combat. Set someone on fire. Do it. You know you want to. 

Dark Priest has a lot of great potential, but he is weak physically. He has a low health pool and is unable to wield heavy armours or weapons. Again makes up for this with his magic abilities right at the beginning, but he’s tricky to plan out. Not great for beginners. 

Outlander (Ragnvaldr) 

Fourth of the four playable characters. He’s a sort of “ranger/tank” class. The Outlander has an interesting set of perks and possible starting equipment, making him close to the Knight in his usefulness. 

His perks are: Devour, Bloodlust, Marksmanship, and Warcry. 

Devour: Pretty much what you think. You can eat dead enemies. Well… some of them. Sometimes it’s not always a good idea…

Bloodlust: Used in combat. Your attack is increased but you no longer control when or how you attack. More useful if you have party members. 

Marksmanship: Passive that gives you the ability to shoot targets OUTSIDE of combat! Extremely useful, as it can save you a lot of heartache and stress if you’re unable to sneak around an enemy. Requires bow and arrows (duh). Activate on overworld with SHIFT.

Warcry: Used in combat. It directs all enemy attention onto you, giving your other party members a break and a chance to deal good damage. Dangerous to have all that attention on one character but has great use if your build supports this skill.

For his Marksmanship perk alone, the Outlander could be a good choice for a beginner. Some of his other perks require some set up and likely other party members, but it’s likely you would find at least one or two along the way in your trek through the dungeon of Fear & Hunger. 

It’s difficult to say which of the four would be the BEST for someone ill acquainted with the game, but my personal choice is the Mercenary. His perks are some of the best in the entire game and can make the experience much less painless given your expanded ability to access different items and areas. The Knight and Outlander are tied, depending on what kind of play style you prefer. The Dark Priest, though, is the hardest one to play for, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. It’s mostly up to personal preference, though, as either way you’re probably gonna get fucked in the ass. (Metaphorically and literally speaking.)

Basic Hazards/Mechanics

There’s a lot of different moving parts in this game, but here’s a few basic ones you’ll be contending with throughout the entirety of the game:

Sanity

You’ll be immediately notified of this upon first entering the dungeon. Steadily over time, the player character and all party members will have their Mind drain when either in the dark or seeing things that are upsetting to them. Mind is what is used when either practicing magic or using character perks. There are different stages of fear, usually announced with some flavour text at the bottom of the screen describing what your character is feeling at the moment. The higher their fear, the less their attack rating will be and the more damage they will receive. It will also be clear on the Status Screen when the menu is brought up. If it gets low enough, it’s Game Over. The best way to restore it is through the use of Spirits, though you can also use a Pipe to smoke various… things. You can also restore it through less than conventional means, but a girl will never kiss and tell. And if your Sanity gets low enough… you can access a special “skill”, which could come in handy in some very, very special circumstances…

Hunger

This is the second thing you will be notified of when entering the dungeon for the first time. Like Sanity, it drains over time. Hunger has different stages, announced with some flavour text at the bottom of the screen, and will affect a character’s base health until treated. At the highest levels of Hunger, a character will be unable to walk and thus can only crawl. Feeding them will rectify this but the effects will linger for several minutes. When Hunger reaches zero, it’s Game Over. There are a variety of food things in game that can solve this status and even a perk dedicated to providing you with an easy food source… if you have the stomach for it. 

Enemies

There are a lot of enemies in the game. A lot… All of them can and WILL kill you in a manner of terrible ways, so be wary when thinking of initiating combat. Running away is always an option… though not always do you succeed. Most enemies don’t have to be engaged at all to make progress, so keep this in mind as you go deeper into the dungeon. A lot of the enemies are of an… upsetting nature as well, so be aware of that. You will see dick, tiddies and vagine, so yeah-

Traps

They are everywhere and nowhere where you expect to see them. You can:

Fall through the floor

Step on a pressure plate (and take an arrow to the knee)

Get sniped from a distance

And one of my favorites (/sss) stepping on a fucking rusty NAIL-

Watch where you are going for the sake of your tootsies. You can get some nasty status effects that will kill you if you don’t deal with them over a certain amount of time.

Status Effects

There are many status effects in this game, many that are situational and rare and some that are fairly common. A few that you will encounter often are: 

Bleed: Some weapons/attacks leave it behind. Can be healed with a Cloth Fragment.

Infection: A game ending effect that is all too common. Caused by certain enemy attacks or by the dreaded rusty nail. Can be healed by using a Green Herb.

Parasitic Worms: Yeah, that’s disgusting. Can be caused by some enemies or by eating Rotten Meat. Cured by drinking Worm Juice. (Sounds absolutely terrible but it is a cure not a cause.)

Poison: Some enemies can cause it or can be contracted by eating something you had no business putting into your mouth. Cured by using a White Vial or a Mix of Green and Red Herbs.

And this is only a few of the common ones. There are many more and some that are… just awful if I’m honest. They will be discussed more later.

What are you even doing in the dungeon of Fear & Hunger?

Every character has different reasons as to why they began their journey to the greatest shithole of Rondon, but they are all united under one, singular, unifying factor: Le’garde. He’s at the center of each character’s goal and it’s clear he’s meant for a greater purpose. What that purpose is, however, would be revealed as you uncover the secrets of Fear & Hunger. 

There are several different endings to the game, from one you can get right at the start of the game to ones that require a lot of planning and specific in game sequences to ones only accessible through specific difficulty modes. Most don’t end as you would expect them too and pretty much all of them end in some amount of tragedy or long standing dread. There aren’t many happy endings to be had here…

Depending on your knowledge of the game, it can take you hours to figure out what you’re doing or where you're going… Or it can take minutes if you are in the know. It also depends on if you are in the RNG (random number generator) gods’ good graces that day or not, because a BIG part of this game is… a coin toss! We’ll get into that more later, but know that one bad roll can doom your run, which is… fun. (/s) 

I recommend going into this game completely blind and see what you can figure out on your own. There’s a lot of little details hidden around that can help you on your journey and it makes the experience very enjoyable (in a sort of twisted, morbid curiosity and masochistic way) and it’s how the game is meant to be experienced at least on a first time basis. 

Death is common and you will die. A lot. There’s no shortage of ways you can die, many containing neat little animations (or traumatizing, depending on your definition) that are unique to various different coin toss “failures”. And sometimes, if you’re lucky (or not, again depending on your definition), a certain “Game Over” would simply be a change of scenery… and other things, but that’s only some of the time…

Wrap Up 

There is so much to cover in this game that it would take many different sections to do so. Different skills, different Gods to worship, different NPCs to interact with and different equipment options plus many, many different secrets you likely wouldn’t know unless you’ve been around in the fandom for some time… It’s got a great world that has been built upon a strong foundation and there is a metric fuck load of lore if you’re willing to slow down and enjoy the environment around you. If it’s not something you’d play, I highly recommend looking into it regardless. 

There is also a second game that further builds on the in game universe and I am thoroughly impressed with it. Both games are something I recommend lovingly with full knowledge that this game will cause pain and suffering to those that would dare to play it. I would like to go even further into detail about both these games because there is just so much to talk about and gush over and to bitch about. 

I really hope that this little rant piqued some interest in the games. Truly, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever played before and I can’t state enough how hard I fell in love with them.

@prettycutebunny, @infinitewhore, @kennbb, @slutwithadegree, @dead-bxxxtch-walking, @space-arsonist, @pink-soft-shadow, @sinlessdesire, @hoemine, @memoryofheather

[mosiaks]

* / MASSIVE MUSE OVERHAUL

Okay here is the new line up for the foreseeable future. I just cannot keep trying to offer as many people as I was, especially when honestly so few are getting any attention and to try and get muses traction would be effort and energy I just cannot afford to give rn.

KEEP

@anyankaes | Anyanka -- this is just For Me honestly but I'm also going to try and position her in a more fandomless way @vacanpathy | Veronica Moore ( OC ) -- OC privileges are real. @hollowflay | Heather Holloway -- literally the flagship at this point lbr @npseas | low interest/low need/fickle muse/utilitarian muses -- kept bc it's so low use and here for utilitarian reasons.

LIMBO

@saeintsblood | Drusilla -- I find dru very compelling and if I could get things for her, especially in her drew au I'd very seriously consider continuing to write her @slayedher | Spike -- I do like writing spike and I feel like I could do a lot of fun stuff with him but I'm also not interested in just being used to fill people's fix for the character so I'm torn. @mtvatlas | Billy Hargrove -- honestly probably will get moved into keep once I feel like I can breathe and give him any attention. @manufangured | Casey Wainright ( OC ) -- again OC privileges get her here but also trying to start shit up for an OC rn sounds like a fucking nightmare.

DECOMMISSIONED

@deathgift | Buffy Summers @slayingspice | Brooke Summers ( OC ) -- joint reasoning for these two. low muse, low interest in general plus since smg has been spoken out for Israel I'd kinda want a new fc (also just they're SO canon divergent it'd feel nice) but if I have to make new icons I'll lose my mind. @corddess | Cordelia Chase -- low use, low interest, low muse. @keyedawn | Dawn Summers -- low use, low interest, low muse. @glindaid | Tara Maclay -- low use, low interest, low muse. @witchhan | Willow Rosenberg -- low use, low interest, low muse. @andhaert | Xander Harris -- low use, low interest, low muse. @thraeshula | Eddie Munson -- low use, low interest, low muse. @telemage​ | Eleven / Jane Hopper -- low use, low interest, low muse. @noblebreed | Elijah Mikaelson -- low use, low interest, low muse. @highbreed​ | Klaus Mikaelson -- low use, low interest, low muse. @legionheir | David Haller -- low use, low interest, low muse. @shesibylline | Destiny / Irene Adler -- low use, low interest, low muse. @punkasite | Rogue Darkhölme -- low use, low interest, low muse. @laembless | Clarice Starling ( set in Cri.min.al Mi.nds ) -- low use, low interest, low muse.

I'm sorry to anyone who was looking forward to some of these muses or had enjoyed ping with them in the past but I just gotta make things more practical for me. Hopefully I can bring some of these back in the future when life is less hectic but for now I just have to be realistic. Much of these muses get absolutely little to no interest and I cannot put in the time and energy rn to try and change that. Plus even when I HAVE tried in the past to do that for some it's been unsuccessful so I'm just not interested in trying again when my time and energy is more finite. I picked all these muses for a reason and would love to be able to write them all but that's just not realistic.

None of the decommissioned blogs will be deleted they will simply be left inactive and likely moved elsewhere to be archived for the foreseeable future so this account can remain tidy. If any get brought back I'll let you all know.

I will also still be on @dreameasel and @progeniterror

[soulforayandere]

So I love Br0ken Colors, and in making an OC for it, ended up writing a whole Urban fantasy AU. My discord friends have really taken a liking to the AU too, making their own characters for it, and we've been calling it "Br0ken Fantasy".

Seeing how each of the main guys are getting a love interest via me and my friends, and some character changes to fit the AU, I'm gonna post each as their art is completed.

First up, my gal Fef!

Art by: Ozaya

Name: Fenfaffina Mizurath

Race: Dark Elf

Age: 29

Height: 5'8"

Occupation: Mage (police consultant)

character info below the cut!

In a world much like our own, only where humans are not the only race and magic is a part of everyday life. In most rural areas people just go about their lives as normal, but when you get into larger cities that's when you start having issues. It’s commonplace for parts of the cities to be sectioned off into wards, each one tailored to a different subraces specific needs. Be it larger buildings for Orcs and Trolls, wider sidewalks for centaurs and other taur races, more greenery for fae and weres - whatever the needs there is likely a ward in a large city for them. This doesn’t mean it’s a utopia. Just like in our world, when you put lots of different types of people in one place there’s bound to be issues and friction.

Fenfaffina is a dark elf from a rural farming town. Believing her name too old-fashioned, being a traditional elvish name, she’s gotten in the habit of telling people just to call her “Fef”. Her family was overall rather traditional, having Fef and her siblings grow up bilingual in common and elvish, celebrating old elf traditions, and the whole family practicing magic. Normally one would need to go to specialty schools and acquire permits to practice magic, as unchecked spells could wreak havoc on society. However, if going through the right channels, many elvish families bypass these rules and laws via a myriad of legacy clauses. 

More so than her siblings, Fef found herself rather gifted in magic casting. Memorizing the spells themselves and the movements or components required for each was hard enough, but where most fail was the personal cost of magic. Spells require energy from the caster, with harder spells having the tendency to cause the caster great pain or grain them to the point of fever. What makes a powerful caster is not just knowledge, but also tolerance, and Fef had a disturbingly high pain tolerance. This was encouraged by her parents, who would put her in painful situations regularly to help her raise her pain threshold. While abusive, and would have had the kids taken from the home if anyone cared enough to report them, it eventually did its job.

Fef went to a caster’s technical school, graduating as a full fledged mage with high marks. She worked in a large town for a few years to build her skills, but really wished to get away from her family and move to the big city. She applied to most any mage team she could, but most were either looking for better credentials she could get where she was or just plain didn’t want her (not everyone likes elves). She finally hit her break when she got an offer to join the mage division of Hueväri City’s police department. The job was more of a civil servant than a cop, but Fef felt like she might actually make good use of her skills in such a big city. Her family were starkly opposed to the idea, Hueväri City was known for having some of the highest crime rates in the country, but Fef only saw her chance for freedom.

There were lots of growing pains at first. Such a big city was expensive to live in, so Fef had to get a small apartment in a rough neighborhood. Her job, as well as the rest of her department, was to investigate reports of rogue magic and help the police on cases involving magic or beings out of their control. Typically this would be a child or teenager freshly unlocking their magic abilities, although in the more difficult cases this might be monsters summoned out of malice or incidents where race relations have completely deteriorated. Her first day on the job there was a murder, a set of kids setting a local church on fire with waterproof flames, and an illegally smuggled dragon breaking from the apartment it’s owner lived in and eating the landlord. If the cases themselves weren’t trying to kill Fef, the paperwork certainly was. On top of all that, she was a bit hurt to find out the mage division wasn’t respected by the police and not trusted by the public, making her feel even more alone than back in her hometown. 

One day while running errands, Fef found a quaint little flower shop with an apothecary counter in the back. Deciding she could use some herbs for home spells, she looked around. The scruffy man all but slumped over the counter looked beyond depressed, not even picking his head up to look at her and just picking at the dried rose on the counter. Fef could tell by his unusual ears and fluffy tail that he was a Warg, a being that could transform into a “mindless beast” at will, an ability fueled by their consumption of raw meat. Old stories say wargs ate magically gifted people to gain their power, but Fef never believed that and wrote it off as old-timey racism. It took a couple tries to get the man’s attention, but once their eyes met he seemed to perk up. Fef tried to make idle chat, just wanting to cheer the guy up and make his day just a little better.  He was animated when talking about his plants, even showing interest when she mentioned she was looking for spell components. 

When she asked why he seemed so down, he reluctantly told her he got rejected by the woman he had a crush on a few days ago, and was still down about it. Without even thinking, Fef told him she found him both charming and “very handsome”, mentioning whoever must have been blind to not see him as a total catch. When he reluctantly asked “even if I’m a warg” it broke her heart. She knew the pain of bigots, dark elves not the most welcome in her own experience, but she assumed his people got so much worse. Filled with sympathy, she brought a hand under his chin to lift his head higher, telling him he had nothing to be ashamed of. “You’re passionate, beautiful, and deserve the world.” She left him her name and number before leaving. “In case you need me to knock some chick's head…or wanna get dinner, either one works for me.”

Needless to say, Damon was in love. He first cyber stalked her to get information, like her real full name and address, then started stalking her during her day. Her apartment was actually not far from his place, making it really easy for him to pay her nightly visits. He collected dozens of photos of her going about her life, on the street, relaxing at home, and sleeping. One night, when she came home drunk and ranting to herself about “dickheads at work”, he snuck into her apartment after she passed out and cuddled up to her, petting her hair and whispering how he’d make them pay for upsetting her. She actually talked back to him in her sleep, a thing he discovered days ago she did, and managed to get information out of her that way. Over the next week her pig-headed coworkers were subject to attacks or accidents after hours.

This came to a head when a call for a dangerous case came in, and Fef was the only totally able-bodied one left with the credentials to take it. Together with her partner, an older human named William, they attempted to subdue the rampaging Gnoll. Unfortunately the beast seemed to have been doped up on “pixie dust”, a magically charged drug that can turn beings into feral monsters if overdosed. William was knocked out rather quickly, his gun having no effect on the oversized being. Fef struggled to get him under control with suppression spells, but was knocked hard into a wall and nearly had her head bitten off. Right as it was making its killing blow, the thing was intercepted by a snarling ball of red and white fur. Damon had followed them to the scene, and rushed in when Fef was hurt. Shifted in his fully Warg form, Damon wasted no time killing the feral Gnoll, not even sparing the body a second thought to go check on Fef. She was bleeding, feverish from casting, and shooken up. As he cautiously reached out to check on her, she threw herself into his arms and silently cried. She nuzzled him, thanking him for saving her, and clung to him despite the blood in his fur covering them both. Backup and cleaning crew were called after she calmed down, and she introduced Damon to her coworkers (well more she tried, but realized he never gave her his name). When he said he was her boyfriend, she didn’t correct him and just gave him another tight hug in thanks.

Notes

She can cast a number of various spells, but has a couple she prefers to use most.

Magi Whip - an energized whip she can create from her right hand. It glows a florescent lime green and can be super heated or electrically charged with magical energy. Typically she just needs to bring it out as a show, with a loud crack, to get her point across to people and settle fights down. If she actually needs to use it, it can be used as a whip or a lasso, the end casting out to about 50 feet max (length of a semi). She can choose to charge the whip either during use, or after to subdue targets.

Gyromancy - actually a series of spells, she can control and mess with the force of gravity around her. Usually she used this to fly on her staff or to make shields/ redirect attacks, she struggles to use it on living things due to all the logistics that would involve. These spells cause the most pain to casters, so she needs to be smart about when to use it and how much.

Fef didn't have the best first meeting with DG. She was walking home from work later than usual and took a turn down some back allies to avoid a rowdy couple of bars, not looking to get heckled. Unfortunately DG happened to be "hunting" down that ally, and gave chase when she tried to run away. Knowing calling for help was useless in her neighborhood, Fef instead tried to but enough distance between them for her to try and cast some form of spell. But it had been a long day, and she was already tired from work, so both running and casting was difficult. The two got into a scuffle, Fef trying to get past him and DG getting a couple good stabs in. As they rolled onto the ground and DG got the upper hand, a loud roaring bark echoed in the ally. Damon came to her rescue again, but Fef was a bit mortified to find out the two men were good friends. 

DG told Fef the two hunted the allies for fun. letting Damon eat the victims when DG was done playing with them. He threatened her not to tell on them, but Damon separated them. DG promised not to hurt Fef as long as she kept Damon happy, wording it more as a threat to her rather than a protective proclamation for Damon. 

Though conflicted, Fef keeps her end of the barging and doesn't report them, even helping the two cover up their crimes time to time. She doesn't like or trust DG in any way, a fast DG takes pleasure in when messing with her.

Fef is physically incapable of screaming. She can yell, and raise her voice for a limited time, but can't produce "screams". She's unsure if she's always been incapable of screaming, but if she could in the past she's sure her parent's "training" broke that ability in her.

Like other dark elves, Fef can't eat overly sweet things, they burn her like hot coals. She does seem to have a limited tolerance and can eat things like pie or cookies some days, but when she hits her limit it's beyond painful. This doesn't seem to hold true for sweet drinks, only solid food (pudding is also safe).

She's rather short for an elf, as most are 6 foot or taller. She suspects she might have some human in her, but her family would never admit to having anything but elf (and mostly dark elf at that) blood in them.

[boopjuice]

Okay, my top three Batman The Animated Series episodes are, in order: Baby Dahl, Harley's Holiday, and Lock Up.

Baby Dahl has a young woman with a genetic disorder that prevents her from physically growing past the age of four or five years old trying to get back at a studio that she feels snubbed her, leading her career to fall apart (I have my own analysis of her actions, but that's another topic). She legitimately tries to kill people, ties them up at a kitchen table and places a lit stick of dynamite on the cake. And yet, and yet, when she breaks down because she realizes she can never get people to see her the way she wants to be seen, as a grown woman who can function in society, Batman is right there and fucking comforts her!!! She tried to kill people not five minutes prior and he lets her cry into his cape.

Harley's Holiday has Harley Quinn declared mentally healthy and allowed to leave Arkham and start putting her life together again. When she panics because she forget to let a salesperson remove the little white alarm tags on a dress she paid for she figures that all anyone will see her as is a criminal and decides to run. It leads to some property damage and her being returned to Arkham, where her therapist tells her that her slip up is okay and that she just needs a little more time and that's normal and okay. On top of it, Batman gives her the dress she bought to cheer her up about being back in Arkham.

But both of those have been talked about a lot as evidence towards Batman working to make Gotham better. They don't put as much emphasis on how he helps as Bruce Wayne, too.

In Lock-Up, Arkham warden Lyle Bolton, formerly a security head at Wayne Enterprises, starts off being reviewed by the board in charge of supervising Arkham employees. He gets glowing review from the patients, until Bruce Wayne suggests letting him stay after finding the patient's testimonies suspicious. If I remember right, he had the Joker begging the assembled heads to not let him stay the warden, with him and others speaking to harsh treatment for minimal infractions. When Bolton tries to run from assembled police when they move to arrest him for this treatment, Bruce Wayne trips him. Arkham finds a new and better warden, though I do not precisely recall if they are mentioned. Bolton, furious about being thrown out, decides that the cops and bureaucrats and coddling doctors are to blame for the "revolving door of maniacs," and starts "arresting" people like Gordon, who are actively working to try and get rid of corruption, work towards better systems, and provide good mental health care for the patients at Arkham. Bolton offers to work with Batman, saying the batman would stop them and he'd "lock 'em away." which horrifies Batman. Bolton eventually ends up locked in Arkham as a patient.

Batman works to help his rogues, even if he has to take them in with force first. He repeatedly offers to help different rogues find cures for physical and mental health problems, and his policy against killing allows these people second chances and opportunities to get better (even if it does let people like Joker get out again and again).

Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne is working to fund charities, set up systems to help the poor and homeless, provide jobs to people who need them. He's not sitting idly by with bags of money.

Both Batman and Bruce Wayne are important to the main focus of helping Gotham. Batman stops immediate threats and places the people responsible for those threats in positions to get the help they need. Bruce Wayne works to get those threats good care and employment, while also trying to set up systems that help the poor and dismantle oppressive systems that allow corrupt cops and government officials to do as they please.

Or, as some tweet I am unable to find currently said, "Writing a check is great, but it doesn't do much good when a clown is poisoning the water supply."

BRUCE: I’ve created jobs by keeping Wayne Enterprises in Gotham. I’ve provided scholarships to every employee of my company and I offer them to others as well. I’ve built orphanages and hospitals, including mental health facilities. I’ve provided jobs to ex-felons right out of prison so they can rebuild their lives. I’ve supported pro-reform political candidates and the few honest cops in Gotham City.

BRUCE: It’s going to take time to reform the system and lift this city out of poverty and corruption, so I think I’ll spend my evenings protecting the people who live here. Tonight, I’m going after the criminals preying on the sex workers struggling to make a living in Crime Alley.

BRUCE: And once I’ve kicked some ass, I’ll offer their victims jobs at Wayne Enterprises so they can get off the streets and have stable, safe, legal employment. I’ll pay for any education or training they might need.

ALFRED: Don’t forget your cape, sir.

[dragonageguard]

Striking a Balance: Modernization vs. Tradition in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Dragon Age: The Veilguard had a tough call to make. Dropping a decade after 2014’s Inquisition, it could either stick to the series’ complex mechanics and risk feeling outdated or modernize enough to fit in and possibly lose that Dragon Age vibe, which is why fans who buy Xbox games often feel such a connection to the series' evolution. It went with the second option and mostly nailed it—but, as with everything in Dragon Age, that choice comes with its own consequences. You can see this right away in combat—there are only two companions instead of three, you can only control the player character, and the ability wheel has barely any companion skills to pick from. By that description, it might sound more like a fantasy version of Mass Effect than a true Dragon Age game. And honestly, that’s not such a bad thing.

Character Customization and Respeccing in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

So, my Rook was a vibe, though, 'cause respeccing is mad easy and free as long as you stick to your class. I mainly rolled as a Saboteur Rogue, messing around with gadgets and explosions, but also dipped into being a Duelist with some sick necrotic stabs and a Veil Ranger archer, which makes me want to buy PS5 games that offer similar versatility. Some peeps might miss the nitty-gritty stuff, but this simpler setup really sparks creativity and avoids the hassle of passing down gear to less popular squad members. No cap, though, this makes the gameplay feel kinda shallow. The quests are more like ‘mission mode’ instead of just roaming around, but it doesn’t lose that depth. It starts off a bit rough—way too much backstory at the beginning, and the early quests are super short and kinda whack. By the time I had to decide which city to help out first, I was low-key confused about which one was which. But eventually, the vibes of these places hit different. The two big cities, Minrathous and Treviso, feel a bit too cramped with their narrow streets, and keeping Minrathous stuck to Dock Town is a big oof. But as you check out areas with more character, you start to appreciate those meaningful visits way more.

Clever Companion Arcs in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

This quest design is super clever thanks to the companions. Throughout the game, all seven of them have their own personal arcs, which is typical for squad-based RPGs. But these arcs come in three flavors: Quests, Conversations, and Outings. Quests are your regular missions, Conversations are more like interactive cutscenes, and Outings are basically chill walking simulators. This mix keeps things fresh and helps you bond with the squad better. It’s a solid way to use a smaller cast, giving them more meaningful roles, so you don’t even notice they’re fewer in number than what Dragon Age usually has. Plus, their stories connect with the main quest at different points, so it doesn’t feel like anyone’s just tagging along. Some of these quests are the best parts of The Veilguard, especially how Taash’s and Emmrich’s stories dive deeper into Dragon Age lore. But Neve’s arc kinda fizzles out, and the similar structure sometimes puts them in a creative box. You can definitely feel the writing getting squeezed into gameplay formulas instead of flowing naturally and letting everything else build around it.

Missed Opportunities with Solas in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Speaking of cracks starting to show, Dragon Age: The Veilguard totally drops the ball when it comes to moving on from Solas. Instead of diving deep into a character we know and respect, who has clear motivations and room for redemption, we end up focusing on two evil gods who just revel in their own badness. I say ‘caring,’ but honestly, that’s not even the right vibe. It feels like The Veilguard plays it safe instead of taking the bolder route. It’s surprising, especially since there are some brave choices throughout the game. Remember when I mentioned picking a city? Well, that whole storyline—like five to ten hours of quests and exploration—gets completely cut off based on your decisions. And no spoilers, but The Veilguard doesn’t hold back on the weight of some of the late-game choices you get to make.

Shifting Focus to Heroes in Dragon Age: The Veilguard

The cool thing about focusing on two distant and flat entities is that it shifts the spotlight to the good guys instead of just trying to stop the bad ones. By using the maps and a smaller cast, The Veilguard really hones in on those more human stories within the different factions. Sure, the whole world-ending vibe kinda overshadows things, but it also leads to some of the best side quests and smaller narrative moments BioWare has ever created. Dragon Age: The Veilguard is definitely a different vibe compared to other Dragon Age games, and that might turn some folks off. But it still delivers on that solid character writing, builds a rich world through narrative quests, and offers the most thrilling combat the series has seen. There’s definitely a stronger version of The Veilguard lurking in there, one with more Solas and companion arcs that feel more natural, but what we have is still a solid successor to Dragon Age: Inquisition and a much-needed return to form for BioWare.

[floripire]

“  i also should have stayed in bed, i would have learned more.  ” - jed

shit the squad says: vol 1 // @founderscouncil (jed)

flori wonders, not for the first time, if it's not too late to send an email in which she begs ms tig and mr williams to come back. she discards the idea almost immediately. if anyone deserves to get out of this town and away from this school - which she loves and loathes in equal measure most days - it's them.

"i should have stayed in bed," flori murmurs underneath her breath while the drama teacher, mr. springthorpe, bumbles his way through your bloodline & you - the one class that witches, werewolves and vampires all shared.

if the resident 'vampire who always takes notes' has given up on taking notes, you know it's serious business.

to her left, she hears jed murmur his assent: "i also should have stayed in bed, i would have learned more."

there is naked longing on her face when she turns to look at him. her fingers itch to write him a note or to text him, ask him if he can fake an emergency, or offering to do it herself, because she wants so badly to just get back to bed. curl up against jed, tuck herself into his side, close her eyes for a bit. she wants to forget the world and all the research that she's been asked to do by mg in regards to the coven of rogue asema - a witch/vampire hybrid hailing from suriname - terrorizing the mystic falls high kids. if only for a moment. if only for a minute.

she doesn't say it. doesn't offer it. instead, she sighs miserably which she tries, and probably fails, to disguise as a cough. mr. springthorpe is a vampire and the man has - as mg once eloquently put it - radar ears.

when mr. springthorpe turns back to the board, flori grabs one of jed's hands and places a soft kiss upon it. "i know," she mutters quietly. "i completely agree, but on the bright side: it's only one more hour 'til lunch."

[just-some-random-blogger]

Hello gorgeous !

Could you make something with a reader who is a very important fighter and in her plans she somehow married daemon as a second wife and made a deal with rhaenyra and daemon to respect and not threaten her people and kingdoms .

And when rhaenyra gets the throne , the reader asks for a divorce , breaking their hearts?

Stone Cold

Daemon Targaryen x Reader x Rhaenyra Targaryen

Summary: There was nothing more powerful than an alliance of two houses, and that was exactly what you offered the Queen and her consort to win the war. It was out of loyalty, but your heart was not as strong as your resolve.

Word Count: 2k+

Warnings: Mentions of death/suicidal tendencies/war, fem!reader, second wife!reader, angst, typos, etc.

A/N: Heya nonnie (pls read this)! I saw this ask and was like OMG FRESH OMG REAL OMG YAS but then the more i thought about it, the more i was thinking it wouldnt be possible, like divorce wasn't a thing then and i know i could just make something up but i- i- dont play like that. and unless you're ok with a modern au, which idk if u are, i realized i could not write this BUT THEN while i was ranting in my reply of how i think ur req would really play out, i thought fine i'll write it anyway dw its not a modern au, but it's also not exactly your request either. its still pretty angsty tho so i hope you like it <3 ALSO IDK WHO IF I WANNA BE DAEMON OR RHEANYRA IN THE GIF I LOVE THIS GIF SO MUCH T_T Tagging: @pinksirensong @deniixlovezelda would you like to read a tibit of an epilogue for this?

Rhaenyra was my queen; she always has been even as a child. Having grown up with rugged brothers, it was clear to me that power was only gotten through force, through sheer will, and landed only on those born to be heirs.

And yet she was declared to heir the Iron Throne, regardless of her sex.

And yet she rode on dragonback as her long braids and ornate skirts flew with the wind.

She was living proof that my brothers were morons in their belief that women were less, and that if I wanted to, I could do what they did, even better.

So against everyone's wishes, my parents, my brothers, the whole of society, I stood where I wanted and spoke about my thoughts. Though I was not welcomed, I trained to be strong enough go go against my adversaries, not just with my wit, but with my sword.

I made a way for myself in court and in battle, and developed a fortress within myself that could not be felled, not by a man, not by anyone.

So when it came high time for me show my gratitude to my queen, I did not hesitate.

I pledged my allegiance to her, and watched her navigate her plans with poise. I watched her as she caressed her pregnant belly and felt my heart hurt for her. I watched as she turned to her husband, the infamous Rogue Prince, for comfort, and found it in his touches.

Oh, to be like her, to capture the heart of the heartless, and to exude such feminine grace even in a room full of men who doubt her capabilities.

And so I finally spoke my plans to her. I finally told her the loony thought I've had since the start of my stay in Dragonstone. Our families should form an impeachable alliance and strengthen our forces.

"You are suggesting that you become my husband's second wife?" Rhaenyra states plainly. Her hand is atop her belly, and her husband stood steadfast behind her.

"It would be only for show, my queen," I nod, "you are aware of my family's stronghold, and how they insist on remaining neutral through all of this."

Rhaenyra watches me intently as I explain. Daemon tilts his head.

"This would give my brothers no choice but to fight for me-- for you."

"And how would marriage guarantee that?" Daemon asks, "I am well-acquainted with your brothers' insolence."

"You are correct, Prince Daemon. There has not been a moment in our lives where my brothers and I did not go against each other's wishes, but through it all, they have a sense of honor, and they would rather die than allow our family name be put to shame. It is why they were so against the idea of me taking up arms in the first place," I cross my arms, "but since then, they have joined me many times over in my victories. They would surely not give up the chance to bask in our victory."

Rhaenyra and Daemon take in my words.

For a moment, there is only silence. Then they look at each other, examining each other's expression.

That night, I was married to Daemon by the traditions of his house.

After he kissed me, I turned to Rhaenyra and nodded to her. She offered me a small smile and nodded back.

Since then, we exercised our might against the whole of Westeros. Those who did not know of us knew soon enough that the combined power of our houses, along with all our other alliances, was not something to be taken lightly.

And so we were tasked to spearhead the war under Rhaenyra's command. Daemon would take the east, and I would take the west. Where one needed help, the other would arrive with their blade, still slick with the blood of the enemy.

Historically, men had done nothing but strike me and spit on my bones. Though he was now my husband, I thought little of Daemon. I didn't then in the fires of his youth, and I didn't now. I bring myself to care about him out of my respect for Rhaenyra.

Yet as time went by, and battles were won and lost, I grew to respect him as himself, as Daemon Targaryen, the prince commander of the troops, who knew exactly what he was doing.

"I did not think you were capable of doing anything un-serious."

I turned to him as he smirked. His eyes were on the my cup of ale, "might my lady wife spare me a drop?"

Daemon sits next to me, though on the ground, as I was sitting on a stump I found not too far off our camp.

I peer down at him as I hand him my half empty cup.

My lips part when he downs it and places the empty thing beside him. Daemon catches my look and chuckles under his breath, "oh, did you mean to finish that?"

I don't get to respond as he grabs my leg and leans against my thigh.

My stomach rolls at the sentiment. I did not know why he was acting like this towards me so suddenly.

He releases a groan as he closes his eyes, "you are my wife, are you not? Must you stare at me as though you wish to burn me with your eyes?"

That would only be the start of his affection towards me.

It was jarring, disturbing, really, how he would reach for my hair and brush it aside, how we would reach for my cheek and brush it with the back of his hand. He would not do it in front of Rhaenyra, and for that I was at least grateful.

I decided not to make issue of it, because it was not as though it was harmful really.

And yet it dawned to me that that was my mistake; he was an invader of my fortress, and I only realized when it was too late.

I could not calm my beating heart when we were ambushed.

It was not the blade against my neck that made me want to hurl, not even how the man who managed to capture me for a few minutes was gutted on my side and had his entrails gush onto my armor. It was not the violence that made my pulse deafening to my ears, but how Daemon acted out that violence.

"Release her now, and I will be swift about your death," he seethed. When he was not listened to, his face darkened. The moment he had an opening, he stabbed my captor in the gut. When I was pulled away by our men, I watched as Daemon rampaged the man with his bare hands, smothering him until he was deformed, until he was dead.

And then he turned to me, gripping my face with his bloody hands, examining my form, "are you alright?"

That was when everything changed.

Not only did I begin to anticipate, look forward to his touches, I began to lean into them. I began to look forward to his company, seek his company. I would worry if there was not word about him, and I would worry if there was, until I knew it was not grave.

I began to laugh with him, in the privacy of our conversations, in front of the troops, in front of Rhaenyra. I began to bicker with him unabashedly, for it became second nature. I began to dance and make merry with him, for why'd shouldn't I? Why not, when Rhaenyra teased us about it, when she laughed about it with us.

And then at some point, I did the worst thing.

I began to want him.

I began to want him the way Rhaenyra did.

I began to felt entitled of him, for after all, he was my husband too.

I allowed myself believe that it was alright, Rhaenyra wouldn't mind, after all, her husband was my husband.

But then I faced with the truth of how brazen I'd become.

But then Rhaenyra called for Daemon and he did not answer.

But then she gave birth too early and held her lifeless daughter in her arms.

But then he was broken because of it, and yet made no inclination to anyone.

But then I realized I was not apart of their picture, for neither of them even spoke their sorrow to each other, much less anything to me.

I was a fool to think I was deserving of anything. I was a traitor to them and our agreement. I was a traitor to myself.

And so I rebuilt my fortress, I pulled away from Daemon's touches and did not hold Rhaenyra's gaze too long.

I became reckless in battle. I dove head first into everything, not caring what the consequences would be.

It was because of my recklessness and severe injuries that we were at the precipice of victory. Daemon should have been applauding me where he was rebuking me. And Rhaenyra should not have been worried by her husband's news of me at all, not when she would benefit the most from my death.

Yet here I was, gripped harshly in Daemon's hands as I defied his wishes to stay in bed longer.

When that didn't work, he ordered me in the name the Queen to do so, because it was, in fact, her order too.

It dawned onto Daemon that it didn't matter which of them commanded it, I would not be withheld from the cries of war.

"DO YOU WANT TO DIE!?" Daemon demanded finally as I got onto his last nerve.

I did not hesitate to respond.

His expression dropped when he heard me say yes.

It was against myself that I began to bawl in front of him. I had worked so hard to keep my defenses, and yet it was all for naught.

"Why?!" he heaved, hands darting up to my face instead of my arms.

I shake my head. I would have to die first before I admit anything to him.

"I will have you chained like a madwoman before I have you succumb to your darkness," he quips, releasing my face, before dragging me to the tent post, undoing his belt and binding me there with it.

I cry out to him. I tell him to release me, of all of it, so that I wouldn't have to suffer.

"Tell me wife what makes you suffer, who makes you suffer, and I will swiftly end them."

I shake my head at the anger on his face, "Daemon, please."

"TELL ME!" he quips, grabbing my face again.

I choke on my tears finding as I allow my voice to betray me.

Daemon knit his brows, "what was that?"

"It's you, Daemon," I whine, screwing my eyes shut, "it is hell to be around you. I do not want this pain anymore."

He releases me, stepping back twice, "and what mortal err have I done to make you loathe me so?"

I peel my eyes open, chest constricting at the sight of him. I shake my head, "nothing."

Daemon's nostrils flare. He grabs my jaw tightly, face tense with hatred, eyes glassy in betrayal, "then why?"

I whine at the pain of his grip.

He heaves as he releases me, shaking his head as he walks back, "will you drive me mad along with you, selfish bitch?"

I shake my head again, "Daemon-"

"ANSWER ME!"

"Because I want you!" I blurt, "I want you so bad when I should not-- I cannot!" I grip my hands tightly, "we may be married, but you are not mine. You are Rhaenyra's, and I do not wish to ever come in between that. Not after all that has-"

I cut myself off when Daemon began to undo my ties. I myself began to back away from him when he began to rid himself of his clothing.

I threaten him with my words. When that does not deter him, I threaten him with the blade I managed to snag.

He was stoic the entire time. He asked me to kill him, dared me to kill him. Of course I could not. I threw the blade to the side.

He called me a fool as he undressed me. He called me pretty when he began to kiss me. He called me his when he began to fuck me.

I shouldn't have, gods know I shouldn't have, but I did, I let him have his way, because I wanted him to. I wanted him to touch me, to use me, to take his anger out on me. I wanted to for so, so long.

It was everything I ever imagined and more.

And enjoyed it deeply before I hated myself viscerally after.

It was clear at one point that everyone knew of us. Our dynamic had drastically changed from when we were first married to now. They all knew what he and I did in the dark, but why would they care, we were, in fact, married.

I cared though.

And I guess it was the will of the Stanger to allow me that one thing before collecting my soul.

I did not fight against it. I did not try to save myself.

When I decided to take the blow for Daemon in the battle field, it was not out of my selfish desire to find freedom in the shackles I bound myself in, it was because I wanted to save him, I had to save him.

He admonished me as he carried my limp body out of the skirmish. He called my name and threatened to do his worst if I thought of closing my eyes at all.

It was nice to have made it long enough to make it through the transport, to see Rhaenyra, and her and Daemon's children that I myself found to love in my own way.

I felt bad that they all seemed to be sad that I was fading away.

I felt bad that Daemon had to be the one to carry me here.

Where was Daemon?

"He's gone to finish the war," Rhaenyra said, holding my hand firmly in hers.

"You can hear me?" I mutter as I watch her sad face.

"Of course I can, my dear," she caresses my cheek, "why wouldn't I?"

I close my eyes, "I beg your pardon, my queen."

"No!" she calls, shaking my cheek, "you cannot sleep until Daemon has returned. He is but a fortnight nigh."

I hum, "she has been so lonely though."

"Who? Who has been so lonely."

"Visenya."

Rhaenyra pulls her hand away. One of the children gasps.

"I told her that I was not her mother, that you are," I sigh, "but she told me she wanted me to stay with her."

Rhaenyra is bewildered. For a moment she is unable to do nothing. She repeats the name she called. When she is not met with a reply, she takes another moment to collect her thoughts, "you cannot answer my daughter's call. Your duty is with me, not her."

Rhaenyra's face tenses when she does not get a reply yet again.

She calls out, one, twice. She shakes the hand in her grip, and remarks once more about Daemon, knowing that would do the trick, she knows it will, it has to.

A chill runs down her spine when she realizes was for nothing.

It is too late.