#i should probably get him a 10 gal.

[poorlydrawninstarsandtime]

bigger jar

terrarium

[id in alt]

[eonoes]

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Short cut guide: (Y/N) = your character’s name; (e/c) = eye color | self-indulgent; (Y/N) is an artist; gender neutral pronouns used, might've slipped up into female ones by accident and will correct them after proofreading tomorrow.

⋅˚₊‧ ଳ ‧₊˚ ⋅

"What're you doing?"

As sudden as the question rang into their ear, as sudden was the cover of the little booklet closed, the sketchbook, including pen navigated into the tiny pocket of their bag.

"Nothing—"

"Didn't look like nothing to me, though."

Although Rafayel responded in playful teasing, something within his heart was guessing how many slaps on his shoulder he would receive for letting his stealthy fingers glide into the inside of the bag and steal the sketch pad out to skim through.

Maybe his darling beloved should know him better.

Ah— but that little fluster evident on their expression and the quick tuck on the zipper told him that no matter how much he'd pry, he won't get a snoop through the live drawings. They most likely started to realise that he had been watching for longer than the few seconds in which he had made his presence known.

(Y/C) was just guessing, obviously. So engrossed in sketching passers-by while waiting for Rafayel to arrive at the spot they've been supposed to pick each other up for their date. They probably just overglazed the pair of sunset colored eyes on them. He gave plenty of time to fall into focus though. Locked in in the morning traffic of the local produce market, there was just plenty to see, plenty to wait for and... plenty to frustrate over. Both having the pleasure of feeling a different aspect of it, although the last reserved for the Lemurian only, who was sandwiched between bus and ice truck.

How long has it been? (Y/N) could guess that it was a couple of months by now since they've even found the gal to draw more than just three, five or ten lines before tearing up and burrying the material back into the hole that they've been punished into.

Rafayel's lips started to part to start digging further but they quickly managed to cut him off before he could even get started.

„So? Wanna go and check out the limited items? If there are some left that is.“ Enough of a hint but at least it looked like his cutie had a genuine smile on them to let his worries subdue.

„You think they'd find some mercy after I tell them of the 30 minutes I was stuck in the blazing spring sun and taunted with the ice cream car in front of me? Maybe they got a secret stack hidden away just for us,“ he teased as his fingers naturally slipped into the small fist that held onto the bag strap, pulling it down and brushing his fingers between the gaps of theirs in a hold.

„Hm... dunno... maybe they could also give us a discount out of pity? A poor little fish had been sizzling in the sun for THEIR collab items after all!“

Rafayel's eyes crinkled at the corners from the stupid smile plastered so loudly over his lips. He was helplessly in love.

„Oh, they better! Maybe I should also make use of that dusty membership card that Thomas stuffed into my pockets.“

Surprisingly, the trip went well enough that they managed to snag a limited edition mechanical pen and a set of matching shoppers, a great addition to the cringey couple fits they sometimes did.

Passing by, chatting about nothing and everything, they passed a large glass window in the Bloomshore District. 'Pottery classes every Wednesday and Thursday, 10:00h – 16:00h! Bring your friends and get a 500 Gold discount per person!'

„You wanna go?“ his voice gently ripped them out of the muddled focus they had fallen into on accident.

„You'd be up for it?“ (e/c) met his in the mirrored image of the window.

Oh, who were they even asking? „Duh, no. I was just asking to decline.“

„Then, Wednesday next week?“

„Mark it up in your calendar, cutie.“

Their eyes shone with joy and the first flicker of premature excitement. Spending time with Rafayel had always been nice, even if they had their fallouts and little disputes over the silliest things. It just became a bit of a harmonic bonding between them after the little frustrations formed into teasing banter.

Somehow, working on crappy clay plates didn’t kill the joy between them, didn’t make the smiling a bit more taxing, didn’t make hands feel cold. Even (Y/N) couldn’t really describe it but instead of stifling art block, they felt childish freedom when they tried workshops that had nothing to do with drawing.

Mentioning their art around him…

…made it feel like drowning in the coldest of waters.

And they disliked it.

Disliked it because it made them feel envious of his devotion.

Maybe more for the enthusiasm that couldn’t be reciprocated. Listening to his rambles about colors and materials for oil paintings was like seeing passion formed in the purest way in another being.

Excited, devoted, undying.

It was fascinating to watch him grind up the fine pigments into dust and mix the necessary palette together. (Skills that an artist just manifests into their skill set over years.) And, oh, how prettily his eyebrows furrowed, his hands clasped onto the material and the little grumbles of not mixing enough of the liquid into the powder— suddenly that creative slump was overwritten by curiousity.

All that started to lack when it came down of touching the pen themselves.

He even offered making them one so they could try it out at home. Looking so hopeful in what (Y/N) would show him.

They said yes.

Yet didn’t dare touch this perfect present that would be wasted on a lack of talent… and thus, never showed anything.

'There are many artworks that don’t get recognised in this world.',he once said. At days it would ring in their head when catching glimpses of the blank papers waiting on the desk...

Next thing both of them know they had strayed to his car. One thing after another, the promise of ordering fresh seafood and a few snacks already secured in an eco bag he had gotten them from his last trip, leading to (Y/N) cozy in his car. The 'Driver princess' bodyguard' as one of her friends once commented as a joke. Occasionally running their fingers through a few messy velvet strands, the usual 'We'll get into an accident if you distract me like this, cutie.', a chuckle with 'Then keep your eyes on the roa, fishie.' and they had come to the familiar greenery and mosaic path of (Y/N)'s home. It was closer, better better than risk Rafayel to drive all the way back to his studio! — at least that was the generous excuse used by both parties why he had to stay over tonight.

Hand in hand they strode into the lit corridors of the apartment building that (Y/N) had nested into. So much more humble to the home of the prodigy next to them. He never cared about that though. There was so much beauty in the simplicity and non-riches that couldn’t compare to wealth.

Rafayel slid his fingers over their collar, adjusting the slight crook with a sheepish smile that had their heart jump.

„You really fine with staying over? What if I'll munch away all the fish crackers, hm?“

„Oh, puhlease— you must think of me as an amateur for not thinking ahead~“ the Lemurian cooed out, shaking the bag after having it raised up on display. „I bought three packs when you weren’t looking.“

„Why three?“

„One for you, one for me and one to share when we get peckish during movie night.“

Joy rang through the halls through chuckles and giggles. Sweet little remarks, both teasing and endearing, exchanged as (Y/N) fished out the keys and opened the door with a gracious bow for the beloved prince who did his own courtesy before still nudging the other in first. Even now stubborn to let his darling have the honour.

What Rafayel didn't expect, when entering, was a set of fluffy slippers waiting for him. Not just one extra set for guests, no. One that just screamed of his name. A pesky chibi kitty cat hugging a fishie of equal size in it’s paws. If that’s not corny enough, the stitching „I fish u were here </3“ enough to have his poor designers heart cry in anguish. Corny but they probably knew. It was probably the very reason why they had gotten them for him. And why (Y/N) put them down in the corridor. Right next to theirs.

The man had to get a grip with how quick his heart was swelling or he might just become a clingy ass.

Graciously and with a light jump in his step, Rafayel made a beeline into the living room, plopping down the bag onto the cushioned chair before starting to pull out a bowl from the drawer and two wineglasses down the shelf.

„You okay with lobster tonight?“

„The great Rafayel truly knows how to pamper a peasant! Nooo, no, I'd actually want the canned tuna from the discounter, please!“

He grinned like an idiot right now, wasn’t he?

„I'll let them have a fitting wine delivered with it then.“

„And—!“

„And some juice for our gourmet of course!“

(Y/N)'s turn to smile like a fool as they rummaged with pots and pans to have everything set when they could start cooking.

Tossing his phone aside on the couch he elegantly sprawled over, Rafayel took his time to look through the small changes in the apartment. 'Gotta ruffle up the pillows…', he thought when he got up to pick them up one by one and giving them a shake, eyes falling over a few spots in the room as he snooped around with a pillow in tow.

Rafayel had not been blind. Grim as it sounds, he had trained himself to notice little things in his surroundings. People were after his head and he was after theirs. One had to know his targets, no? It had become a habit to let eyes wander loose.

A little A6 watercolor sketchpad tucked not so neatly between two thick file holder. 'Still rather full.'

There were times you had to be prepared to defend yourself or spot even the smallest of traps.

A stack of loose papers clipped down onto cardboard and three pens splayed on top, peaking out after sloppily burried under a novela and an agenda. 'Scurried lines, a bit more zigzagy in the middle...'

It's either eat or be eaten.

A reflection of his cutie that could become a sudden sea storm when frustrated. Caught himself smiling a bit.

Until he felt something in him that was almost like the tides. A feeling that resembled waves that were sucked back into the vast ocean by force and equally pulled those corners down again into a line.

Why didn't his cutie ever mention their passion for art?

The more he looked and paid attention, the more he saw. A hidden canvas between the sleep couch and wall in the livingroom. A gouache palette on top of a simple brown organiser box. At least four pencil cases too much in a shelf he had passed in their room. Two cute scribbles of a character he remembered to belong to some childhood cartoon. What made his heart squeeze more was the little signature and social media tag in small letters at the corner of some of the artworks.

'Gotta check it out later...'

How he had been so blind was absolutely making him frustrated with himself. It was the second time he had been over and only now he just managed to spot all of this!

Alright, can't blame himself. First time he was a bit too ecstatic that he was allowed in that he paid most attention to (Y/N) than getting lost in over-analysing his surroundings (And how cute his precious one was that evening, all for himself in his arms...).

Almost hurt his pride that they were this sneaky enough to hide their joy in art just like today—

Oh.

Oh.

Watching them sketch (shamelessly for five minutes at least)... how he wished that they would have said something. That crease between their eyebrows wasn’t just from focus, was it? It didn’t look like the one they wore when making silly bracelets for both of them or the times when they tried to bend the straws without breaking for a straw basket.

When he started, he couldn’t really stop. It was an invasion of their privacy, no denying it, but his mind fell into a tunel vision for some reason. Suddenly he felt a gloomy itch in his fingers.

He had seen a few aquarelle paintings, gouache ones too in between the little stack, and an A3 sheet with practice scribbles. They were beautiful. Not entirely what he was usually painting or the artworks displayed in galleries but they had their own unique and beautiful charm that just was his dearly beloved's signature. Something more special than any other of the things he saw in art galleries or collectors books. Something so unique in colors and even feelings. Something that was the very portraitation of them.

"Have you been drawing... obscure things on purpose?"

He slotted himself in the doorframe of their kitchen, hand raising up a sketchpad with silly stickers plastered all over, labelled with the digits of two years back. One of their favourites to reminisce in when feeling nostalgic.

(Y/N) was stunned for the first few seconds. Not mad that he looked through their things without permission, they did too a good amount of times in his atelier after all, but just… nervous. How much did he see? What would he think? Is he mad?

"Hey, I wouldn't call it obscure! It's my expression of freedom of the perfectionistic mindset!" They huffed out in retort but that playfulness died down when the tips of their lips angled into a line again before taking a downward curl when the brows pinched a bit together into a crease.

"... I don't know..."

It was a feeling that was difficult to describe. Imposter syndrome maybe? Wouldn’t entirely fit the situation though since there were no accomplishments done with the stuff. Only fleeting dreams and wishes that started to leave the heart rotting in pain.

Not enough.

That’s what it felt like on one part. No matter what would be created it wasn’t worth for the world or anyone. It was easier to draw it childishly ugly; hurt less when it was just looking like it was intended to: amateurish and not to be taken seriously. Because showing him their actual skill, hearing his thoughts and maybe even some praise to their actual art seemed so... weirdly saddening. The words would just sound like lies if the creator couldn't find the same beauty in their art, no?

They were worlds apart.

A famous painter and the one that never managed to break through the soil that nourished them.

Their hand reached out to take the sketchbook back and stuff it into some shelf, „'s not like it’s anything special. Just a few scribbles here and there—“

Only for their fingers to miss it by a few millimeters when he pulled it up higher with a frown, „—it's special to me.“

Darn… here it came and the floodgates were close to open.

„It’s not worth talking about…“

„What do you mean 'not worth it'? I never knew you were into watercolors! I've been mixing you the wrong palettes the whole time. Tell me next time! You gotta make a full painting out of this one! The strokes are flowy and dynamic, it would look good with some co—“

But before he could say any word further, he was cut out by a sob and his eyes instantly looked away from the page he had open, down to his better half holding in tears.

„It’s worthless. Just cut it out. Please.“

The excitement formed into silence then seriousness when the assumptions came true after all. And all he wanted to do was to pull this nagging comparisons, hatred and perfectionism away from their heart which were leaching off of them. His arms wrapped over their form, pulling them tightly against him for grounding. In a few moments they had one of their own around his waist while keeping their face buried in his shirt. How much he smelled of the ocean and the freedom of the beach.

In that time, no one said anything. A few sobs slipped out, his lips whistling out soft shushes and promises of it being fine, all while running his unoccupied hand over their head in gentle strokes.

He thought back on the sketches he saw, the latest dating back a week ago.

"Do you want to learn oil painting?"

In such a gentle and understanding tone, Rafayel had caught their attention back and pulled their mind out of the pitch dark sea again. Why it stirred their heart this strongly was unknown. But it resonated with that fist-sized muscle so strongly.

They pulled a bit away to rub their eyes clean, earning a few pecks from him that dried their cheek off as good as they could. The cold sea felt so warm right now for some reason. As if he had enlightened the depths with his Evol and automatically their heart with it. Or maybe it was just the empathy one felt for the other after having been through the same nightmare.

"Please."

[noctispuffin]

Danny Phantom x Dc universe crossover

Hey Guys, I've been captured by the hyperfixation train as you can probably tell what it is from above. I have started writing out a fic and just wanted to post the beginning of what I have here to get a general consensus before I think of publishing it on AO3.

So Long summary short, it's gonna be braindead pairing (Tim/Danny). The general ideas I have going so far are as follows.

Notes/plans for Future chapters: -captured by giw (gonna work on some gore, get that absolute hate going for them, and we all love the autopsy scar) -cosmic/eldritch horror danny (later in fic/Series)

maybe trans danny -ghost cannibalism

revenant red hood

liminal amity parkers

constantine/ soul fragments

ghost politics

coffee Is ambrosia

17yr old danny/ 17 year old Tim Drake

summoning - jl bashing

scarred danny

ghouls Are Trapped By The Bound. -ghouls are the boogeyman of the infinite realms -ghouls feed off the life force of other beings -ghouls use spiders as spies -All realms have spiders/ Spider adjacent creatures.

There will be Oc Villians and Characters later in the Story

So yeah Long post but here is the beginning of chapter 1.

Waking up with a raging headache was not fun. He was dead. Or half dead at least. Headaches should not be an issue. Also, A. He was missing his coffee. B. He was tied to a chair in some… Funhouse? Warehouse?? and C. His. Coffee. Was. Missing.

Now don't get him wrong the tied-to-a-chair thing was rather important but being who he was it wasn't the first time it's happened and it won't be the last. Now the lack of "guys in white" was a bonus, as it means his identity is still intact at least but that doesn't rule out any of the other usual suspects. However, the Funhouse or warehouse… (seriously what's with all the weird clown-themed shit??) atmosphere was at least a little off-putting.

He frowns a bit as he looks out from beneath his bangs at the large area, boxes, and crates pushed out of the way to the sides of the warehouse. Nothing particularly menacing persay… if you could ignore the fruitloop standing 10 feet in front of him in the plum tuxedo with wild green hair, and holding a comically large red button monologuing to a camera.

A Camera.

Shit.

That means he can't just up and leave, even if this is Eisenhower he can't just leave and reveal his identity as Phantom or add any more suspicion to Danny Fenton. The GIW were dumb but they weren't that dumb.

He heaves a deep sigh and decides to at least get this dumb interaction over with.. Maybe he can make this freak knock the camera over cause he's almost entirely sure that the camera is still functioning enough to send out a signal if the red light on it meant anything.

"Freakshow what the hell. Look, We get it circus gothica-" He snaps his mouth shut as the man turns to look at him with a small glare and a deranged smile.

That.

That was most definitely not Eisinhowen. Not unless he somehow managed to fuck up his pale ass face more than it already was.. were… were those scars??!! up his cheeks?!! What the fuuuuck…

"It seems ladybirds and gentle bats that our esteemed guest has finally awoken from his beauty sleep!! What do you have to say to the people of Gotham Young Timothy Drake?!" The man (- the Joker. OH fuuuuuck This is the Joker!!!-) cackles to the camera as he makes a grand sweeping gesture towards him.

Wait, how did he get to Gotham?? -- Not the time.

"who?"

Ok well, that wasn't the smartest response he has ever come up with.

"Wh- What do you mean? Who? WHO?? What is this some sort of knock knock joke?" The clown looks at him and deflates slightly with his confusion before he shakes himself, fixes the lapels of his suit and turns back to the camera with a large smile and a deranged cackle.

"Well, it seems the young CEO has some gal to him! What’s to say I finish this knock-knock joke with a punch line hmm? Better hurry Batsy you know how much I love a good punchline." He giggles with a smile - giggles? seriously?? How much creepier can clowns get-

"Look uh… Joker right? I think you have the wrong person" He starts off, slowly speaking as if he were talking to a particularly unstable ghost. Only to cut himself off at the gun that swiftly appears out of the clown's suit and is pointed directly at his head.

“You have half an hour, Bats. Half an hour before the smart mouth here learns what the taste of good old-fashioned lead tastes like.” The clown's smile just grows ever wider as he takes a few dancing steps towards him.

He feels his mouth pull into a disgusted grimace as the barrel of the gun swings around to tap him on the forehead as the creep gets closer to him.

“Look-” He tries to start again, his view of the camera obscured by the gaudy purple suit and painted face hosting wild eyes.

BANG

He doesn’t flinch. He doesn’t. That would be silly. He was already half dead. There is no way that a simple bullet through his frontal lobe, mixing the grey and white matter of his brain together with a burning efficiency and the fury of a fire would kill him fully.. Right? When did he close his eyes?? Fuck this asshole was laughing again..

His blue eyes opened slowly and trail to the sting along his left temple. The gun was aimed just to the left of his forehead and there was some sort of sharp metal rod with a piece of fabric hanging from the end laying along the stinging, and now he was pretty sure bleeding along his temple.

“Hehe! Whoopsies!” The red of the clowns painted smile seemed to crack a bit as he leaned away and waved the gun around, splattering small drops of red blood from the-

Was that a fucking prop gun?! With the whole stick with the bang flag on it?? Wtf…

“This thing just has a mind of its own!” The freakshow look alike turned back to the camera with that deranged smile of his.

“Now as I was saying, As much as i'm sure Mr. Wayne would like for you to come and rescue him, you my little friends have some more important things to be dealing with!” The man strides away and grabs the camera swinging it away from Danny so it could focus solely on what seemed to be some sort of pipebomb- no- time bomb? Bomb. Was attached to a crate full of gas cylinders.

“This is one of many I have set up at certain places in the city. Detonated, of course, by the timer running out. You only have enough time to find and disarm all of them or save the poor soul of this child. See cause if you miss even one bomb, well they all go off. Disarm all of them or None of them!! HAha! Now I'd hurry along. The timer has already begun!!” The joker slams the camera back into place on the tripod so that both Danny and the digital clock behind him are visible.

He keeps his face carefully neutral as he watches the Joker waltz past him to presumably where the exit is located in this mess of a warehouse. He can hear the distant sounds of a door slamming and a large padlock clicking shut before a car starts up and drives off.

Well. This is not how he expected to spend his evening.

Last thing he remembered was trying to put together how much savings he had saved up so he could visit Jazz at college and meeting with his mom and dad for his birthday supper at nasty burger… After that it just became fuzzy and when he tried to think harder his head started to pound and the stinging of his temple seemed to double in intensity. Weird.. Not the current concern though. Time to get out of here. He couldn’t see the clock from where he was tied up but he could assume it probably wasn’t the most gracious amount of time.

He shifted back to lean into the back of the chair and wiggled his hands and fingers to figure out just how tight he was tied up. Tight but not terrible. He still had the normal amount of decreased blood flow in his hands. So, not as tight as the GIW goons like to do them but tight enough to bruise his skin.

Scowling lightly, his left hand phased through the ropes with little issue before bringing both arms around front to wiggle his torso out of the rooms holding him to the chair. His legs took a bit more work from slightly numb fingers to work the knots open and free his legs.

Pushing himself to his feet and nearly falling flat on his face was a surprise however. His legs felt like dead weight. Pins and needles starting in his thighs alerting him to the lack of blood flow to his lower half. His legs were.. Asleep? That was not normal. With his slowed heart rate and half dead metabolism the only times that ever happened was when he was with nocturne and went into a more “dead sleep” as he liked to call it. Usually the ancient would help him wake up before it got that far though..

Letting go of the chair that he had used to catch himself and half shuffling half limping over to the camera he scowled at the older model and flipped the screen so he could see what was being recorded.

A very static filled screen with hints of warehouse at the edges. Perfect. That was normal at least then, well normal for him around non ecto- contaminated electronics. He stepped back towards the chair and watched the static recede with his figure from the camera. Alright, hopefully this works.

“Hey uh.. Look I am not who he thinks I am? I am fine, I'll disarm the bomb here as best I can and then I’ll head out.. It seems like we are by a river? So I am hoping no workers are around but better to get rid of the thing, am I right?” He chuckled nervously, hand coming up to wipe at the beads of blood trailing down his cheek.

“So uh yeah Ill just do that and go? Uhh.. Yeah bye.” He nods a bit as he walks back to it and shuts the camera off.

Alright disarming a bomb.. It can’t be that hard can it? The mess of wires and C4 clay connecting the bomb and the cylinders looked more like a mess of silly string and playdoh than anything. Well it was more intuitive than the wiring his dad used at least.

Alright so that one to there.. That one connects the detonator and the… Right. Ok looks like separating the yellow and purple wires from the timer and the green and red from the detonator and back up detonator should prevent this thing from turning this entire area into a gas covered crater. Hopefully.

Using his fingers he disconnects the first two wires from each other only swearing slightly when electricity races through the wires and singes his fingertips. He sucks on the finger that got the worst of it before turning his other hand invisible and pushing it into the bomb to disconnect the wires hidden within the clay casing without disturbing anything that would set the backup detonator off.

“Fucking clowns… Robbing banks, kidnapping people, and now bombs.. Of all the things that could make me hate clowns more..” He grumbled around his finger under his breath as he observed the bomb closely and used his enhanced hearing to listen for the tell tale buzz of the still live bomb.

Silence.

Good. Now to get the hell outta dodge and figure out a way back to Amity.

And maybe pick up another coffee.

He wiped his fingers on his now rumpled jeans and dirty shirt before walking directly through the wall out to the side of the warehouse.

Tim was a smart kid. Sure he could get a little.. Exuberant, when something caught his attention. But that was normal. Completely normal. So maybe he gets a little sleep deprived now and then and maybe a little dehydrated, but that doesn’t mean anything!

Any person would stay up for 4 days straight to figure out why the riddler changed the font of his riddles to make sure it wasn’t some convoluted plan that meant he was working with some cult or was a clone working as a distraction for something larger!!

So sue him for drinking from a random coffee in the mess of half empty mugs in the hidden study he was working in, that may and or may not (read: definitely was) laced with enough melatonin and benadryl to knock out a horse while he was distracted with a case.

That was 13 hours ago.

Waking up from a sleep like that can always be a little disorienting. So when the silence of the manor finally reaches his muddled mind through the thick fog of sleep he immediately clocks something as wrong and is fighting to wake himself up fully. He narrows his eyes at the cups around him before pushing himself up and stumbling down the halls to the kitchen where he can grab a can of cold coffee from Dick’s stash hidden in the locked minifridge.

A few good sips from that has him at least alert enough to clock once again just how quiet and still the manor is. Now to be fair the manor was always a revolving door for the Wayne family and friends. But the only people who were often living here were him, Alfred, Bruce, and the demon brat.

Even with such a big place like the manor he should at least be able to pick up the tell tale signs of Bruce listening to music while doing paperwork or Alfred moving around the manor cleaning, or even the demon Brat playing with his menagerei or working with his literal arsenal of sharp weapons in his room.

Now, Silence.

Ok so based on his phone he was out for about 13 hours. That wasn’t all that long. He had gone longer without checking in so it's not like B had everyone panicking looking for him.. But where was everyone?

He lifted the cold coffee to his lips again and reveled in the bitter taste for a second before starting off towards the cave. It was probably fine. They were probably just out on patrol and Alfred was probably out doing something or other..

The cave was in a state of pandemonium. Well as much pandemonium as could be considered as such for the bat family. B, Dick, Steph and Damian were all standing staring up at the main computer. Well Dick was holding on to the hood of Damian who looked like he was trying to escape the grasp to get to his weapons and Bruce looked downright murderous. Even Dick and Steph looked pissed off.

The lilting and crazed sound of the joker's laugh echoed in the cavernous space of the cave and his scarred face and lithe body filled up most of the screen. He seems to have wandered in, just in the middle of the Clowns next big scheme. Great.

"Well, it seems the young CEO has some gal to him! What’s to say I finish this knock-knock joke with a punch line hmm? Better hurry Batsy you know how much I love a good punchline."

CEO huh? Wonder who he grabbed this time, he scowls slightly as he takes another sip of the cold drink only to choke as Joker steps aside and he catches a glimpse of himself?!!

He coughs sharply and feels 4 pairs of sharp eyes swing to him. Out of the corner of his eye he can see 3 sets of shoulders relax slightly and 1 set of suspicious eyes immediately start ping ponging between the screen and him as he works to clear his windpipe of cold brew.

“What the fu-” He starts to cough out before being interrupted by Not Tim.

"Look uh… Joker right? I think you have the wrong person" Not Tim starts as the camera tries to focus on them but seems to have difficulty as the picture around him is warped and covered in pixels and static. Even his voice had a slightly warped and staticky quality to it.

Shit. Everyone in Gotham knows not to give the joker sass.

“You have half an hour, Bats. Half an hour before the smart mouth here learns what the taste of good old-fashioned lead tastes like.” The joker cuts the guy off as he takes a few steps towards the man. And man he was.. Damn he looked skinny and honestly not that great from the little bits and pieces he could see of him through the static and distortion but the closer the Joker got to the kid the more the static seemed to open up a bit.

All eyes are drawn back to the Joker as he pulls his revolver from his coat pocket and aims it at what he can only assume is the other boy's forehead. Bruce- No Batman, the cowl and uniform were on. Was already leaping into the batmobile and Robin and spoiler weren’t far behind him. Here’s hoping Oracle had already pinpointed the location this was at, but it was unlikely even B and the others would get there in time to save this kid from Joker's wrath.

“Look-” the kid tries again and he can hear the slight waver in their voice as the Joker obscures the camera’s view of the kid.

He feels his jaw tick as he looks back up the screen, feet slowly carrying him up to the platform to stand just behind Dick as they watch the unfolding scene. The pixelation and distortion of the screen was visible in an almost halo effect around the joker as he stands just in front of the boy. The boy was completely obscured but the joker was perfectly clear.. Well about as clear as an old video camera got. Looked like from the quality like it was an old D90 digital point and shoot.

Not known for having video problems like this though..

BANG.

He scowls looking directly at the screen even as his stomach rolls slightly, expecting to see the blood start dripping down the guys pixelated form and his head to be forced back by the metal pole from which Joker had probably skewered him with his gag gun.

Blood and guts weren’t exactly a new thing to him and his siblings. Especially not in this profession. Not in this town..

““Hehe! Whoopsies!” The lack of blood that he is seeing as the Joker laughs and steps back enough for them to get a quick view of the form before the pixels swarm back in to obscure him.

“This thing just has a mind of its own!” The Joker prattles on as he reaches past Dick to press a few keys on the keyboard and bring up a still shot of the somewhat blurry but probably the clearest view they have had of the person tied up so far. It sits hovering in the left corner as the Joker goes on to prattle about his plans for destroying the city or the bats or whatever in the background.

“Now as I was saying, As much as i'm sure Mr. Wayne would like for you to come and rescue him, you my little friends have some more important things to be dealing with!”

“Mr. Wayne?” he says quietly to Dick who was standing beside him leaning forwards to look closer at the screen.

“Thinks it’s you apparently.” He responds sounding confused himself as he glances between the still shot and Tim with narrowed eyes.

He just shakes his head slightly as he starts running the still shot through the city's databases. He hears Oracle reporting sites of possible bombs to B and the others as Dick stands up and walks off to get on his bike to go help.

“Nightwing you're with Red who I hear is completely fine by the way.” The voice says pointedly as Tim slides a com into his ear.

“Hey it's not my fault you guys thought it was me!” He retorts as he slips into his uniform and starts his bike to follow Nightwing out of the cave towards the docks.

“Oh Noooo It's not like the black haired insomniac who went MIA for half a day definitely couldn’t be the Black haired unconscious insomniac tied up by The Joker of all people.” Jason retorts shortly through the comms as they pull away form the cave. He can see Dick smirk a bit as they make the trip over to the area Oracle sent them.

“Nice to hear from you too.” He snarks back slightly, even more annoyed now, knowing that even Jason was brought in on this. He did not need more blackmail for Todd to use against him. “Why is the walking dead helping anyways. Shouldn’t he be digging his own grave again?”

“Fuck you too replacement.” Comes the annoyed response.

“Enough.” B’s voice cuts across the banter. “While the unknown civilian was unconscious we could see him a lot better on camera. After being unable to contact and locate you we assumed the worst. Focus on your missions. I want all bombs and statuses related to Oracle as they are defused.” The communicator clicked slightly meaning he had been put back to a channel with only him and Nightwing and presumably Oracle if she was still listening, well she was always listening but not the point.

“Did they really look that much like me?” He asks after a few seconds of silent racing through the paved alleys and streets of gotham. The docks on the gotham river weren’t too far off he could smell it in the distance through his helmet. The building they were going to was in Gotham Proper (the lower of course).

“Yeah. They did.” Nightwing responds, his voice slightly strained showing that he was concerned that it really had been Tim kidnapped at the time.

“Huh..” Is all he can respond with as he thinks back to the still shot and pulls his bike to a stop behind Nightwing in the alley across from the building that Oracle sent them.

From the outside it was dark, not exactly clean and obviously uninhabited. The same couldn’t be said for the remainder of the buildings on the street. Light from covered windows and the distant rattle of a cart being dragged showed the life wading through the heavy atmosphere of Gotham lower.

Once Nightwing and him had gotten into the building and had located the bomb. Connected to laughing gas. New batch probably seeing as Robin and B had destroyed the last manufacturing plant. Which means no immediate antidote. Great.

He sighs as he pulls open his wrist computer to start analyzing the wiring only for his com to be reconnected with a flurry of activity from the others. Making him and Nightwing glance at each other as he worked on disarming the bomb in front of them.

“He’s escaped-”

“Not Possible-!!”

“He’s gonna get himself blown up?!!”

“Quiet.” The commanding voice of Batman broke across the chaos of the comms silencing all of the voices at once. No one wanted to cross a direct order from Batman.

“Oracle. What is going on.” He continued after a moment of silence.

“The civilian managed to escape his bonds and is going to attempt to defuse the bomb at the warehouse.” Her voice was calm and for the most part steady as they had all been trained to be when giving reports but the slight tremor was unmistakable. She was concerned.

To be fair, so was Tim. Who was this kid? Why did he think he could diffuse a bomb??! Especially one made to specifically lull those into a false sense of security only to blow up in your face a second later! A glance over at Nightwing showed he was just as concerned about the news as he was.

“Ill deal with it.” Batman’s voice responds after a brief pause and then the coms are silent once more aside from Oracle directing members of the bat family to the secondary bomb locations of those who had managed to defuse the initial ones.

He hissed softly as a sharp jolt manages to pierce his insulated gloves when he disconnects two of the wires. He can feel Nightwing’s eyes on the back of his head but he ignores the look and continues reaching further into the bomb to find the last 2 wires that had to be disconnected from the detonator and backup detonator.

He pulls his hand out and Nightwing reports that they defused the bomb getting an affirmative grunt from Batman.

“Bomb at the warehouse has already been defused. Civilian is no longer in the building or immediate area. Robin and I will go after the joker. Keep your eyes open for the civilian. I want them found. There was blood at the scene, they may need assistance.” Batman’s words are short and clipped but the concern and curiosity are there.

That only works to make Tims curiosity over this whole thing even worse.

After a brief discussion, Nightwing and him split up in hopes of covering more of Gotham to see if they can find this strange civilian. Oracle was going to keep an eye out on the cameras but Tim had his doubts that that would work with how the camera acted when it recorded the stranger.

Pausing on the edge of the roof he crouches down slightly to pull up the footage of the Jokers video before he got to the cave. All this concern over if this kid was him or not was starting to bug him. B and the others prided themselves on being able to pick out small details. Small differences. That is what made them such great detectives!

So how was it there was someone out there that looked exactly like him, was not in any of the records of Gotham and that also got captured by the joker? It just wasn’t plausible!

Now sure dopplegangers, clones, shapeshifting aliens, those were all things that came with the lifestyle and things that they had encountered and dealt with but usually with all that they tended to claim that they were the original.

Well most of the time at least.

But not this kid.. He scrubs through the footage quickly on his wrist hologram, it was just so weird.. One minute the Joker is setting up the camera and laughing as he taunted the Bats, an unconscious “Tim” in the background. The next his eyes flashed open under the black fringe of hair and the pixels and distortion just appeared!

Ok that was kinda weird, he’s pretty sure he has that shirt.. And those shoes but they were way cleaner and didn’t look like they had run a mile and a half through the swamp. The lighting was crummy enough in the warehouse that he supposed the jeans could look like the new pre- worn pair that he got from Kon.. Just who was this guy?

He pauses the feed after the Joker leaves and the guy manages to get out of the ropes holding him to the chair in a frankly worrying amount of time. No civilian knew how to get out of ropes that fast. Not even a tried and true gothamite who got tied up on the regular.

The stumbling and almost falling flat on his face on the concrete definitely was not something that spoke to someone who was just knocked out however. Drugged maybe? Or a concussion?? Both of those weren’t above something that the Joker would do..

And there is the static and distortion again. What the hell is going on with this camera and this guy.. It's like the static was specifically hiding this guy's identity! It followed him for god's sake as he walked away from the camera!

“Hey uh.. Look I am not who he thinks I am? I am fine, I'll disarm the bomb here as best I can and then I’ll head out.. It seems like we are by a river? So I am hoping no workers are around but better to get rid of the thing, am I right?”

The voice was similar in tone to his but even with the distortion warping it it had an accent to it. He couldn’t place the accent immediately but it was definitely there. “So uh yeah Ill just do that and go? Uhh.. Yeah bye.” The camera shuts off shortly after that concerning statement. Although, he supposed there was nothing to really be concerned about? After all this guy diffused the bomb. And well enough to have B concerned.

The sound of a trash can falling over and quiet swearing from a few alley’s over quickly garners his attention. Probably some drunk stumbling around but better to be safe than sorry. He deftly stands from his crouch and swings over the next few rooves, dropping onto the edge of the roof to look down into the darkened alley curiously.

That was.. That was the civilian. Well guess it's his lucky day! Wait - night? Night.

“SHit?!” Danny hisses to himself as he clips his foot against the metal trash bin sending it and whatever was inside crashing onto the already disgusting alleyway. His one leg was still bothering him for some reason. The pins and needles had barely eased up in his leg calf and foot and yet his right leg had returned to normal already. Something was up with that.

He lifts his hand to his left brow to double check the bleeding from the gunshot (stab? Cut- thing?) had eased off and closed up. With how polluted Gotham was already he didn’t need to be adding his weird ass blood to the mix. Luckily enough for him it seemed that Gotham had a larger than normal amount of ambient ectoplasm in the area meaning he could heal up his wounds faster then he would be able to using his own ectoplasmic energies.

“Son of A BI-” He spits out as he trips over a shade that darts out of a wall and makes him fall face first into the sticky and wet alley ground. He groans annoyed as he pushes himself back up to his knees and looks at his shirt and pants. How the hell was he supposed to explain this mess to his parents now… He smelled like piss and vomit and unfiltered ectoplasmic waste. They would already be pissed he missed his birthday supper and now he was in another state entirely. Fuck.

Someone was watching him.

He blinks slowly knowing the familiar feeling of eyes on him but this time it wasn’t some ghost. No, these eyes had weight behind them that ghosts simply couldn’t convey.

Homeless? … No, too intense.. Robber? Probably not but can’t be ruled out… Murderer? Well knowing his luck..

He frowns to himself and glances down at his left leg before pushing himself to his feet and angling himself to see if he could spot the person watching him without letting them know he knows they are there. As long as it was just some human he can lose them pretty easily by walking through a few walls but if it was something else.. Well he will cross that bridge when he gets there.

There. On the roof. He could just barely see the slight movement as whoever this was slid out of his line of sight.

Fuck. Probably a vigilante then. That was the last thing he needed right now. He just needed 5 minutes to himself to breathe, check his leg, and get the ring out of his pocket dimension to tear himself a portal back to amity.

He takes the next turn down the maze of allies and picks up his pace only to practically turn the corner and run into a dark figure about a head shorter than him.

He scowls slightly as he takes in the cape and domino mask. So a vigilante then. He was right. Damn.

“Where are you off to?” The guy smirks, crossing his arms over his chest as he looks up at Danny. His outfit was a mix or red and black armour. Well at least the armour cut some nice figures over his outline.. Wonder if being hot was a necessity for being a vigilante here.

“Anywhere but where I was.” He answers cryptically, crossing his own arms over his chest as he gets a better look at this guy. Sharp jaw, thick black hair, high cheekbones, fit- damn if this dude wasn’t a vigilante he would be just his type..

“Well that's one way to answer, but seriously why are you out here? Don’t you know it's dangerous out here at this time of night?” The vigilante frowns slightly as if he was worried about Danny of all people.

“I.. I can take care of myself.” He responds shortly as he looks down at the smaller hero and moves to step around the guy. “Now if you don't mind.”

“I do mind actually,” Red responds, reaching out to grab his arm.

Danny moves out of reach as quickly as he can, letting this guy's hand phase through his arm to prevent him from actually touching him.

“Don’t. Don’t.. Don’t touch me.” He snaps out quickly trying to reign in his emotions before he actually did something to this guy he might regret.

“Look, it's been a long night. I just want to get home and sleep all this” He waves vaguely around and behind him “off. So I don't know what you want or who you think you are but leave. Me. Alone.”

He glares at the vigilante, hoping that this would work. Maybe if he was just rude and annoying enough the guy would back off enough for him to go intangible and get into one of these buildings so he can properly work on getting home.

Red just raises a brow making his mask arch with the movement, as his hands come up in a surrendering gesture.

“Easy there friend, look probably not the best way to have started this encounter but it's clear you aren't from around here. And therefore probably don't know who I am” He says the last bit under his breath.

Danny can't help the small snort that he gives that sentence but otherwise doesn't acknowledge him aside from just glaring.

“Names Red Robin, vigilante of Gotham. And you are??…” the guy- red Robin, offers him a hand to shake like a peace offering.

He considers the hand for a moment before sighing through his nose and dragging a hand through his hair. He shakes the hand and drops it quickly to keep the contact to a minimum. He didn’t need to give Red another reason to be suspicious and his lower body temperature tended to be a cause of concern for people who didn’t know him. He grits his teeth a bit before shifting his weight off his left leg. The feeling was still coming back, if a lot slower than normal. He would have to have Sam take a look when he got back.

“Danny. Now I really do need to be going.” He says shortly. “So if that's all.”

“You're injured.”

Those two words make him freeze and his heart stop In his chest.

“Look we can help just-”

He didn't even notice when this body decided to start running but he was. Dark and twisting alleys flashing past him as he pressed his legs to go faster. He couldn’t phase here. He said ‘we’. Who was we?? The GIW?? Fuck if he was working with them- who was he kidding they all probably were, the justice league any of their little hero's. Fuck he needed to get out of here yesterday.

He risked a glance behind him as he could still feel the energy of the person chasing him but for the moment he was out of sight. He had to risk it. There's no way a Gotham Vigilante would give up the chase. He'd seen what they were like from the news.

He dove around the corner and threw intangibility around himself like a familiar cloak as he nearly crashed through the brick wall that made up the end of the alley.

He quickly stopped breathing as he heard the near silent steps round the corner he did just seconds ago. The vigilante was alone still… For now. He couldn't stick around to see how long that would last. He stuck his hand into the fabric of reality and opened up his pocket dimension sliding the ring onto his finger with a small frown at the familiar overwhelming wave of power that accompanied the damn thing.

He shifted slightly and let the phase cover him silently till he was back as Phantom. It was familiar at least. Being Phantom. Not ‘high king Phantom’ just.. Phantom.

He shook his head as he listened to the other side of the wall. Red Robin seemed to be talking to someone but there were no other signs of living energy in the 500M radius of the two of them. Must be some sort of communication system.. sounded like it wasn't working very well if the muttered curses were anything to go by.

That would be his cue to leave anyways. If the vigilante put 2 and 2 together about the electronics.. If he hasn't already. He really would be screwed.

The high-pitched whine of something being launched and catching on the roof above him had him simultaneously ripping a hole in the fabric of reality and turning to look at the windows that were not boarded up, above his hiding space.

The minute toxic green eyes met those of the domino mask he was throwing himself through the portal and sealing it shut behind him.

[rileys-battlecats]

Finally made some simple reference sheets for my little guys :D I also put together some little facts about them and their personalities :P

Minare

pronounced mee-NAH-ray

Half leader, half figurehead to the rebellion against the current king and his heir

The people who work with her respect her as the last scion of the true royal line, but also they have known her since she was Fresh Out The Womb so she's also kind of their baby. Collectively. Collective rebel baby

Disregard the fact she's like. Early twenties. That's their baby girl

This makes Minare A Little Insane. She loves the rebels, they've supported her and her family through the worst times they've seen in living memory, but also She's An Adult and she NEEDS to have someone respect her and her decisions.

Her opinions don't always hold the weight that she thinks they should, her being the future ruler of the kingdom and all

Much of her work in the rebellion is stunted by the fact that she is THE last of the true royal family, so she is Not Expendable. They have to keep her safe, and she knows why, but it's also a little infuriating that she can't help more

Dangerous missions are an Absoultely Not, but Mina still helps by doing safer missions and planning/strategizing

She's been given tons of self-defense training, and she carries a short blade with her just about everywhere. This is seen as slightly unusual, but ultimately understandable for a young lady when she's traveling on her own often. Like having a can of pepper spray with you

Makes casual friends very easily; she manages to seem incredibly open and personable while simultaneously telling you Nothing important about her personal life

That being said, she doesn't have many close friends. She doesn't want to put anyone in danger, and she also doesn't want to put herself or the rebels in danger by making an opening that could be exploited. Her friendship with Vaitus is something that happens without her really meaning for it to happen. She just looks up one day and realizes she's gotten way too attached to this guy that was supposed to just be another acquaintance

She's got a protective streak a mile wide. if she makes the connection in her brain that she's responsible for someone, they INSTANTLY become someone Under Her Protection. This clashes with the inherent sacrifices she has to make as a leader of a political rebellion with high stakes consequences for each decision made

If one were to ask a random citizen of the capital if they know Minare, 9 times out of 10 they're at least acquainted with her. she's always keeping an ear out for people who need help, and is known for being able to give them a hand. If she's not doing the helping herself, she probably knows a guy

Loves finicky work. tinkering, fixing things, touching up stuff, anything that most people would find boring to work on, she's your gal

Vaitus

I'm. not sure how to explain pronunciation like I did with Minare. It's 'Vai' like in 'vital', and 'tus' like in 'tusk'

Doing His Best™

Crown Prince of the kingdom. I think I might name the kingdom 'Acora' but I haven't decided on that quite yet

"Crown" Prince is kind of an unnecessary title, since there's no other heirs. There used to be! Up until Vaitus was around 7 years old, he was one of the last in line for the throne. But then An Event occurred. I will get into this event at another time, I've got a few animatic ideas for it :P

Vaitus is less than enthused (read: terrified) by the idea of becoming king one day, but he's also aware that the kingdom would almost certainly fall into chaos if the current king died without a ready heir. A rush to fill a power vacuum could tear the kingdom apart. So he just. keeps on keeping on!

Fantasy autism. it's just like real life autism except the royal physicians diagnosed him with "occasionally possessed of foul spirits and daemons" so the diagnosis wasn't really helpful. He has no idea why he suddenly loses the ability to speak (or sometimes even think) in high stress situations. this is especially unfortunate when most of his life consists of going from one high-stress situation to another

Very thoughtful. will not speak until he's got the full sentence ready + 3 possible follow up sentences depending on where the conversation goes

Animal lover. but he doesn't know this until he gets to interact with an animal. he meets one (1) stray dog and is so normal about it (lying)

TERMINAL rbf

Was told as a child that it's impolite to not make eye contact with people, so now he makes All The Eye Contact. he's being polite. wait what do you mean he's being scary

[tennessoui]

hello miss kit! loving all your responses to the asks everyone got such interesting thoughts!! I know you love all your children equally but which gffa au do you love just a bit more than the others? (excluding counselling au lol)

what a hard ask oof

good thing i have a glass of wine and a lot of time on my hands! so i just rated all my fics set in the gffa

(i had a LOT of time on my hands)

a fish hook, an open eye: 7/10 - it's hardly set in the gffa at all tbh i love earnest evil puppy anakin & conniving obi-wan who gets more than he bargained for. needed more cody, tbh a more perfect union: 10/10 - i'm biased obviously cause i just finished this fic so it's fresh on my mind but it was so fun to write! i loved trying to balance the humor and the seriousness and the council scene (both of them!) was just so great amort & amor: 6/10 - i just think anakin would probably not be that cool about obi-wan getting another padawan lol but it's fluffy and cute and i'm glad i wrote it! bed warden, bed warmer: 8/10 - obi-wan would be the worst patient in the history of the world. he's such an asshole which i love writing but he's also so clearly very smitten with anakin. he's just going to be an asshole about it building a boat with no blueprints: 7/10 - i know yall dont know how it ends but i know how it ends ;) burn every bridge but please leave me a boat: 6/10 - my first attempt at reverse master&padawan au which is a dynamic i really love. i would rate this fic higher, but i wish i had started it in a different place and relied less on mental flashbacks but a number: 9/10 - happy almost one year to this fic! i had to get someone to cheer-read this fic for me because i was worried that i was being too hard on aging/obi-wan's body falling apart and anakin feeling old and tired at age 40 but then i saw a bunch of gifs of obi-wan jumping off stuff and i was like yeah his body probably does feel like it's falling apart foolproof, foolhardy: 10/10 - i literally have not has so much fun with a cliffhanger since i last updated time & tide. no notes, just stupid oblivious padawan obi-wan trying to seduce master skywalker into his bed, unaware that master skywalker would crawl over burning coals to kiss his hand. hand in unlovable hand: 6/10 - not my favorite adaptation from tumblr fic to ao3 fic - i used too much of the original ficlet and always feels clunky to me. i do like sith vader manipulating obi-wan into falling!! yes baby, you twist and ruin that jedi master and make him yours haunt me then: 8/10 - i love non-sequential storytelling and also padmé loving anakin so much that she sacrifices a child to bring him back only for him to come back solely to live and breathe for obi-wan hold me fast or kill me quick: 3/10 - would be a higher rating but this fic haunts me. i want to finish her someday and until i do i will not rest peacefully at night. get these stupid soulmates to communicate! i pray the same, but my gods have changed: 10/10 - i love writing this fic, i love watching the polls as you guys vote for what should happen next, i love catty sith obi-wan working to seduce senator skywalker because he's hot lol but it's the voting aspect that makes this fic a 10/10 for me if you love me, let it remain unnamed: 9/10 - it surprised me how much i loved writing set as an actual character. one day i want to explore the universe that set's in, where he meets his own kenobi and falls in love with him. i really liked the outsider perspective on how absolutely wild obi-wan and anakin are - especially since the main scenario is that they're having a threesome, and obi-wan and anakin have to?? share?? each other? with someone else? unlikely! let’s get your fingers tangled in my hair: 6/10 - i wrote this in a fever state; it was fun and i enjoy a king kenobi as much as the next gal! do i actually think anakin could last that long without talking? no not the way i usually write him lol like saints, like monsters: 8/10 - i love the way the chapters are set up, with them going back and forth between the actual plot and the worst parts and darkest moments of the recovery lost to a sea of troubles: 7/10 - it will never not be funny to me that this fic is in response to the prompt "knocking on the wrong door". it could have been anythinggg. it became this instead, featuring light stockholm syndrome and an obessive, evil obi-wan

[bonescribes]

muse dynamic wishlist .

for you to pop into my dms and be like "bones we should do this with [YOUR MUSE HERE]!!!"

chilchuck: - parent + child. let chil parent your muse

fai: - mentor + mentee. honestly i'd love to explore post-canon fai a bit more... fai as a healed man mentoring your muse...in life? in magic? all of the above? - sunshine + grumpy. please please PLEASE throw your grumpies at fai, he will annoy the hell out of them with his childish whimsy

falin: - sunshine + grumpy. different from the fai kind in that falin is so gentle and patient, she's very much ideal for muses who need a little bit (or a lot) of that sort of personality to open up. - gal pals. /srs i want falin to have a bestie. just soft friendship where they can open up to each other and have fun and. yeah :) - gal pals. /j i love shipping falin

fleki: - sun + moon. fleki is a creature of pure chaos and a calming presence beside her is always appreciated. - emotionally mature + the exact opposite. on that note, fleki is incredibly emotionally immature. pairing her up with someone who is entirely the opposite could lead to some interesting development for her. or a horrible time for the other muse. or both! - two freaks of nature. yall wanna do elf drugs?

ukitake: - mentor + mentee. grandpa/dad figure. let him parent you and teach you the ways of the world and how to fight and philosophy and - sun + star. ukitake is a gentle sort of bright -- an excited, sunny muse to bounce off his positive energy is 10/10, even if he can't always match that energy. - this guy needs an enemy. preferably one he can shmooze onto the good side after a fair amount of spicy conflict, but a tragic ending is always fun too. :3

kurama: - vicious demon + the human he's terribly fond of. basically any kurama relationship, really, but im a big fan of him getting to protect his favorite creatures in increasingly horrifying ways. (i swear kurama isnt evil and i dont write him that way. i swear) - vicious demon + the equally vicious indivudal he cant stand. being the way he is, kurama doesnt have a whole lot of enemies, much less ones that can actually stand up to him. we should change this.

light: - two traumatized weirdos healing together. lets go on a healing journey...together. and probably fuck it up a lot and often. - (puts your muse in the nonary games) (puts your muse in the nonary games) (p - sender + receiver. what if ur muse suddenly had a lowkey psychic mindlink with light. what if - rivals. light is a vain motherfucker. i have no concepts for this, but him having a rival is so funny to me. he is never not the smartest guy in the room he would lose his mind

simon: - toxic yaoi. pha.ntomq.uill is a favorite ship of mine, i will not be accepting questions at this time - sunshine + grumpy. simon is the grumpy. - prisoners. just imagine it. your muse is in jail, my muse is in jail....the possibilities are endless. - enemies. less in a literal sense (unless...?) and more in a "two haters who should not be allowed in the same room" kind of sense. - childhood friends. a banger trope made even more banger by simon's transformation from Polite Little Guy to Pretends To Be A Villain Mastermind And Hasnt Slept In 7 Years. - found family. just...all of it. let simon be your big brother. come be simon's dad. whatever. i fuck with this so heavy

[ask-post-ii17au-box]

Okay, yeah, that estimate seems accurate. If you need II trivia, Dew's ya gal!

Let's see...

Goo: Honestly, I think you should let Bot handle him. He's not someone I know much about in terms of nerve-striking.

Lightbulb: Maybe... "It's time for you to be leader" ? Though, that's something she said. Perhaps, "I missed your nonsense." Would work?

Cherries: You could remind him about the whole "Marsh on Mars" situation? I think he felt pretty guilty about that

Yang: "Yin-Yang: Does not count." That should do it.

🎄

Alr tysm Dew, I’ll start testing the effects of everything you suggested rn.

UPD: It like took a while but I’ve tested everything.

Here’s the list of the results in potential contestant order:

Goo: Bot tried talking to the unidentified contestant, after about 10 minutes of talking to them they 100% confirmed it’s not Goo, their reasoning was “I’ve definitely never talked to whoever this is before, I don’t recognise their speech patterns at all.”.

Lightbulb: …….this is the one that got some results, the unidentified contestant paused what they were doing and just went…..blank for about like 50 seconds after they heard the first quote did the exact same thing for about 5 minutes after the like second quote.

Cherries: Yeah the unidentified contestant seemed like to not care at all about that situation, unlikely it’s the Cherries.

Yang: The unidentified contestant just completely ignored anything Yang would react to, it’s like not him.

So yea, what we’re like dealing with here seems to be a very mentally mangled Lightbulb.

For now I’ve taken her out of the VM and safely like deactivated her file to prevent her from hurting the PC or like herself as…….they seem to have driven her to complete insanity.

……for now I’m like going to attempt to safely make a backup of their remaining memories in case they somehow get corrupted.

…….they seem to be MP4 files so I’ll play the backups through VLC…..knowing exactly what she remembers would probably make communicating with her easier.

[thedragonchilde]

Ship meme spam, sexy edition

1. What was their first kiss like?

Lots of pent-up passion here, folks; rough and needy and maybe a little bloody

2. Where were they the first time having sex?

To be determined, though it takes a little bit to even get to this point. (Who has fewer neighbors?)

3. Who's louder?

OH MY GOD BOTH OF THEM

4. Who wakes up first?

Domon is up with the sun

5. Favorite form of foreplay?

Flirty sparring

6. Who performs/receives oral more often?

...that’s a good question. It probably evens out down the line, but at first Domon probably gets blown more often

7. What kink they most often use?

Sensation play casts a pretty wide net

8. Who more often tries new things?

Chibodee’s more often the one with the ideas (though sometimes these things just happen)

9. If they had to include a third person who would it be?

Yeah okay, you think they'd slow down enough for a third?

10. Favorite toy?

You know, the nice thing about dating a trans guy, if you’re in the mood to get dicked down, you can pick the dick

11. How careful are they about using protection?

I'd say a hysterectomy is pretty thorough protection for some things, and monogamy covers the rest

12. General feelings on sex in the relationship

Very intense and a little spiritual actually (‘communicating with your fists’ extends to other physicality, not to mention the Shuffle Alliance empathy)

13. Sexuality?

Chibodee’s bi as fuck. Domon is uhhh new to this, give him time

14. Position Preferences?

Definitely not a static thing, tbh, though I guess face to face makes things more intense

15. Kinks?

Aside from the aforementioned? Edging and overstimulation are pretty up there, and it's pretty common for them to not even get fully undressed

16. Dirty little secrets?

Maybe how they handled long-distance, ahem

17. Best time ever?

Maybe the time they first discovered overstimulation (and, uh, in related news, that on good days Chibodee is capable of multiple orgasms)

18. Worst time ever?

You ever get a concussion from sex?

19. One thing they’ve never told?

Chibodee has never given anyone a straight answer about any previous experience and probably never will

20. Most exotic place they’ve done it at?

I'm sure there's better/worse, but what I can tell you is that Chibodee's dressing room has absolutely seen a few quickies

21. Number of sexual partners?

That entirely depends on how far Domon got with Rain. And as aforementioned, nobody knows whether Chibodee is a slut or a virgin or what, and he's not telling.

22. What they do after sex?

Honestly, that’s a workout, they’re fuckin starving

23. Stamina?

You’d better believe it (something something twelve rounds joke)

24. What gets them in the mood?

You know, it doesn't take much

25. What is their mood-killer?

Oh my god do you know how hard it is to get uninterrupted alone time sometimes, seriously, some days it's like people/calls/the universe time things exactly to derail the mood

26. Most sensitive spot?

Ass and spine for Domon, jaw and hips for Chibodee, and honestly lips are a very good bet for both of them. (For a different kind of sensitive, so to speak, go for hands.)

27. One thing your partner should never do?

Okay look, being competitive is one thing, but cross the line into humiliation and there will be issues

28. Threesome or an orgy?

Say what now? Look, I don't know what you've heard about Chibodee's relationship with the gals, but that is a great big not-on-your-life

29. How adventurous are they?

Define adventurous? ;)

30. If there was a safe-word, what would it be?

‘Matte’ (‘wait’, used as surrender in many martial arts) or ‘time out’; when words fail, they tap out

31. Going down or standing up?

Oh, they’ll go any which way, probably in the same session

32. Old-school or into experiments?

Experimenting sounds more hands-on

33. Masturbate or seek for a helping hand?

Why would it have to be one or the other

34. One night stands; yay or nay?

That’s a weird question to ask about an established relationship

35. Foreplay or straight to business?

Depends on whether it’s a ‘test of endurance’ type of day ;) Although I can tell you that they waste absolutely no time after a boxing match - no sex for a fucking week before a match, honestly, what the hell kind of rule

36. One thing they’re dying to try?

Domon has, ah, given a fair amount of thought to doing it outside

37. In the morning or when night falls?

Hey, you never know when the mood will strike!

38. Roleplay? If so, what exactly?

You know, I don't think that's Domon's style. No way would he be able to stay in character

39. Props they’d like to use?

Domon’s headband?

[honeybeewhereartthee]

Ensemble stars x Dungeon AU 10

Usually dungeon won't appear out of nowhere. As it takes time to do so. But as usual protagonist of dungeon novels. If your not going to one. It will come to you. :D

.

.

.

You stretch your arms as you look at the empty hallway, except for ritsu and the bunny called Tsukasa. The bunny is so cute but ritsu refuse to let you hold the bunny. Telling you that the "king" is not included to your love interest candidate.

"I just want to pet the bunny!!!" You complained to him who ignore your words. "King, always remember that person is a poisonous protagonist. Anyone who will like them will be only crazy in the head to the point you forget you love sweets." It seems that he also start to tell his friend that your the worse kind of gal to fall for. This handsome little shit.

"Hmm, according to king OG bio, that girl called anzu is better." He added. His world doesn't have anzu so his not sure if he can really say that's ok.

"???" Tsukasa who's drinking strawberry milk in a baby bottle look confuse at the sheep as he doesn't understand what his talking about.

"I'm here for work." - you.

"no your here for x reader." - ritsu.

"....." You can't really deny that but can he stop doing that? That's really complicated things. Agh, his lucky that his good looking!! "Talking to you makes my head hurt. I still need to practice my song so I can get this." You decide to ignore him.

He take out his ear muffle as you start to hum a tone of a song, somehow the atmosphere become calm as ritsu don't comment anything nor anyone there to bother you guys... It was so silent it start to bother you through.

"fuck. Why is this place so vacant I thought people would be lining up here." You finally stop singing. "It's probably cause you get the date wrong." Said the person who notice your lining up for no reason. Pointed at the poster posted in the wall.

"....." - you who don't notice that till now.

"someone like you, view the world as letters and words. It doesn't surprise me that you won't see small things others can see." You probably cant even identify a stranger who you won't care about either. They are faceless for you.

"are you breaking the fourth wall again." You sigh. "No, I'm just telling you a fact. Beside it should be fine. I can describe the world for you to imagine if your too blind to see it." He said the most love interest thing to say. Sadly his not one.

"like that rift appearing behind you."

"I see." So there's a rift behind you—

"WHAT THE—" it was too late to run but you did grab hold of this little shit that told you that for the last minute to drag him with you, as if he won't from the start since his stuck with you.

[melkyt]

Hell yeah thanks @khepiari for tagging me, been wanting to do this when i saw it going around cx

1) how many works do you have on ao3?

47 on ao3, two chilling on anon for now, even if its probably obvious its me in them rareship tags lol

2) what's your total ao3 word count?

916,672

I wish posting chapters on ao3 was easier since i have such a backlog, editing is the bane of my existence xd.

3) what are your top five fics by kudos?

The Truth Will Rend - 474

Forsaken - 369

Free in Spirit - 342

Awakening - 294

Conform - 249

Except Awakening, they are all MHA and i hope soon i get enough one piece fics to outrun them xd

4) what fandoms do you write for?

Im a one fandom kind of gal, so just one piece

5) do you respond to comments? why or why not?

I do not respond to comments until a fic is all finished. I had a really bad experience when answering comments in my last fandom and getting harrassed so now im cautious about it. I prefer people contact me in a chat if they want to talk.

I do appreciate all comments though!

6) what's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I dont do happy endings that often, i tend to add them after for my friends who dont like MCD xd

So i guess right now it would be Silence where Law dies doing Immortal Surgery, gets reborn thousands of years later and Luffy finds him.

7) what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Fortune maybe, everyone lives atleast and its sorta ends on a happy future xd

8) do you get hate on fics?

Used to constantly, so it overshadowed my enjoyment of the media. MHA folks cared to much about who Hawks was fcking and im an equal opportunity shipper who likes her age gap 'this is a problem' ships, so i got alot. Have a thicker skin now and less tendency to care if anyone likes/dislikes or reads my fic xd Still complain about it though xd

One Piece people are much nicer then my last few fandom, but also im a small fish in a big sea as a creator over here also have so many people blocked lolol

9) do you write smut?

Also used to write smut, erotica for moneys in college. I've been told Im good and should right more but I find it a little boring sometimes as an ace gremlin xd, has to be very specific vibes for me to do it with any kind of focus

Any smut I post now is going to be silly messy smut that i dont take specific care or attention to detail with. Smut thats more there to put character in situation and see what he does xd

10) do you write crossovers?

Yes? Maybe, I like the idea of putting characters in video games but its indulgent vibes that i never really put down on the page xd

I do it alot more crossovers for gift fics or requests

11) have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not fic but I had theory posts stolen because someone wanted clout in a fandom of like 150 people, like what? Baffles me xd

So now even though i fcking love meta, I dont post it xd

12) have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

13) have you ever cowritten a fic before?

I am way too much of a pantser to cowrite a fic, and also like to drive the train, so co-writing not for me

14) what's your all time favorite ship?

Honestly, I don't have a favorite ship, to me favorite means that im obsessed and biting them xd

I write alot of Lawlu, but its a casual kinda of interest where i like playing with them in fic

All my favorite characters do not have a counterpart that id ship them with as much, for now. I think with the latest chapters I might get one xd

15) what's the wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I finish fics before I start posting, so right now I only have one wip and its almost done hehehe. Then ill start another heheh excited

My MHA fics are unfinished in limbo on my ao3 but thats not because they are wips, its because *drama and harrasement* woo haha

16) what are your writing strengths?

Writing a fuckton of words daily (5k right now xd)

Dialogue, Interpersonal Banter brings me joy

Getting the vibes im going for across, usually the yearning heh

17) what are your writing weaknesses?

Short Stories, my writing always gets longer then it needs to be from the idea lol even though i want to make that 2.5k story that slaps one day xd Need smaller ideas lolol

Head Hopping, sometimes in first drafts thats a mess xd

Moving to quickly through scenes, i need to slow down and develop them. Now i dont fix that in fics i write for fun, but original writing i struggle xd

18) thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I know a bunch of languages in varrying degrees of understanding, Russian, Ukranian, Polish, Spanish etc but Im not a fan of having non-dominant language showing up in my own fic, it ruins the flow when my brain has to switch channels xd

19) first fandom you wrote for?

Shiki? I was fifteen?. Fucked vampires, lots of blood, gore and dark topics xd Not a great time of life for a baby gremlin Mel and it showed in the writing hahaha

I say i write dark topics now but kid me was much more wild xd

20) favourite fic you've ever written?

Oof, uuuh Break the Cycle is my first fic and longest for one piece, so just by time spent and because it has a big scope that has to be my favorite xd

I want to do another big scope fic and i think that one will take over as my new obsession unless i make it a comic xd

Tagging @cooknumber3 if you havent done it already and want to hehehe

[devinescribe]

Together

Tanner x Reader!

Warnings: Swearing

I love him sm and yeah I wanna make a part two to this maybe sooo

There were many things you could say you loved about District 10.

The fresh air, getting to care for the animals, getting to walk through the streets, sewing up clothes, and most of all you loved one boy that made District 10 seem like the best place on earth.

It was early in the morning and you looked at your list of clients and the clothing you had to make or fix. The things that needed to be fixed were waiting in neat folded piles while the fabric was thrown messily. You sighed. You were just upset about how one dress was turning out and destroyed your usually neat work station.

None of these had to be done for a couple of weeks, so you decided to start a bit later. They would understand. Especially with what was happening today. You walked out of your small home, and headed over to where the cattle was.

"Well good mornin' gals, ain't you all as pretty as a picture," you giggled, sitting on one of the wooden bars for the fence.

Some of the cows came over, and you smiled, reaching out to pet them.

"Well you're out early this mornin'," you heard a voice behind you say.

You jumped and almost fell off the fence if you hadn't caught yourself by wrapping your legs around the post.

"Oh, sorry I thought you heard me," he said.

"Yeah my bad I wasn't payin' attention. Good mornin' Tanner," you smiled.

You felt butterflies rise in your stomach as you tried to keep a friendly, not blushing and flustered, face.

He leaned against the fence post and then hopped up on it, sitting next to you.

The light from the sun was starting to get really bright, covering the expanse of the fields with its golden light. A comfortable silence sat between the two of you as you both watched the sun rise.

The silence was interrupted by one of the cows mooing.

You both laughed, and you looked over at him.

He smiled, "Well... this was a lovely way to spend the  mornin' of such a terrible day."

You looked down.

It was reaping day.

"Sorry I didn't meant to ruin-" he stammered out, trying to fix the situation.

"It's ok... I mean, it's our last year. We'll be ok," you smiled.

Part of you wanted to tell him how you felt. This was the perfect time to do so. The years of pining and crushing it could all come to a close right now.

But you said nothing.

Looking down you noticed a rip in his vest.

"What happened there?" You asked gently grabbing the fabric.

"Oh probably from it getting caught somewhere at the slaughterhouse," he shrugged.

"Hey don't mention that in front of the girls," you giggled, petting one of the cows that came up to you. "I can fix it... it's awful pretty."

He shot you a smile and nodded.

You hopped off the fence and beckoned him to follow back to your house.

Most people would be in shock of a girl who was freshly 18 living by herself, but the truth was that was the situation for most people in the districts. Your pa had died when you were young in the war, and your Ma died because she got sick about two years ago.

He awkwardly shuffled in and you had to stop yourself from laughing.

"Come on this ain't your first time in here," you laughed, leading him back to your sewing room.

He took off the vest, handing it to you. Most people thought that they should dress nice to head to town square, but there were many people who knew that dressing nice did nothing. Maybe a good impression, but in the end who cared what impression you left on the Capitol if you couldn't run or fight in your outfit.

As long as there were no stains and your clothes didn't smell, you would be fine.

Yet you wanted to look nice.

"I washed it up I guess Ma's pesterin' finally got to me," he joked, watching as you expertly wove your needle in and out.

When you finished it's like the rip was never there.

"There ya are, good as new," you said, handing it over.

He put it on with a smile.

"Well... d'ya wanna walk together?"

——

When Tanner left you on the girls side, you almost started to panic. There was a pit in the bottom of your stomach that was making you feel ill.

Your mayor got up and gave a small speech about the Hunger Games.

You weren't listening.

You weren't listening until his name was called. You looked up, your eyes scanning, hoping you had just heard wrong. You weren't listening so maybe it was someone else, oh gods let it be someone else.

But it wasn't.

You watched as Tanner slowly made his way up to the stage, some peacekeepers shoving him to walk faster.

How cruel. You felt like you were going to throw up as he locked eyes with you. You could tell he was scared. Nervous. But the cold expression on his face made it seem like he was just fine.

"And the female tribute for District 10... is..."

You watched as their hand went through the papers in the bowl, grabbing one slip out.

"(Y/N) (L/N)."

A gasp and chatter arose through the crowd.

You swear your blood froze in your veins, your heart stopped beating and your brain stopped thinking.

You wanted to cry.

But instead you walked through the crowd up to the stage.

But apparently too slow as peacekeepers began to shove you. You got to the stairs and got pushed again, making you trip. An arm wrapped around you, helping you up.

Tanner helped you across the stage.

You stared out into the crowd and began to smooth your skirts.

Why did you wear this?

Oh right, you were confident you wouldn't have your name called.

The two of you were dragged and you felt his hand grab yours. He was trying to comfort you, but that comfort was quickly ripped away when you were grabbed and thrown into somewhere.

"Well don't fuckin' throw her-"

You heard a grunt and the doors slam shut leaving you both in

"Did they stick us in a cattle cart? Oh these sons of-"

"Tanner... calm down," you whispered as you stood to get a sense for your bearings.

It was pitch black and smelled. On top of being a cattle cart, it was unclean. Mucked out, sure. But not clean.

The train lurched forward causing you to fall.

"Tanner where are you can't see a damn thing, blinder than a mute bat," you cursed, feeling around on you hands and knees.

You felt around in the dark, your hands finally touching him as he kept talking to help you find him.

"You shouldn't really grope around in the dark, could dangerous things," he said. You could hear the smile in his voice.

Sitting besides him you huffed.

"It was supposed to be our last year...we weren't supposed to-"

"It's alright.... I promise you, you will get back home safe. I will not let you get hurt," he said.

You heard him take off his hat and start fidgeting with it.

You were going to die. You were going to die there was no better time to tell him. Taking a deep breath and steeling your nerves

"Tanner..."

"Yes sweetheart?"

You flushed at the nickname. You were so glad it was dark.

"Tanner, I've liked you for a while now... and by like I mean I've been crushin' on ya and I know that you might not feel the same, but I just had to tell you because if I don't say anything now, I never will."

You spilled your guts almost running out of air. The space filled with silence except for the sound of the train running on the track.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't of said nothin' I-"

You felt his hand grab yours.

"(Y/N), I feel the same way.... I-I was waitin' for you to take it back or somethin' saying it was a joke to make me feel better," he quickly said, interrupting you.

"Really?"

"Yes, I mean you're smart, talented... you're kind to everyone... not to mention you're just so beautiful... but that not why I fell for you..." he mumbled.

You smiled and leaned on his shoulder, his hand still in yours.

"Well I'm glad I told you then..."

——

When you arrived at the station in the Capitol, the peacekeepers slid the doors open making you wince at the sudden light. Tanner got out first, and you were standing trying to adjust your eyes.

The peacekeepers started to shove you out and you protested them asking them to stop so you could actually see and not fall off the wagon, yet your words seemed to fall on deaf ears.

One shoved you and you felt yourself falling, before someone caught you.

"Don't fuckin' shove her she could've gotten hurt," he hissed.

The peacekeepers laughed and you pleaded with him to hold his anger. There would be no good to come from him yelling at them.

You were both walking side by side with peacekeepers urging you on. He helped you up into the truck and you huffed, sitting down besides him. A boy with black hair and a grey hat stood by you guys.

"These Capitol pricks are already gettin' on my bad side," you scoffed.

Before the doors shut you saw a flash of red go by.

The blonde that had been on the platform talking to the girl from district 12.

"Did you get in the wrong cage pretty boy?" Asked one tribute.

"No, not at all. This cage is delightful," he said with a bit of a smirk.

You rolled your eyes and saw the tribute, who's name you now knew as Reaper from someone calling it out, grab the boy and slam him against the back wall.

You giggled at the fear in his eyes, but then felt bad. Tanner and the rest were cheering him on.

"Alright y'all, come on.... Poor Capitol boy stuck with the muck.... But right now you're all provin' everythin' he things of the districts. That we're violent, good for nothin', dirty, and no better than animals. And you can bet if you hurt him, they'll take all of us outback and put us down like the damn mutts they think we are," you said, standing up to get people's attention.

"Capitol sympathizer, huh? Keep your mouth shut or I'll-"

"I ain't a Capitol sympathizer you shut your mouth. My pa died in the war 'cause of the Capitol. But we don't wanna die before we even get in that damn arena. So sit your asses down,” you started, pushing Tanner to sit. “And let’s all calm down.”

With that, you sat next to Tanner as the rest of the kids looked shocked. The girl who had called you a ‘Capitol sympathizer’, gave you a look of… admiration?

“Plus he’s my mentor… I might need him,” the girl with the rainbow dress said.

There was some discourse about the mentors, when suddenly the cart got thrown back, the doors opening as you screamed, falling down a tunnel, and landing onto some flat rocks.

You groaned and you were lightheaded and dizzy.

You felt a hand pass over your back and downward and you immediately got up and were about to hit someone, until you saw Tanner put his hands up in surrender.

“Tanner Sheppards you better have a damn good reason for thinkin’ it’s okay to touch me like that,” you hissed, grabbing one of his arms.

“I-I promise I wasn’t tryin’ to your skirts went up and well there’s cameras and I didn’t want you to be exposed like that in front of everyone I-“ he stammered, looking into your angry eyes.

You immediately felt ashamed of your anger towards the boy.

“I’m sorry really I thought… I mean I’m stressed about the situation but that’s still does not give me the right to snap at you like that… I’m sorry,” you mumbled, as he grabbed your hand.

“Don’t worry about it darlin’ not like you’re too orientated from that fall,” he laughed.

You roll your eyes and go to take a step before almost falling over.

“Like a bull in a china shop…” you muttered.

Tanner’s hand went around your waist and he helped you over to sit on a rock. You saw the boy with the hat, and who you assumed to be his district partner, sitting opposite of you.

“Hi, I’m (Y/N) and this is Tanner, we’re from District ten,” you introduced, smiling towards the girl.

She returned the smile and reached to shake your hand. You shook hers as she introduced herself.

“My name is Lamina… and this is Treech. We’re from district seven,” she smiled.

Both pairs of boys looked at their respective partners and then to each other. Were they expected to get along and chat like you two did?

Soon enough, you had learned everyone’s names. The girl with the rainbow dress, Lucy Gray, talked with Lamina and you.

“Well, he’s strong as an ox, but boy is he a few strings short of a guitar,” you laughed, watching as the boys spent their time arm wrestling.

The two other girls giggled.

This was almost too nice. There was a sense of dread looming in the back of your heads but for now you were happy.

“So… you and your boy?” Lucy Gray said, a teasing glint in her eyes.

“O-oh um… we’re just friends… well I guess we confessed on the train here, but he ain’t asked me to be official and call me dumb but uh… I kind of want him to ask since I confessed first,” you shrugged, blushing slightly.

“It’s not stupid! I mean… I understand your frustration, he should at least have the decency to ask before we die,” Lamina mumbled.

You didn’t know whether to laugh or frown. So you just gave a smile and nod.

The day was getting darker, turning to night. You sighed staring at the sky turning all different colors.

You heard someone sit beside you.

“Whatcha up to darlin’?”

“Oh um… just starin’ at the sorry excuse for a sunset they have here in the Capitol,” you whispered, hugging your knees to your chest.

There was a comforting silence that filled the air. You could hear some cameras training on you and Tanner, some Capitol children musing at you, and the hushed talking of the other tributes behind you. Leaning your head on Tanner’s shoulder as he wrapped his arm around your waist bringing you closer.

“Hey… so I wanna do this the right way. Sure I um… well you confessed but, I shared my feelin’s and how I felt about you… but I guess I wanna be all proper about it I mean… you deserve it and way more… I know I may just be some boy from ten that can barely help his family even from workin’, and can barely talk to ya without makin’ a fool of myself…. But I truly do like you… the way you talk, your sweetness… you’re always helpin’ not just me but others in town you make them clothes and sometimes don’t charge I mean… you’re the best seamstress in town! You’ve been through so much yet you don’t let any of that get ya down or let it turn you bitter… anyway… this is just a long way of me askin’…. (Y/N), will you be officially mine?”

Time froze. There was nothing but you and Tanner in this moment. His words echoed through your head like a choirs haunting singing reverberated through a church.

Slowly you nodded and smile, throwing your arms around him.

“Absolutely I will,” you laughed.

You gave him a quick peck on the lips and smiled.

In this moment there was no Hunger Games, no peacekeepers, no death. There was just you in the arms of the boy who made district ten seem like the best place on earth.

[starlitcorgi]

Hi......If you don't mind, can I ask, what are your top 10 (or top 7) favorite media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series)? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......Thanks....

Hmmm 🤔 my favs are always changing but at the moment.

1. Gokurakugai: Alma is a precious cinnamon roll who loves his mentor Miss Tao like a sister. I really love their platonic relationship and the fact that Alma is incredibly emotionally balanced. Like he's not this typical macho guy. Probably because he's surrounded by strong female role models. It's really refreshing for Shonen and I really hope it gets an anime series because I think it has the potential to be as big as JJK and Demon Slayer.

2. Jujutsu Kaisen: I love Yuuji as a ML and I'm usually a side character gal. So it's great to actually like the lead character. I've noticed in this current generation of Manga and Anime that our Male Leads are becoming much more well rounded and likeable. I love Yuuji's strength and his resilience, he definitely deserves all the love and hugs. I also of course love Gojo and I kind of hope Mappa deviates from the manga in regards to his fate because man that hurt.

3. Demon Slayer: I read the manga start to finish and loved every minute of it. The anime series is just as good. I love all of the characters in this in their own rights. From the protagonist to the villains for me at least the author got everything right. It's Shonen at its best. To be able to make your audience love Rengoku in such a short time is an amazing feat. To care so much that you feel as devastated as Tanjiro to me the Mugen train arc is a masterclass in story telling. It's sad that the series will be coming to an end soon but I think for me this will always be in my top 5.

4. Ghost in the Shell: This is the movie that started my love of anime/manga. It's a cinematic masterpiece and everyone should watch it at least once. It was well ahead of its time and it's not surprising that it inspired the Matrix.

5. Hells Paradise: I love the manga and the anime. Gabimaru is so relatable to me, I think we share the same sarcastic and apathetic nature lol. I love it as well because it gave us one of the best disabled characters in current manga generation. Shion is an epic character for the disabled community, being partially blind myself it's nice to be represented you know? And he's not full of loathing or self pity, he embraces his blindness and uses it to his advantage. He's funny, kind, strong and handsome. He never questions Sagiri's competence, he doesn't try to send her of to the kitchen like his colleagues. He recognises her talent and encourages her to achieve her goals. In short Shion needs to be protected at all costs.

6. Chainsaw Man: when I first saw this pop up on Shonen Jump I didn't have high hopes. It seemed like a crack series but this is exactly why you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. I love this series even though it hurts me 😭. Denji is a typical hormonal teen, power is a ball of chaos and Aki is just trying to keep everything together. Plus Angel 😇 is one of my fav characters of all time maybe because he reminds me of my daughter lol.

7. Elfen Lied: this is another classic anime the violence is on par with AOT but once you get past that you have this heart wrenching story. Lucy is a monster created by her environment and the abuse she suffered. This is also one of the most beautifully animated series of all time. The art is phenomenal.

8. Solo Leveling: I fell in love with the Manwha and was so excited when it got picked up for a series. I'm loving the anime so far, though I'm two episodes behind. Due to my sight loss I have to wait for the English dub but dubs have gotten way better than when I first started watching anime in the early 2000's. I love Jinwoo's tenacity and the fact that he just cuts through the villains. He never really worries about whether that makes him a bad person. Sometimes you just want to see bad people get what's coming to them. Plus this has some of the most epic fight scenes, I can't wait to see them animated.

9. Tokyo Ghoul: I spent most of Tokyo Ghoul crying ugly tears 😭. Ken Keneki has one of the most heartbreaking storylines in all of anime. It's just painful to read/watch Gege definitely took a leaf out of the Tokyo ghoul book when writing JJK. Yet still I couldn't put it down, I'm a sucker for punishment. It's a great mix of characters as well, I love that we see goth culture mixed in there as well. You do get those Crow vibes the way it's so gothic in inspiration and the art work is stunning. I think the only illustrator that tops it is Yuta Sano.

10. Attack on Titan: AOT has been deemed controversial because of it's fascist themes. However I think it's only problematic if you think Eren is the hero in this story. I actually really can't stand Eren, it's pretty obvious that he's been radicalised by his experiences early on. The foreshadowing is strong with him you know he's not going to turn out well from the start. The real protagonists for me are Armin, Levi and Hange. Like these three are definitely trying to save their comrades and people. Whereas Mikasa is constantly having to save Eren and Eren jumps to mass genocide pretty quick. Levi almost feels like he's representing the audience with his snarky commentary. I also love Levi and Hanges platonic friendship. They really get each other and their banter is a joy to watch especially in the first season.

[charmwasjess]

workndeadline you say?

i say 11 & 14 for the ask game!

BOLI! Thank you, mine boss! I assure you I was actually working on this answer when I should have been working on my deadline, but this day went wide on me in weird ways. And please feel free to send some Ask Game my way if anyone else is interested.

That said:

11: Weirdest thing you’ve ever written/thought about writing/etc.?

Well, I do have some sex stuff. In fact, only just today I typed the upsetting words: "Dooku gonna break that seer in half (respectfully)" while chatting to my gal about this upcoming chapter of 12 months that I'll be posting … hopefully in the next week or so. (And then disappearing from this website forever into the deep woods, never to be seen again because of lingering religious guilt about writing sex.) But that isn't really that weird for Tumblr/Ao3 writing circles.

I think my weirdest writing project right now is The Thunder Answered Back. I slap a timer to give a defeated RotS-era Dooku like 10 minutes to grab up anything he wants to save at the Temple during Order 66, except the catch is that he has no hands. And then, it gets stranger.

It's an Escape the Empire salvage job, not a fix-it. It's part Jocasta/Dooku, but she might kill him, part Jedi family, but they might kill him, I'm wrangling a huge ensemble of obscure Jedi Legends characters and trying to save them all, there are younglings (I can't write kids!), Asajj is in the mix (she also wants to murder Dooku), Obi-Wan, Yoda, and even I don't know what's going on with Sifo-Dyas's ghost -- is he real? is he a figment of Dooku's imagination? is he part OF Dooku? and that's going to be a lot weirder when he takes over the plot and maybe tries to get them to all go save his Clones… ugh.

It's going to be really fun, and I'm behind on the chapter 4 update but actively working on it. Right now I have Winter Depression (tm) and my brain genuinely doesn't work well because of it, so I'm choosing stories that are more comfort food. But I'll be back after it soon!

14 Your favorite side pairings to put in?

Does Dooku/Makashi count, because… I think that's a side pairing in all of my Dooku fics. He loves his friends, I love tangling him up into various pairings with them, but at the end of the day, he really, really loves that lightsaber form. Probably because it's really Dooku/Dooku.

Another few pairings… I do love Quinobi, oldie but a goodie is Qui/Tahl, and I might do something with Sifo-Dyas/Arath soon. I kind of like the whole alternate subtext reading of Dooku: Jedi Lost that Arath is such a bully to Dooku early on because Dooku is inseparable with his crush, the cutest boy in the Hawkbat clan. *making finger guns and winking at Sifo-Dyas*

[forlornmelody]

Outlaws Chapter 3 – Teenagers

Rating: E (language, graphic violence. Smut in other chapters.)

Fandom: Titans (2018)

Ship: Jayrose, Jayroy, Rose/Artemis, Poisonquinn, Bella Garten/Pamela Isley

AO3 Links: First Chapter. // This Chapter.

Summary:  Poison Ivy has agreed to help with the search for her copycat killer. Or is it a copycat?

Notes: Chapter title comes from the My Chemical Romance song of the same name.

----

“Where’s my cash?” She wraps her arms around her bare middle. Walking the streets and the alleys in these clothes is a lot easier in a Gotham summer. By now the trees have all but turned, and there’s frost whispering in the air. 

“It’s comin’, sweets. Things are just a little tight right now.” He’s plenty warm in his leather coat and silk scarf. And his beemer probably has seat warmers. If she plays it right, she might get to hitch a ride home. Well, part of the way home. She’d be a fucking idiot if she told this john where she lived.

“You promised me you’d have it by today.” Strangely, the plant behind them doesn’t seem to acknowledge the change of the seasons. It’s as green as spring, if not greener. It almost seems to glow. 

“Shit happens. You know I’m always good for it.”

“I need to pay my rent, Danny.”

“And Danny says you need to shut your fucking mouth before he breaks those pretty little teeth.” He wraps his big hands around her neck, lifting her off the ground. 

“Danny! I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry,” she starts to plead.

“Maybe Danny needs to teach you a lesson, bitch.”

The vines of the plant stir from their other prey, stretching out like spider silk.

“Danny, I–” she screams as Danny’s feet are snatched from beneath him. They envelop him like a net and then they squeeze until Danny’s screams stop.

—

“You cannot be serious.” Barbara fixes him a stare before rummaging through her desk drawer. Where’s that scotch when she needs it?

“She makes a point.” Jason shrugs.

“She’s terrorized Gotham multiple times.”

“And she’s more likely to know who the copycat is.”

“If it’s a copycat.”

Jason leans against the desk. Barbara is half-convinced he’s drunk already at 10 am. Tim told Dick as much after his crash course. Can she blame him, though? It’s a miracle the kid’s alive after all this. “You got any other leads, Babs?”

Scratch scotch. She needs something stronger. “I’m telling you Jason, something’s off. Ivy can’t be trusted.”

“I know.” Jason smiles softly. “I know her better than anyone on your team. She’s my baddie, remember?”

Barbara snorts. “You’re an ex-con yourself.”

“Exactly. I know how these guys–er–gals, think. I’ve got it handled, Babs.”

She sucks on her teeth, already feeling a familiar tension in her shoulders spreading to her neck and the back of her head. “Giving Dick free reign with Crane is exactly what got you into that mess.” 

Jason flinches, just for a split second before he recovers. But the damage is done. 

“Jason–”

“I’m not Dick.” And there he is. The terrified teenager that Bruce picked up off the street, still trying to look braver than he feels. 

Barbara should say no. But it’s impossible to say no to family, isn’t it? “Fine.” Doesn’t make her hate herself any less, though.

The tension eases from Jason’s shoulders, and he sways ever so slightly before he catches himself. “Thanks, Barbara.”

“Don’t.” She wheels herself away from her desk. “This conversation never happened.”

“Never does.”

—

When Babs and Jason get to the van, the rest of the team is already there. Jason moves to get in the backseat, but the driver stops him. “Sorry. The inmate’s gonna go in the back. Arkham rules.”

Jason eyes the rest of the van while Babs maneuvers into the shotgun seat. He folds and hands over her wheelchair without a second thought. And then he sinks inside. There’s only one seat available if Pamela and her two guards are taking the backseat. And it’s next to Deathstroke’s kids. Donna meets Jason’s eyes and winks at him. Winks. Muttering under his breath, Jason settles in next to Rose, who doesn’t even seem to register that he’s there. In fact, she can’t even keep herself awake, despite the energy drink in her hand. The moment Jason buckles his seatbelt, she nods off, resting her head on her brother’s shoulder. Even though there’s at least two inches between them, Jason swears he can feel that familiar buzz of energy between them. Like sticking his finger in a socket. Fuck, this is going to be a long ride. 

“Is this really necessary?” Ivy shifts between a male and a female prison guard, flashing them her trademark smile.

“Standard procedure, Isely.” 

“But Gary, you know I’m harmless with this little accessory.” Arms bound; Ivy cranes her neck to draw attention to her inhibitor collar. 

“Rules are rules.”

“Stop flirting, Gary.”

“Just having some fun, Cheryl.” 

The guards drag Ivy to the backseat, and when her seat belt clicks into place, Ivy leans forward. “You mind?” Inexplicably, she has a tube of lipstick between her teeth. Roy shrugs and applies it to her lips with ease. Almost as if he’s done makeup before. Hm. Ivy eyes herself in the reflection of Artemis’s ax, smacking her lips with a pop. “Thank you.”

“Hey!” Babs snaps. “Give me that.” She holds out her hand until Roy and the rest pass her the stick of lipstick. 

Ivy rolls her eyes. “You know the lipstick itself isn’t toxic, right?”

“Just take us to the crime scene, Carl.”

“Yes ma’am.” The driver gives her an idle salute as the van rolls down the road. 

“You teamed up with Scarecrow!?” Ivy shrieks. The van swerves. Rose jerks awake, her arm bumping into Jason’s.

“Ivy–” Jason starts to say–

“Scarecrow!?” she says, louder this time. Before anyone can say anything, Ivy continues. “That motherfucking, narcissistic, patronizing asshole. You teamed up with him?” 

“Look, I know it was a mistake–”

She manages a sniffle. “I thought I was your favorite.” 

Jericho snorts. 

—

Jericho’s lost track of how many times he’s hit the bag. He’s barely keeping track of the Queen album blaring in the speakers. Right now, Freddie Mercury’s belting about his love for “Fat Bottom Girls,” and Jericho Wilson is trying to locate the same joy in Freddie’s voice. But all he feels at the moment is rage.

Five. Fucking. Years.

A throat clears behind him, and Jericho misses the bag completely. “Your right hook needs work.”

Jericho stops, staring at Adeline pointedly–the punching bag swaying back and forth across his face. “Do you want to talk, or watch me train? Because I can’t do both.”

“It’s been a while since we had a chat.” Adeline Kane sits down on the weight bench, placing a tray with a tea kettle and two cups on the nearby bench press. 

“What do you want?” Jericho grabs a towel, drying his face. T makes it easier to look in the mirror. But it also makes him sweat like mad. Worth it. 

“How are you feeling?” She says it sweetly, but her eyes are almost devoid of warmth. Something happened to her in those five years. Almost like she’s angry with him for dying. Like it’s his fault, and not his father’s.

His hands stop. Adeline doesn’t waste breath. Not anymore. “Takes some getting used to, I guess.”

“It’s a miracle you’re alive, you know.” Adeline pours them two cups, handing him one. “It’s not easy bringing a body out of cryostasis.”

Jericho blows on his tea, not sure where she’s going with this. “Considering all this family put me through? Yeah. A fucking miracle.”

“Language.” Ripe coming from the woman who has likely committed war crimes. 

“The words you use shouldn’t matter. It’s how you use them.”

Adeline sighs. “Just spit it out, Jericho.”

He quirks his head, holding up the cup. 

“You know what I mean.”

“Why did you lie to me about my dad?”

“I was trying to protect you.”

“Bullshit.”

“A son needs to love and respect his father.”

“You just didn't want me in the business!” Most would throw the teacup and shatter it, but even on his angriest days, Jericho prefers to avoid violence. So, he sets the cup, untouched, back on the tray, and storms out. 

—

“Have you slept?” The team medic, Doctor Maya Owens, checks the vitals of her least favorite patient. Her brow furrows skeptically as Rose yawns. 

“Nothing but, Doc.”

Dr. Owens eyes her through her glasses, pressing on Rose’s wrist for her pulse. “Have you slept well?”

Rose lifts her arm begrudgingly, so the medic can wrap the compression sleeve around it, as she considers the question. “Maybe?”

“Blood pressure’s low. How much caffeine have you had today?”

“Five cups. You think it would work better if I sweetened it with cocaine?”

“I think the cocaine would kill you.”

“You’re no fun.” 

“It’s not my job to be fun.” She sighs as she makes some notes in her chart. “Looks like you’re suffering from adrenal fatigue.”

“So, what drugs will you give me?”

Dr. Owens rubs her forehead with her thumb, swiveling her chair to face away from her. “Just lay off the caffeine and try to relax.”

Rose shifts her spinny chair in arcs from side to side. “Not my job to relax.”

“Well, my job is to keep you alive.”

She snorts. “I’m not easy to kill, remember?”

“Death comes for everyone eventually, Rose. Don’t go around tempting him, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

—

“Daddy!” A five-year-old girl beams at Roy from his computer screen. 

“Hi Lian,” Roy smiles back, his hand shaking just slightly beneath his desk, where she can’t see. Damn, she looks more and more like her mother every day. 

How fucking dare you, Roy Harper.

I have to do what’s best for her, Jade. 

Taking a girl away from her mother? 

I’m taking her away from both of us. Making sure she turns out nothing like us. 

“Daddy?” Lian’s eyebrows crease. “You went away again.”

“Sorry, Lian.” Roy swallows, plastering what he hopes is a brave smile on his face. “Daddy’s just tired.”

“I love you, Daddy.”

“I love you, too.” Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t– “Why don’t you show me what you made class today?”

Lian holds up a monstrosity of a construction paper creature, all clashing colors. “Look! He has five teeth!” She holds up five fingers, beaming. “I’m five, too!”

“Yes, Li. Yes, you are.”

Lian’s bedroom door opens, and an apologetic middle-aged woman gently puts a hand on her shoulder. “Sorry, Mr. Harper. But Lian’s got school in the morning.”

Roy glances at the clock. “Oh, sh–crap. Right. Sorry.”

Lian’s foster mom looks up at him. “Same time next week?”

Sooner? Roy wants to say, but he knows they’re busy. Knows he’s busy. “Yeah, that works great. Goodnight Lian. Be a good girl for me, okay? I love you.”

“I love you too, Daddy.”

—

Ah, finally. Donna’s tea has cooled enough to drink. She shouldn’t have caffeine this late at night, but the chai was calling to her. And these leads on Poison Ivy, or not Poison Ivy, as the villainess herself keeps insisting,  aren’t going to follow themselves, are they? Just a little pick me up at the ARGUS computer, and Donna will be all set to go. Just as she’s going to take her first coveted sip, Donna hears a knock at the door jamb behind her. The tea comes this close to spilling onto her lap, and it’s only her reflexes and training that land the mug right side up on the desk. 

“Yeah?” Donna calls out after she stops reeling. 

“Can I talk to you about Rose?” Artemis chews her lip. How very un-Artemis-like. 

“Shit. Did she set the kitchen on fire? Hack the computer again? Booby trap Jericho’s roo-” Artemis stops her with a hand on her shoulder, and Donna, out of habit, violently shrugs it off. She might have accepted the other Amazon as a teammate, but they sure as hell aren’t buddies. Not now, not ever.

“She hasn’t done anything wrong.” Artemis clears her throat. “That I’m aware of.” It might be the hum of the computer, but she swears she hears a crack in her voice. “This is more personal in nature.”

Donna finally turns in her chair, staring at Artemis. “You’re asking me for relationship advice?”

“Why not? You’ve had lovers before, have you not?” Artemis leans against the door frame, her head nearly bumping against the top.

“I mean, yeah, but–” Did a largely un-acted upon whirlwind romance with Garth count?

“Then you can help me.” Artemis leans on the desk, folding her arms. Donna imagines it’s supposed to look confident, if not intimidating but even with the other Amazon’s muscles, she can still see the slouch in her shoulders and the crease in her eyebrows. Now this was not a look she ever expected from Artemis of Bana Migdahl. 

“Eh–”

“How do I get Rose to–how do you say it– ”get serious” with me?”

Donna spits out her tea. “Rose? Wilson?” She sets her mug down, clearing her throat. “You’re kidding.”

Artemis, always completely centered in her gravity, shifts on her feet. “Is that one of your sayings or?”

“You know what she did to Jason, right?”

“She “fleeced” him for information, did she not?”

Donna snorts. “Mythology puns, really?”

Ah, there’s that trademark Artemis smirk. “We both know it’s not a myth.”

Donna rubs her temples. “Right. Okay. What I’m getting at is I don’t think Rose is…. all that romantic.”

“Oh.” Artemis deflates, damn her. 

“Wait, hold on. Does Artemis of Bana Mighdal want romance?”

Artemis levels her a familiar glare “Is that so surprising?”

“It’s just…. you never seemed to stick with one partner very…long.”

“Never mind.” Artemis turns to leave. Donna grabs her hand, stopping her short. She looks up at her, all that fury and resentment of all their years pitted against each other still burning in her eyes. “What?”

“Have you thought about talking to her?”

Artemis doesn’t answer–-she just slips into the hall, letting the door close behind her.

—

The van pulls up to a drainpipe, teeming with greenery. Long, white, and spidery vines crawl over every plant in sight, trapping them like a net. One net contains a distinctly human shape. 

“Oh god.” Donna covers her nose, turning a bit green about the edges. 

Barbara must have completely lost her sense of smell by now. “Fresh crime scene. Have at it.” She waves in the body’s general direction as Jason puts her wheelchair on the ground.

They fan out, and Ivy clears her throat. Jason meets Barbara’s eyes, and her lips press into a thin line. “I better not regret this.”

“Best behavior, Ivy,” Jason murmurs, as he presses the deactivator on her power-dampening collar. 

“Always.” Ivy winks, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. 

She steps forward, turning back to look at them. “Hurry up, would you? I don’t have all n–” Ivy chokes on her next word, and then she doubles over. 

“Is she–?”

And then Ivy screams. She doubles over, falling to her knees. Gasping for air, she chokes out, “I should have had more time.” Her skin pales and glimmers with sweat as she shakes. 

“Ivy?” Jason frowns steps toward her. “You okay?”

Ivy sways as she stands up directly in front of him. The plants around her writhe as she spits out. “Your seas are rising, and your forests are on fire. What is the fucking point of this? As far as I’m concerned, you’re running out of ground to stand on, Robin.” Rose pulls out her swords, Artemis her ax. Roy reaches for his quiver. Even Donna readies her lasso. 

Jason swallows. “I’m not Robin anymore.” 

“Then why are you still acting like a fucking bat?” She glares at Barbara as she gasps for air. “Why are you still running around with pigs like her?”

Jericho steps forward, his eyes losing their color. Roy stops him with a hand. 

“Ivy. I know you’re in a lot of pain. And you’re angry. As you should be.” Jason holds up both hands, his guns still in their holsters. “But right now, I need you to breathe.” He counts to four with one hand, breathing in slowly, holding it for another four, and letting it out at the same count, and holding it for another. 

Ivy’s eyes lose their glow, and the plants around her settle. “Who taught you box breathing?”

Rose looks at Jason, but he avoids her eyes. “Did you see anything we could use to find who murdered those people?”

Ivy turns back to the glowing cuscata, feeding on the basil. She shakes her head, stepping toward it. “One moment,” she says shakily. Stretching out her hand, Ivy says softly, “Hello, little one.

“She talks to them?” Donna whispers to Roy. 

He shrugs. “Don’t ask me. I’m not her bestie like Jason is.”

“Ow.”

“Something wrong?”

Ivy sucks the wound on her thumb, furrowing her brow. “I’m not sure.” 

“Aren’t plants supposed to be your thing?” Rose folds her arms.

“It’s like she doesn’t recognize me,” Ivy mutters, and then jerks her head in their direction. “HEY. They’re not just my thing! I am an agent of the Green–”

The amarbel shivers.

“That isn’t funny. I’m not being funny.” Ivy turns back to the parasitic plant. “What do you mean I’ve been here before?”

Jason’s eyes widen. 

“No, I haven’t.” 

Jericho looks at him. Had Ivy told them the truth or not? Was the former Robin’s faith in her misplaced?

“FINE. Show me who you saw here this morning.”

The amarbel unfurls from its meal, twisting and turning until it takes the shape of a woman, roughly Ivy’s height. She fumes, her fists white knuckled at her sides. “I already told you. It wasn’t me!”

“You gotta admit, Ivy. The resemblance is uncanny.” Roy murmurs softly.

Jason steps forward, stopping at her side. “What’s that on her head?”

That stops Ivy short, as if she’s truly taking in the form of it for the first time. “It’s a crown.”

[ultrahpfan5blog]

Heart of Stone - a fairly typical Netflix action film....

Netflix action films, barring the two Extraction films, have generally been very generic. Heart of Stone is about as generic as it can get. Not an incompetently made movie, but just about everything in this film has been done before, and fairly recently. This film really did feel like Mission Impossible meets Citadel. And indeed, there are elements of the story that feel directly ripped off, such as a fictional independent intelligence agency, which was present in Citadel, and an AI technology system, which was present in Dead Reckoning P1. I will give it this, the film looks well produced. I'm sure Netflix spent a lot of money on this film and it feels that way. The locales and the action is all very competent and fun to watch. Problem is that there isn't much else to the film. Its essentially bad guys trying to take power by using this AI technology and good guys trying to stop it. The film at points tries to murky the waters by trying to have characters question who is good and bad, but it never really commits to it and you are still pretty much watching a fairly black and white argument play out.

When it comes to performances, Gal Gadot is not the greatest actress around, but I admit that she has improved over the years, especially with her facial expressions. She still has issues with her dialogue delivery at times, but overall she is quite charming in the role and the film plays to her strength. She somehow manages to toe the line between being superheroic, yet being fallible. Jamie Dornan as the main villain is fine. I mean, it was super obvious to me that he would be the villain, and it isn't as if the movie spends a very long time trying to hide the twist, which I appreciate. His performance is solid, without being particularly memorable. There is just nothing special about the character and his motivation for him to really dig out in terms of performance. Alia Bhatt, in her hollywood debut, is fine as well. She probably is the only character who has somewhat of an arc. I feel like the film should have spent a bit more time on the dynamic between Keya and Stone, because that is kind of the crux of the film. As with a lot of actresses acting for the first time in english, you do get the sense that she at times struggled with it, despite being fluent in the language. Its one thing to speak fluently in English and another to act in English if you haven't really done it before. Outside of these three, there isn't anyone really who has a character to speak of. Glenn Close randomly pops into the film in a nothing role. BD Wong has a similarly small role. Sophie Okonedo as Nomad and Matthias Schweighöfer as a Charter agent are the only other ones who have any substantial screen time, but not really enough to make major impact.

All in all, Netflix movies get graded on a curve by me. Would I watch this in a theater? No. There is nothing in this movie that you haven't seen done better. Is this a watchable movie at home if you already have a Netflix account? Sure! There's nothing blatantly incompetent or bad about it. Its well produced and the action is generally pretty good. There are worse Netflix movies out there and there are probably worse theatrical movies out there too. I would probably grade this a 5/10.

I feel that these mid level action spy movies/tv shows have reached a saturation point. The Gray Man, Citadel, Heart of Stone, The 355, The Protege etc.... they all feel and look very similar. And a lot of these have fairly big name actors and actresses behind it. I don't know how, but these films/tv shows have to figure out a way not to look and feel so generic.

[cooganbegs-blog]

Of Ups and Downs.

It was a rollercoaster day today. I’m tired and emotional.

Down - every time I look at SBO and see how frail and skinny he is, how he only eats what I offer him by hand, no chicken anymore just the best raw steak I can find (I’ve never eaten steak like he is being served up on a daily basis! I’ve finally found something to burn my useless salary on!), the constant sobs initiated by his usual head pushed against me waiting for stokes.

Up - I finally feel I added some value to my team! God, I now have three people in my team and my fellow gal pal (marketing manager) gave some some tips and a spreadsheet to help setup my teams individual priorities for next quarter. I emailed it round this morning with direction on how I want us to priorities our work:

- a learning priority: they can chose something they want to learn (a compulsory 10% of their bonus) to encourage curiosity and a growth mindset (an essential trait of a product person)

- a product priority set by me: there is some shit that just needs to get done, that pushes the team forward, advances the product or our processes. Willing to negotiate on the success metrics

- a personal priority - each person can chose a priority they want to work towards, it cants be BAU, it must be something that is a stretch. I will need to approve or negotiate and key results are also negotiable.

All my peeps were happy and I had a light build moment that the single most valuable thing I can do for them is provide what begged all my useless CPO’s for in my previous roles. Give them direction and the why, and they will solve the how! I finally came away after several hours relieved instead of berating myself for being useless! I did have to get tough and negotiate with my PO (new to this role but an excellent BA), she just won’t prioritise learning how to think like a product person. She’s in danger of losing some of her bonus because she just didn’t make time. Will see if she delivers on the compromise I suggested! My new PO/PM is so delightful (if confident!), he talks my language and I don’t have to change his nappy or tell him how to do his job!! So refreshing!

Down - I kind of lost my shit in a meeting! Not hugely but I did let my frustrations show. Explaining that the meeting we were in (and several others I had to sit through) were quite frankly a fucking waste of time until the exec team makes a call on how we segment a customer base. I am not prepared to (its well above my pay grade!) and have provided the necessary data for them to battle it out. The project manager agreed, the meeting was cut short. I immediately regretted my outburst and sent a message to her apologising for letting my frustrations get the better of me. I also owned I probably should have escalated a week or so ago but have been snowed under with a thousand other priorities (roadmaps, product relates plans and annual planning). Gulp. Note to Self: bite my tongue next time and go to her direct not in front of 7 other people.

Up - my work trip to the US was cancelled so I can stay home with Loki!

Down - I haven’t been for a run or been to the gym since I got back. I forgot how fucking brutal the dark, icy morning are here and what a disincentive it is to running. I hate it.

Up - finally got booked in to have my shoulder injected, although I’m absolutely shitting myself.

Down - did I mention just how dark and cold it is.

Up - winter solstice is imminent. Which means the long slow downhill slide into summer….and by summer I mean January next year!!

Down - hearing Loki licking incessantly all night and not knowing what he was doing. Waking this morning and discovering his bed was absolutely saturated with pee and him so distraught and mortified. So much cortisone equals so much extra water drinking equals so much peeing. Only he didn’t get up at all. Im setting my alarm for 3 hour intervals tonight to get him up. He’s definitely an old, old dog now and it breaks my fucking heart. A matter of weeks ago he was shiny, lithe, well muscled and a bundle of cheek. Now he’s gaunt, slow and smells of old dog and urine. Fuck it’s so unfair. I don’t want anything to change, I want to go backwards in time and freeze when he’s young and active and full of beans. The end is closing in faster and faster and there’s no way to stop it. And foolishly I just keep wishing and wishing I could turn back time.

Up - I found a packet on M&M’s in my luggage which I completely forgot about and discovered just when I needed them around 3pm this afternoon!