#i'm not trying to be mysterious about her guardian's name

[mandarinaa-aaa2]

ALNST OC Miu💎

[where-does-the-heart-lie]

One piece modern au, Mama Rouge :)

Happy Mother’s Day :)

Here’s some mama Rouge for the occasion!

Additional info about her 👇(there's a lot.)

Rouge is a bit sickly. Throughout Ace’s formative years, she was in a hospital, sick. Its honestly a miracle she got through child birth alive, but she’s a very very strong woman.

Garp was there when Ace was born because I like to imagine that Garp was Gol D. Roger’s Parole Officer, and so of course he became a family friend. But since he was there for Ace's birth, he was also there when Rouge held her newborn and cried because she knew she couldn't take care of him in her condition.

And look, I don't know how child handling works, but I think it would be really funny if Garp was like "you're okay, girlie, I got the perfect idea." And then he held out a sheet of paper with all the people on his parole list and said like "pick one, this could be part of their community service sentence."

And Rouge was like "might as well, I guess, I don't want to put him in an adoption center or foster home so I guess I'm doing this". Then she picked out Dadan because 'dad' is already in her name, and she's not really given anymore qualifications other than that, so Dadan it is.

Plot twist though because all these convicts just all live with each other so it really wouldn't have mattered, it just meant that now Dadan would be the main guardian of Ace.

-------------

Because she was in the hospital for so long when ace was growing up, she’s a bit of a mystery to him. Sometimes (like 3 times a year) she would come to visit him at The House Of Dadan and bring homemade large stuffed animals for him made with Ace's old clothes she's patched together. Ace loves them and they're on a high up shelf in his room, practically untouched in fears of potentially breaking them.

Whenever Ace has a day with Rouge, it's usually a bit awkward. Like Ace doesn't know how to have a mother and Rouge doesn't know how to have a son, but she is trying her best to have fun with him whenever she gets the chance to.

I kinda envision these vibes. Not exactly but adjacent.

Very like "what do you wanna do, sweetie :)"

Ace never gets to visit her at the hospital because Rouge doesn't want him to see her in that kind of setting. He tried to once when he became an adult but he was turned away at the door. He may or may not have tried to then find her through the outside of the building through windows and he may or may not have been kicked off the premises by security.

---------

The first day on the job after Ace completes his tattoo artist apprenticeship, he gets a customer who called the day before requesting him specifically, which is a little weird since he had just started that day, normal patrons wouldn't know him.

When it's time for the appointment, he goes to the floor from the back of the shop, and the person sitting in his appointment seat,

Is.. is his mom.

Shes talking to his coworkers and laughing with them! Ahh no nononono. His mom is not supposed to see this part of his life. What is she doing here????

He rushes over to her and asks her what she's doing here for??

"I'm getting a tattoo from my son :) can I get this flower please? :)"

So he starts the tattoo process and Rouge is very cooperative and receptive to when he needs her to move or anything like that.

He's.. he's never actually been this close to her for so long...

He glances up one and he sees her smiling so softly at him.

Ace looks away quickly, hoping she doesn't see him blushing.

For all wondering, the tattoo that she has is very much on her ass and it is very much Roger's name.

That's all I got. I got a couple of people asking about Ace's family situation, so here ya go :)

Oh additionally, Roger died before Ace's birth from Cancer

Thanks for reading if you got this far :)

[three--rings]

You Should Watch The Spirealm/致命游戏

What is it?

A 2024 cdrama based on the danmei webnovel Kaleidoscope of Death. It's a censored version of a BL novel, with thriller, mystery, and horror aspects, 38 45-minute episodes.

What's it about?

A young man accidentally gets drawn into a virtual reality video game that involves passing tests in a series of doors. Once you start playing, you cannot stop and if you die in the game, you die in real life. He meets a frustratingly mysterious, competent, and attractive man in the doors who recruits him to be part of his game solving team. Well, specifically to be his partner. Lots of gay subtext ensues as they fight through door after door seeking to get to the final door in order to end the evils of the game. (The book is a little different, as it's more supernatural.)

So basically it's a infinite flow deadly game situation, with m/m romance.

Main Characters:

Lin Quishi/Ling Juishi (novel/drama versions of his name)- Our protagonist. A smart graduate in computer science, good at games. Well meaning but a little naive to start out.

Ruan Nanzhu/Ruan Lanzhu - Our love interest. In the novel he crossdresses often and he presents as a woman for the whole first arc. Super intelligent, expert at the game, extremely flirty but reserved at the same time. Got one look at Lin Quishi and said That One.

Other Characters, aka the Found Family:

Ruan Nanzhu's team consists of a pair of twin brothers (one young and dumb and one uptight), a hot doctor vet, a woman whose main job seems to be cooking dinner, and a not-so-stable dude.

Then there's Li Dong Yuan, a rival player who becomes reluctantly-tolerated friend, and his cute female assistant. And Tan Zao Zao, an actress who hires the team to help her in the games and also sticks around persistently.

They're pretty much all delightful and some may start off silly/annoying and end up breaking the hell out of your heart.

Okay, but what's the VIBE?

Big Guardian vibes. The team of lovable scamps investigating weird supernatural (?) type mysteries? While the boss and the guy he fell for have a situationship? Totally. This definitely has more of a horror feel than Guardian, though, even though they tone things down from the novel.

Each door is its own setting, and some are more scary than others. So one is a mental hospital, one is a traditional village, one is a gothic manor, etc. Lots of tragic female ghosts who have been wronged and are getting revenge. The one that really creeped me out was the one with the children with the eggs. It does a lot of creepy rather than really horror. It's not truly gory at all, as it was made to air on Chinese TV and they have strict limits to violence.

The camerawork and set decor is really nice, actually. It looks great most of the time and a lot of the effects seem to be practical. It looks a lot better than Guardian is what I'm saying, if not quite to a film level.

How Gay is It?

Oh MY GOD. Okay look, this show was NOT supposed to be released, but thank whoever put it up for that two hours. It's really incredibly blatant, like really as much as Word of Honor was, although because the plot is focused elsewhere it's maybe not quite as in your face. But the actors UNDERSTOOD THE ASSIGNMENT and there's so much longing and SO much implication. After a while, everyone basically just treats the main couple as a couple even thought it's never talked about.

I mean episode one there's Only One Bed and at the end of their first meeting Ruan Nanzhu gives Lin Quishi a RING. I mean, the flirting is also BLATANT. I also just find this a really romantic show, despite the Not Talking About It thing.

Is it a Happy Ending?

So, It's Complicated. I'm trying not to spoil anything and this show is pretty easy to have spoiled for you. There's definitely a good bit of tragedy in this show in general. Characters die and it's really sad. Like, this is a plot with stakes and if no one we liked ever died, it wouldn't be the same.

I will say I consider this show to have a happy ending, but you do go through some pain first. Essentially the main couple does have a separation, but there is a reunion before the end. There's also a scene that will give Guardian fans fucking PTSD, but the show does a fix-it on its own, okay? I do feel that I have to warn for that, though.

Where can I watch it?

The show is legally available on Viki with a subscription. Obviously there are other ways to find it as well, and links went around before it was picked up by Viki so check tags if you need those.

I really hope this encourages some people to watch this show, as it's really well made and a great time. It's one of a very small number of danmei adaptations we've gotten, but a lot less people have watched it since it's modern and had a weird release. Honestly, it's well written and acted and filmed and you should give it a shot.

(All gifs by @ruanbaijie, thank you very much for allowing me to use them. Check out their blog, there's such gorgeous stuff there!)

[thefirstknife]

Incredibly urgent information found in post-campaign. This is the Lost Ghosts quest from Micah-10. This one is "Oracle" and happens on Nessus. The quest from Micah is about finding various Ghosts that got lost during missions on locations. For the one in Oracle, you had to run Insight Terminus strike to find data.

Running Insight Terminus here is confirmed as canon! Kargen we fight is apparently a clone! More importantly, this reveals a few pieces of information that I am completely and totally normal about.

First, Kargen's clone is once again looking for OXA and OXA is canonically confirmed to be similar, if not the same (!) to the Device of the Future War Cult.

Second, Otzot is the one who ordered this and the order is recent. Otzot is, with this, confirmed to be alive and active. She is also in a faction NOT loyal to the Witness. Otzot is also apparently interested in Sol Divisive's information on the Veil. I am thoroughly losing my mind about this. Ghost is also confused about how these things connect and I'm LOSING IT again because I talked about this well over a year ago in this post, and recently in this one. Prediction machines, Vex technology and the Veil have something going on together, I agree Ghost. I am obsessed with this.

And third, the interference is confirmed to be from Maya Sundaresh which also further confirms her involvement in the Echoes. It has to. I've already speculated on the Echoes image we can see in game as the mysterious figure being some form of Maya/Vex Maya/her simulation, but this confirms it. I've never been more normal than I am now.

Transcript of the video below:

Ghost: I've got Bean's signal. It looks like he's gone deeper into Nessus. It should be easy to follow him. As for what Kargen's clone was doing here, it looks like he was trying to access Vex data on OXA again. Micah-10: That's the Psion prediction machine, right? Sees the future in branching paths? Future War Cult had something similar. Ghost: Based on what I'm seeing here, I... I can't be sure they aren't the same thing. The same design. But I don't know how that's possible. Kargen was trying to access the Sol Divisive's research on the Veil as well. I don't understand how all these things are connected. But I can tell where the orders are coming from. A Psion named Otzot, and these orders are recent. I think there might be defector branches within the Shadow Legion... Ones not loyal to the Witness. Micah-10: And they're trying to pin down potential outcomes, make plans for what, the even of our success? Ghost: Maybe. But it looks like something's blocked them, but I... I don't know how that's possible. Micah-10: Why? What stopped Kargen? Ghost: If this log is correct... Maya Sundaresh did. Cayde-6: Maya, wha- why does that name sound so familiar? Micah-10: Why don't you and I talk about that offline, Cayde. Let the Guardian and Ghost track down Bean. Cayde-6: Yeah, yeah, that- that- that sounds good.

[indigomarina]

Fanfic Idea

Ugh! I had this idea to write a fic about what-if Marinette was evil instead of Gabriel! But now with the whole Shadybug and Claw Noir special coming, I feel I have to wait, so things like 'Good Gabriel's good guy name' and what he calls who makes heroes (currently I'm calling them champion but I don't know anything) are more accurate to the show!

Plot

Essentially, it would've been in this universe, so no Shadybug. Instead, her name would've been Miss Fortune (I've been in this fandom since the beginning, I've always wanted that name to be canon). She takes the image of a shy sweet girl Marinette Dupain-Cheng but when things don't go her way, she becomes Miss Fortune.

Luckily, Paris has a hero in its corner, the amazing Chat Noir who battles the evil Miss Fortune. However, he also has an ally in the form of Papillon, a mysterious benefactor who helps him by sending him champions.

Characters

Adrien will still be our innocent sunshine child, but he has a whole lot more on his shoulders, trying to stop Miss Fortune from wrecking havoc and eventually becoming Guardian.

As Chat Noir, he and the champion have to work together to fight Miss Fortune. I have this system where Miss Fortune has a anti-charm (like Anti-bug) and if the two destroy it, the world healing begins.

Alya is still how she is in the show. Except she despises Miss Fortune. Her blog is towards Chat instead and she insults Miss Fortune anyway she can. She wants to rid the world of Miss Fortune, unaware she's her best friend.

Chloe would be a much better person (she still has some of her original flaws, so she would be not be like Zoe), liking Adrien like a brother and treating Sabrina like a real friend. Of course, Marinette doesn't see their relationship as platonic so she targets her. This version of Anti-Bug would've have Papillon give Chloe the power of the original Ladybug miraculous until Chat decides to give her the bee miraculous to use.

Lila would've been a person who always told the truth and while not all of her stories from canon were true, she does have some real amazing tales. This attracts Adrien to her (again platonically) much to Marinette's chagrin. One story is that Miss Fortune stole her bag once and Chat Noir got it back for her. Marinette thinks Lila is lying and Chat doesn't remember Lila specifically but he does remember giving someone back their bag.

So she briefly becomes Miss Fortune to embarrass her but this just inspires her to become Volpina and her and Chat briefly work together to take her down.

Gabriel is a much better father here! He's still busy and Emilie is still dead. But he's allowed Adrien to go to school and have a less stricter lifestyle. He still misses his wife but goes on a more healthier path instead and tries to move on while helping Chat Noir as Papillon.

Zoe would've been a person who acted nice when in reality, she's a massive witch. She still has feelings for Marinette but Marinette takes advantage of these feeling instead. She assist Miss Fortune also, not liking when things don't go her way. Half of Chloe becoming akumatized episodes would be Chloe either needing the bee miraculous or her helping Chat as a champion. Zoe would play dumb when confronted but some people start seeing the truth through her and Marinette's lies.

Shipping

So Marinette likes Adrien to disturbing degrees. Finding her strange since kindergarten, Adrien at best can be civil towards her. In the Animan episode of this AU, he would've weirded out by Nino's crush on her but would've still helped him, because he's a good friend and he feels he would be a good influence of her.

He and Miss Fortune jokingly flirt with each other sometimes, but they really hate each other with a fiery passion.

Adrien is bisexual in this fic. Who is Adrien's partner? Luka. Instead of liking Marinette, he takes a shining to Adrien instead. Adrien is smitten as both himself and Chat Noir. Luka would be a frequent character in season 1. Often times, Chloe and Juleka (and sometimes Nino) would try pairing them together frequently.

Marinette used to have a crush to Luka and he used to give her a chance but with all the lying and her accidently making it clear she likes Adrien, he also can now only be civil to her.

Chloe is also bisexual. Nathaniel initially has feelings for her instead of Marinette in 'Evilluastor'. Season 1 would plenty of cute moments. Not sure I should write whether they broke up but are on good terms or have them be in a poly relationship with Marc and Kagami.

Down the line, Chloe gains feelings for Kagami. Marinette in this AU, never lets go of her mean feelings for Kagami and instead Kagami enters the scavenger hunt in 'Ikati Gozen' with Chloe, causing the two to bond. Kagami never has feelings for Adrien (but I'll say it again, Marinette doesn't see it that way).

That all I have to write, bye!

[sungbeam]

BIRD HUNT — three

nonidol!choi line x f!reader

gotham city is a gutter running rampant with the ill, corrupt, and the insane. at times, justice and vengeance must be served by one's own hand... no matter the lengths one must go to do so.

▷ genre, au, etc. bat family au, dc comics inspired, dark, vigilantes au, slow burn, ceo/billionaire au, cat woman!reader, murder mystery au, action, suspense, angst, slow burn-ish?, love square??; choi line inspired by dick grayson (csb), jason todd (cyj), and tim drake (cbg), including bruce wayne for choi minho and damian wayne for nishimura riki, inspired by 2022's The Batman

▷ chapter warnings. swearing, mentions of death and murder, mentions of weaponry, depictions of violence, use of pepper spray, breaking and entering

▷ word count. 4.4k // taglist: open

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FILE_03 : by the tail

gotham city.

[seven days since your mother was murdered.]

"Is she here?"

The voice was familiar to your sensitive ears, and although your eyes remained fixed on Mrs. Lee, you shifted your attention mentally to the two—no, three—wait… four?—figures making their way over to where you and Mrs. Lee stood in the home office space. Their footsteps were as quiet as heeled loafers could be against hollow wood floors. The Lees' home in the suburbs was a safe distance from the heart of Gotham, so the neighborhood was much nicer and much more like a home. The Lees had been ushered here after Lee Sungjae had been found murdered, and they'd resided here since.

You had been called in the day after the incident happened—that was the day after you had gone to see your father. We must work fast, Yn. They've already gotten to one of my… men. That was what he'd told you, and when he elaborated, you had discovered that every news channel now blasted footage of Lee Sungjae's dead, glassy eyes.

You had been busy since, trying to both grieve in peace and work at the same time.

"—take more time, Yn-ah. Losing a loved—" Mrs. Lee's voice cracked slightly and she covered her mouth.

"Mrs. Lee—"

She waved your hand away, angling her body away slightly so she could regain composure. "No, no. It's alright. I'm alright. I just… I know how it feels, and I think you deserve time to yourself, as well."

Of course you told her about your mother. You had to take another day off when one of your coworkers had noticed how spaced out you were when you came in. No, you didn't tell her your mother was murdered the same way her husband had. That was between you, your father, and the motherfucker who did this.

But for now, you were supposed to be here to answer the police's questions about your employer. You had been one of three of Mr. Lee's secretaries for the past several months now, having come under his employ about a year ago after Choi Enterprises turned you away. But magically, a few days afterward, this offer from the office of one Lee Sungjae had arrived in your inbox. When one door closed, as they said, another opened. Whatever guardian angel was looking over you then certainly wasn't looking over you now though.

"Miss Ln?"

You turned around and expected to see Commissioner Kim Namjoon and your co-secretary, Shin Ryujin, but you hadn't expected the two others with them. They stood behind the two aforementioned, both in black domino masks that covered the top halves of their faces. Their suits were skintight, most likely to allow for more mobility, but they also accentuated their starkly muscular figures. The taller one wore a suit of dark blue and black, while the other donned a maroon red and black ensemble. You recognized them, respectively, as Gotham's very own Nightwing and the Red Robin. Vigilantes. What were they doing with Commissioner Kim?

Ryujin bowed her way out, gently taking Mrs. Lee with her. That left you with the others.

"Hello, Miss Ln," Commissioner Kim greeted with a tired, but not unkind, smile. He fished a small notepad out of his coat pocket, ballpoint pen clicking to life. "My name is Commissioner Kim. These two… not sure if you need any introductions."

When you remained silent with only a nod, he continued, "We're here investigating the murder of your former employer, and we were informed that you often handled his familial affairs. We've already spoken with Miss Shin and Mr. Yun, but we wanted to ask where you were last Wednesday night at ten o'clock."

You were very aware that Nightwing had decided to wander about the office, eyes taking in the shelves and the notes and the desk… then there was Red Robin, who's attention was pinned intently on you, arms crossed firmly over his chest. There was something awfully familiar about these two. "Is that an accusation, Commissioner?" You asked, leaning against the edge of the desk.

"It doesn't have to be," he said airily. "Just answer the question, Miss."

"I was at home," you answered, schooling your face into neutrality. "You can ask my employer's wife and my coworkers—I was taking time off to grieve my mother's death."

The shock was not the most stark on the commissioner's face, but on Red Robin's. "She's dead?—" He coughed; even Nightwing had paused his movements. "I mean, I'm sorry for your loss." You didn't recognize the voice, but you suspected it was probably being disguised with a voice modulator.

The commissioner sent him a bewildered look, but turned back to you. "I'm very sorry for your loss, Yn. Truly." He asked with almost a grimace, "Can anyone corroborate your whereabouts? I understand you were most likely home alone, but perhaps a neighbor, a significant other…?"

And there it was again—that shift in energy as both the vigilantes in the room stopped to focus on you.

You shook your head with a tight smile. It probably wouldn't bode well if you revealed to them who your father was or that you paid the Iceberg Lounge a visit that day. You were also a little too preoccupied with survival to have a significant other, and you hadn’t been close enough to a neighbor in years. "No. Just my cats."

There was something so familiar about this Red Robin character, but you couldn't put a finger on it. Or maybe it was the way he was staring at you with such pity (and sympathy) that made you wish he was someone else. Either way, you needed to know why these two vigilantes were put on the case, and what they might have already found out. At the moment, it didn't seem like it would pose a problem, but you thought it wouldn't hurt to be a little more careful.

When you arrived home that night, bones aching as much as your head pulsed, you collapsed on the couch. A few of your cats began to swarm your legs, soft fur tickling the skin exposed when your pant leg lifted. Blue, a very introverted Russian Blue who you managed to make an extrovert when it came to you, plopped himself onto your lap like a warm, vibrating mass. You ran your fingers through his fur to the symphony of someone's purrs (you figured it was Byeol; he was quite vocal).

"Should I invite him to the funeral?" You murmured to Blue in question.

He stared back at you, then silently turned his gaze to a particle of dust floating in the air.

You exhaled back against the couch cushions. "I'll take that as a yes."

In the dead of night—because there was always a dead of night, even for Gotham City—you pulled a dark beanie over your head and the top half of your face. Two holes had been cut and sewn for your eyes to see through, and at the top of the hat, two little triangles sat akin to ears. You recalled the night you had crocheted this on a whim, your mother having done most of the work.

"Blue wants it to have cat ears, mama," you'd told her just as she brought out her tub of yarns.

Your mother's eyes glittered. "Is that right? Well, we'll have to add cat ears then, won't we?"

You thought it would be fitting to find her killer in this. You thought it fit you quite well, at least.

The rest of you was dressed in black, and your hand grazed over Soul's fluffy, white head as you propped open the second floor window. "I'll be home soon," you whispered to the last of your family, then disappeared into the night.

"I can't get why this is so familiar to me," Beomgyu voiced into the echoes of the Batcave, hands braced against the main monitor as he stared at the copy of the note: A Debt Repaid. He had been staring at it for the past week, not consecutively, but it hadn't left the forefront of his mind. Like you.

Soobin trudged over to his brother with a bowl of cereal cradled in his large palm, the other hand spooning the sweet milk and wheat flakes into his mouth. "Mm. Maybe give it a rest for a little, Beom."

"And do what?"

"How do you know Ln Yn?"

Beomgyu whirled around just as Soobin settled into the desk chair, waiting. Beomgyu made a scoffing noise, eyebrows flying up to his shaggy bangs. "Where did that come from?"

Soobin smiled and shrugged. "You tell me." He slurped up a bit more milk before adding, "You're the one who reacted like that in front of everyone when she said she was grieving her mother's death. You sounded shocked that she died."

"Well yeah, wouldn't you be shocked to hear someone else died so close to another's death?"

"Stop trying to bullshit him, Gyu."

Both the brothers looked up at the voice who had just entered the underground space. Yeonjun strolled into the main area in a white tank top and sweats, hair sticking up in different places. He stretched his arms above his head and yawned loud and wide.

Soobin cocked a brow at him. "Nice of you to finally join us, hyung. How'd the date go?"

"Great," Yeonjun quipped. "We're going on a second one soon. I think Felix almost sent me off with a kiss goodnight." He slumped onto the edge of the desk, eyes lazily taking in the images and information displayed on the many monitor screens. "This is our stiff, huh?"

Soobin sent him a look that distinctly said 'No, we're just looking at dead bodies for fun.'

"Yeah," Beomgyu replied. "The note the killer left is so familiar to me though. Have you seen it before?" He knocked his knuckles against the monitor with the note.

Yeonjun's eyes narrowed on the screen, before he leaned back with that bored look renewed on his face. "You're both idiots. It's from that one killing a couple weeks ago."

Beomgyu and Soobin traded looks. "What?"

Their eldest brother leaned down to reach the lowest drawer at the desk. From its depths, he fished out a large bag of chips and grabbed a handful to stuff his face with. "Y'know," he garbled and gestured vaguely with his crumb-dusted fingers. "Beomgyu, you know! You were there with me. It was that one lawyer guy who was found dead in his car beneath the bridge. That same note was taped to his windshield."

"Oh yeah," Beomgyu drawled, while Soobin shook his head with a sigh. The former then knocked his foot against the latter's shin. "Aye! You didn't even know it."

"Yeah, because I wasn't on that case," Soobin fired back. He finished off the rest of his bowl of cereal and set the empty ceramic in his lap before crossing his arms over his chest. His eyes, like his brothers' were lined beneath with heavy eye bags. Someone was supposed to be on patrol around the city right now, but neither of the three brothers were in any rush to get up. "So it's just one person going after these people then."

Yeonjun chewed his bottom lip. "Then we just gotta find the connection."

"Was the lawyer guy from a couple weeks ago Lee Sungjae's attorney?" Soobin asked.

Beomgyu grabbed a hold of the wireless keyboard on the desk and braced it upon his thighs. He pulled up an internet browser and typed in their inquiry. All three brothers made noises of disgruntlement; if the lawyer hadn't been Sungjae's attorney, then how were they connected? It was no secret that 99.9 percent of the population here in Gotham had some sort of… shadow looming over their shoulder. It was almost impossible to get anywhere without the help of a corrupt figure, whether that be a mob boss like the Penguin or loan shark with special strategies to get someone to pay up.

Either way, there would be lots of digging required.

"Let's start with Lee Sungjae and the lawyer's records,'' Soobin decided as he sat up in the chair. "We'll sort through phone records, acquire security footage of their movements, their texts, etcetera."

"I call none of those," Yeonjun said. When his younger brothers scowled at him, he raised both hands in feigned surrender with a giggle. "Fine, fine. You're both lookin' at me like I murdered your favorite puppy."

They remained silent.

"What, too soon?"

The basement headquarters suddenly erupted in a dull siren sound, and Beomgyu was swift to pull up a set of footage on one of the monitors. It displayed a section of the sky, a white spotlight circle cast against a massive, dark gray cumulus cloud with a distinct bat shape in the center—their call to action.

All three men were on their feet in an instant—keyboard and cereal bowl abandoned on the table, capes and utility belts clicked into place.

"Meet you losers there!" Yeonjun hollered as the cave filled with the revving roar of his motorcycle engine like a clap of thunder.

Soobin and Beomgyu hurried over to their respective cycles. "Hey, we're not done talking about Ln Yn!" Soobin called to his younger brother.

Beomgyu flashed him a thin smile. "That's what you think!" And he sped away down the runway.

Soobin chuckled to himself, grinning. Then he revved his engine and launched himself after his brothers.

To be completely honest, you had no idea what you were doing. Actually, that was a lie. You kind of knew what you were doing, but that was leagues away from completely knowing what you were doing until it was muscle memory. Right now though, as you gripped onto the side of the building, fingertips digging into the concrete ledge like a lifeline (because it might as well had been one), you couldn't wait until it became muscle memory.

God, your arms were going to ache tomorrow morning.

"It's worth it, Yn," you muttered to yourself, under your breath, and that was what made you reach up one more time and grasp onto the ledge of the window sill. You had always wondered why buildings like this lacked security cameras, but based on its practically smooth facade, it was no wonder. Only a crazy person would dare scale something like this.

The law firm building was not one of the largest nor one of the dingiest. If it had been some place like Clark & Field, you would have considered other ways to get into the building, but it would probably be through the inside (because scaling a fifty story skyscraper without a net was not on your bucket list). And if the building had been on the dingier side, it would have, frankly, been much easier to find footholds and places to brace. Except for any mold or crumbly parts. That was not fun either.

Or maybe you could classify scaling buildings as just… not fun in general. But the skills and the strength would come with time.

This time, however, was fueled by pure willpower.

But the universe was on your side for once, and the window you clung to gave way and granted you entry. The stupid lock picks had actually worked.

Despite being dead for two weeks, Yang Eunhyuk’s office still looked like its owner was still alive. There were documents left out in the open, all of the furniture had yet to be touched, there was an old (upon further investigation, really old) cup of coffee on the desk, and a two-week-old calendar for the week’s appointments and cases. You peered at the calendar and skimmed its contents, but found nothing terribly noteworthy. You strolled by the bookcase, footsteps light as a cat’s, and glimpsed the titles. There were a lot of convoluted-sounding titles on the shelves, and honestly, you doubted that he even read half of the books there. They were probably just for show when clients came in.

After you had given yourself a tour of the space, you determined that no one had truly cared enough about this man to really clean up for him. The door out into the hallway was locked, and through its frosted glass door, you could make out the distinct yellow police tape crossed over the frame. This was no crime scene, but the police had still had the room locked down… odd.

You figured they didn’t care enough. But maybe this guy had more connections than you were giving him credit for. He had been one of your father’s clients, after all. (Actually, that wasn’t enough to determine whether or not Yang was smart or not. Resorting to your father’s ever-generous solutions was stupid; and you were very well-aware that that made you stupid, too.)

Your father had sent you to this office for something in particular.

“Yang Eunhyuk was an idiot and a half,” your father had told you the day you had come to him. “But he knows how to hide his things when he needs to.” He had carefully relayed all of the necessary information to you as the two of you sat on the couch together to outline your next steps and what exactly he was asking of you. “He owes me a compilation of files and a burner phone.”

When you’d asked what for, there was that gleam in his eyes as if he found the question amusing. “Well, to find out who betrayed us, of course.”

“To find who killed Mom?”

He had nodded at you—waved his hand flippantly. “Yes. That’s the same thing, Yn.”

A burner phone and a compilation of files. Your father had already searched Yang’s personal place of residence, but there had apparently been nothing but “shit." So here you were… sorting through more shit.

You drummed the pads of your fingers on the surface of the desk.

“Where would he hide you, hm?” You murmured to yourself. You tried all of the drawers under the desk—four of the seven came up locked. The top three drawers were all filled with a smorgasbord of knick knacks and junk like a fidget spinner, fidget cube, a package of cigarettes, and even a used gum wrapper. (Gross.) You slipped a lock pick out from your sleeve as you considered the remaining four locked drawers, then realized that Yang Eunhyuk might not have kept your father’s files in the same place as his regular, ol’ case files.

And so, you moved away from the desk.

You figured there were specific places a lawyer would keep their most sensitive files to ensure discretion and privacy. You recalled how your late employer, Lee Sungjae, often had his most precious files stashed away in a place that was so obvious that no one would ever assume any person in the right mind would hide such things. For Sungjae, it had been a picture frame on the wall of his office, the one with him and his entire family pictured. It was cute; but when one peered behind it…

There was only one picture frame in the entire office space. It was small and it housed his law degree. You wondered if it was phony.

You decided to give it a chance and reached for it with a gloved hand.

When you took the frame off the wall, a frown slipped onto your face at the solid wall behind it. Huh. It was worth a—

You stepped backward and inhaled sharply when your leg hit the back of his cheap office chair. You managed to right yourself, but your ears had also perked up at a curious sound. You swiftly replaced the frame on the wall and knelt down by the desk chair and twisted your body to peer beneath it.

The sound you had heard had been a soft swish. It was subtle and not at all loud, but thanks to the empty office and your own hearing, you had picked up on it. It was practically a miracle.

Your heart pounded in excitement as you stuck your hand beneath the chair and felt up the bottom. There—you felt a distinct, padded folder—and there—

Your fingers wrapped around a small device no bigger than the palm of your hand. It must have been attached to the bottom of the chair with some kind of tape, and you gave it a good yank. And behold… in your hand was the alleged burner phone, staring up at you, just begging for you to sneak a peek into its logs. But before you could, you removed the file that had been hidden beneath the chair as well. It was a standard manila folder stuffed to the brim with papers and, you assumed, lots of sensitive information. Your eyes were widening like your smile as you just struck gold.

Not too bad for your first time in a while.

You startled at the sound of a thump.

There was a figure, a shadow, standing on the window sill by the end of the desk. He was familiar to you with his dark hair and domino mask, and his red and black uniform. His cape flowed from just off the precipices of his shoulders and hung around the backs of his knees—imposing and regal but not in the way of any movements he made. The Red Robin had stood before you just earlier in the day at Lee Sungjae’s suburban home. He had been the one with the familiar presence to you, along with his… colleague? You didn’t know his and Nightwing’s association or relationship, but you weren’t about to interact long enough to find out.

“Breaking and entering is illegal, y’know,” the masked vigilante mused, and you could just make out the shadow of his smirk in the darkness. “Even at crime scenes.”

You rose from your spot on the floor, slipping the burner into the holster pocket on the garter around your thigh and tucking the file in the crook of your arm. There wasn’t really a place you could hide the chunky piece of shit. Despite your heart palpitating in your chest, you maintained a cool exterior. He didn’t know who you were, and you expected that he wouldn’t be able to recognize your voice since you had only spoken to him once.

“Nothing done in Gotham is illegal,” you replied to him.

His head cocked to the side, arms folding over his chest. “You’re not wrong about that. But…” He nodded at the file folder. “I really can’t let you leave with that.”

Oh, dear god. You needed an escape plan—and fast.

Nothing was coming to mind; it was just get out get out get out! (Very helpful, as always.)

“I’m sure you can make an exception for me,” you said with a mocking pout. “How’d you even know I was here? I didn’t realize Yang Eunhyuk had a connection to Gotham’s exclusive Bat Boys.”

A scoff from him. “He doesn’t. Your luck just happened to be running out, sweetheart.” He stepped off the window sill and entered the office, stalking toward you with slow, methodical steps because he knew you were cornered. You really should have tried that office door when you had the chance.

As you began backing away, you shook his head and tsked. “C’mon,” he coaxed. “Give me the folder.”

“And I can go?” You wondered how fast you could disappear once you flung yourself out of that window.

He smiled. “If you give me that burner, too, sure.”

Your heart stopped for a millisecond. God damn it.

He must have seen the doubt in your eyes, and that fucking smile of his widened. Something about that was tug-tug-tugging a nerve. He stopped walking toward you as you slowly made a move to set the file down on the floor. “Good girl.”

The file flopped onto the wooden floor.

"Slowly," he drawled, eyes glued to your form as he watched your hand move toward the holster pouch.

All the while, you were counting down in your head.

Before he could blink, you swung a leg out and kicked the file back behind Red Robin and toward the window. His head swerved in that direction, and you launched yourself at him before he could realize his mistake.

You kicked at him, one-two, adrenaline pumping through your veins like a virus. He blocked your blows, just as you swung around and made a grab for his mask.

He caught your wrist; you whirled—it was a high stakes tango you had not been prepared for. But you jabbed your elbow behind you, fist flying up toward his nose. Every move you made was desperate and offensive.

You slipped free and ducked, body curling under his arm, under his cape, until you ended up in the flurry of the dark fabric.

The vigilante knew his own cape though. You gave him that much.

He grabbed the opposite end and arced it over your head, arm coming down to wrap you in it—but you threw yourself out of it, landing a swift blow to his shin. Wouldn't do much except make him curse and loosen his grip slightly.

The file was in sight—oh god, it was right the fuck there.

You made a mad dash for it, leaning down slightly and reaching out with your hand—

"Not so fast, kitty—"

You hit the floor with a curse, palms flat against the wood. His foot had hooked around yours and tripped you, his knee set against your back like his own palm as he held you against the floor.

You felt his breath by your ear. "What's in the file, sweetheart?"

"None of your concern," you gritted out, then throwing your head back until you heard and felt that telltale "fuck!" from Red Robin.

You ignored the throbbing in the back of your skull to fling yourself around and throw off his balance again. Your hand dove into your holster pocket to retrieve the small cylinder of mace, then sprayed it in a final move of desperation, breath and chest heaving.

The man sputtered, hand flying up to his mouth as he stumbled backward and tried to eject the chemical from his body. "Dirty fucking move," he spat as you turned tail and made for the file.

Only—

"Looking for this?"

Two others had joined the party, to your absolute horror. Nightwing stood with the file in his hand, while Red Hood—the vigilante from the bank, and supposedly Choi Yeonjun based on your deductions—was perched up on the window sill with zero care in the world.

Well shit.

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[thewertsearch]

GG: aaaaa please dont tell anyone i told you about him! […] CA: settle dowwn jade youre radically underestimatin the amount of shit i dont givve about this […] CA: i got bigger ships to sink and soon wwhen im good and ready me and my luminous fuckin science stick havve got a date wwith jack noir

Seems like Eridan's planning to join Vriska.

Correction - he's planning to rejoin Vriska.

If he's trying to restart their kismesissitude, he's going to be sorely disappointed. Vriska is out of his league, and not just as a romantic partner. She's a god, and he's an angry kid with a wand who represents no threat whatsoever to Noir.

CA: wwhys this matter so hush hush anywway GG: he didnt want me to tell my friends who he really was […] GG: he was so nice, and it really did feel like i was talking to family, so i really dont think he was making it up

I think your intuition is correct, but that doesn't mean he's specifically your grandson. After all, 'family' is a term which can encompass all sorts of relationships.

GG: i couldnt help but try to imagine his parents… GG: and more interestingly……. GG: his grandfather :O

Even if he is your grandson, that doesn't necessarily mean he has a grandfather. As far as I can tell, there's no reason why the Veil's DNA-mixing machine couldn't merge the genes of two women.

For all we know, Pen-Pal could have four biological grandmothers!

CA: that gun i just gavve you is somethin of a hatchright to the kid CA: happy i could play a role in your dirty stinkin lineage GG: like an heirloom? i guess it could be GG: do you even have those? if you dont have parents how could you? CA: no wwe dont knoww our direct forebears and im pretty sure any attempt to seek out or evven inquire about the supplier of your genes wwould be a fine wway to get yourself killed

I didn't think a troll's genes had an individual supplier.

Based on the fact that their genetic material is combined in the Mother Grub, I've been assuming that each troll is created from a large number of 'parents', whose DNA is mixed in the Mother's stomach.

Obviously, our Sgrub trolls are going to be an exception to this rule, since the game presumably cloned them from twelve Guardians - but Eridan seems to be implying that all trolls have an individual parent.

This doesn't align at all with what we know about troll reproduction. There also seems to be a certain amount of secrecy surrounding this process, since Eridan thinks you'd be killed for looking into it. Is there some sort of conspiracy at play?

CA: but wwevve got our lore and it says wwe all got indivvidual ancestors wwho contribute to most of our genes abovve and beyond wwhat the grubs slurry does

Alright, that makes a little more sense. So trolls are derived from a large mixture of DNA, but they have one true 'parent' who contributes the lion's share of genetic data.

Maybe an embryonic troll starts off as a clone of this parent, and other trolls' genes are slowly spliced into it as it develops.

Again, for the Sgrub trolls, things are a little different. We have reason to believe they were cloned in sets of three, implying that each of them has three genetic donors. Perhaps, then, they each inherited the majority of their DNA from one of these trolls - their 'ancestor' - and only share a small number of genes with the other two.

These ancestors have been mentioned before - quite a while ago, now - and I think they may be the key to solving a major mystery of the Hivebent arc.

Namely, Aradia mentioned her ancestors, and seemed to believe she was following their orders. When Scratch's plans started to reveal themselves, I assumed that he was the one directing Aradia, and was only pretending to be these unseen forebears.

With this new revelation, however, I'm forced to reconsider my stance. What if the Voices were those of the ancestors?

What if Aradia was being instructed by the troll Guardians all along?

[gamerbearmira]

Precure AU. Precure Triplets! That's awesome! I think after the monsters start reappearing, the triplets would each individually consider going back to fighting, but then they'd see the new Precures and think they weren't needed. But then the monsters could get stronger and the grandkids would start struggling, so the triplets go back to being Precures, occasionally showing up to help the grandkids in battle. They would only show up individually, the triplets wouldn't know the others also started fighting again cause they didn't bother to tell each other, and they would be super mysterious about it, at first just showing up, fighting, than leaving, but as they show up more and more they start talking to the grandkids a bit, giving bits of advice and answering questions. They all eventually say how they used to be part of a group, the grandkids put together that the three mysterious helpers were in a group together and they decide to help reform their group, there are some hiccups and the triplets are reluctant at first, but after a few emotional battles where they work out their issues they decide to give it another shot. I wonder if revealing their identities to each other could be part of that emotional journey of being a team again, like, when they realize the grandkids are the Precures, the kids get kidnapped and the triplets have to work together to save them, being more willing to listen to each other and push their frustrations aside because now it's not just civilians, their family is at stake, so they are able to iron out their issues and be a good team, saving the kids. It also would probably lead to the triplets trying to take over from the grandkids and stop them from fighting because they believe it's too dangerous for them, but realizing the monsters are too powerful for them to handle on their own and they all need to work together to stop them.

Oh, and triplet's powers and name ideas because I'm obsessed with this AU

Julieta: Guardiana de la Defensa- Defense Guardian. Her weapon is a shield that she uses to make force fields, both to protect others and trap monsters, she isn't exclusively defense though, she can throw her shield to do some damage and also use her force fields to crush.

Pepa: Guardiana de la Clima- Weather Guardian. Her weapon is a fan, Dolores gets her unorthodox weapon choice from her mom, she can summon all kinds of weather by, well, fanning her fan, it also has blades on the ends for more precise close quarters attacks and hand to hand combat.

Bruno: Guardián de la Vez- Time Guardian. His weapon is a lance that's designed to look like a clock hand, when he swings his lance he can slow down enemies or even freeze them in place, but it's only for a few moments and it takes a lot of energy, otherwise he'd be completely op.

Also, they wouldn't have a group name, at least not until they regrouped and worked things out since they weren't able to work together all that well, the townspeople thought they were more individuals helping each other than a proper team, when they regroup they realize they don't have a group name like the Grandkids and decide to call themselves Los Vigilantes del Encanto- The Watchers of Encanto

I AM ALSO OBSESSED WITH THIS AU❗❗ Just haven't done any content for it UGHHH <\\\33

ANYWAY. THEM COMING BACK WOAHHHH...them coming back one by one would make sense too. I mean obviously they wouldn't just join altogether after having a big fight and breaking up like 20 odd years earlier. And if Bruno leaves in this au (which I think he does), it's definitely a surprise when the Time Guardian suddenly shows up 🌚

I think it's a good idea how they have to work through their emotional and familial problems in order to gain their power again. Very cool <33 I think the grandkids putting it together that they used to be a group is so funny, but they can't put together how they're all also related like. Let's use those critical thinking skills 😭😭

ALSO POWERS AND NAMES YEAHHHHH ❗❗ It's very on them too, it matches what the grandkids got going on. Also them not having a name until they regroup. Really shows how they broke up on bad terms <\\333 BUT THEY FIXED ITTTTTT

[mylifeisfruk4ever]

Isis and Osiris - A Yu gi oh Fanfiction

They said that Isis loved her husband so much that she brought him back to life...

Seto was a rational person. He didn't believe in magic - despite having been involved in magical bullshit more times than he'd like - or ancient curses or, God forbid, Fate. Now, however, he had to give up and ask for help from those who, unfortunately, knew more about all the things he had always despised, and hoped to get some valid answers. He was tired of cryptic shit said for the sake of appearing mysterious.

"Mr. Kaiba," Isis said, seeing him enter his office at the museum. "I should have guessed it was you. Usually, when someone comes to visit me, they knock."

“I didn't think you'd appreciate the pleasantries.”

"From you, I don't expect the behaviour of an ordinary person," she replied, looking at him with those ancient eyes, old beyond the age of her body. She asked him, "Why are you here?"

"Your family is descended from the guardians of the royal tombs. Correct?"

"Yes."

"And you..." he couldn't believe he would say that. He swallowed his pride, and continued, "You know ancient Egyptian magic."

"We do. "

"Among these ancient arts...is there anything to...to bring the dead back to life?"

Well, he said it, making himself completely ridiculous. The idea had come to him after yet another failed attempt to create a machine to cross dimensions. If he couldn't go to the pharaoh himself, then he could take him back. It was a crazy idea - like taking a walk between dimensions - and he was aware of it.

However, he would not back down. Atem owed him a duel.

He couldn't go to the next world without dealing with him first. He couldn't.

Isis sighed, "Again?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You want to bring Pharaoh back to life," she said, with a confidence that amazed him. "It's not the first time you've tried."

"I didn't mean to bring him back to life. I was trying to get to him..."

"I wasn't referring to your little plan, Kaiba," Isis interrupted. "I'm talking about what Priest Set tried to do when his...pharaoh died."

Was it his impression, or had she hesitated before saying his pharaoh? Seto pushed the thought away, focusing on something more important, "Priest Set did it. I'm not him."

Isis looked at him like he was a silly child throwing a tantrum, and Seto couldn't stand it. He could accept that Atem was an ancient spirit, a pharaoh whose name had served for a spell.

But he was not the reincarnation of some ancient priest. The similarities were there, but that was about it. Just similarities.

It could happen that a descendant resembled his ancestor.

"So, you still don't remember."

"My memory is fine," he defended himself, piqued.

"If it were, you wouldn't be here asking me something you've already failed once. Because do you want to suffer again?"

"He owes me a duel," Seto said. "If I can't go to him, then he will come to me."

"Mhm...and is there nothing else?"

"What else should there be?" he asked, confused.

"Silly...really silly..."

He was about to reply piquedly when Isis got up from her chair and approached him.

"Do you know the story of Isis and Osiris?"

The question took him by surprise, "They're two ancient deities, aren't they? Osiris is a card..."

"I'm referring to the real ones," Isis pointed out. "The first lords of Egypt. Osiris was a much-loved ruler, but his brother Seth, consumed by jealousy, killed him by deception and cut his body into pieces. Isis, Osiris' wife, searched all of Egypt for her husband's body, to recompose it. Thanks to her magic, she brought him back to life. Even though Osiris could only reign over the dead, the goddess managed to conquer death for him."

Seto said, "I couldn't do it. There is no body."

"You should create one from the earth, with your hands and your blood."

"My blood?"

"Blood grants life. And yours is rich in power."

" Will this be enough? To create a body for him and give him my blood?"

Isis shook her head, "The ritual is much more complex. After all, you have already failed once, and in that case, the body c 'was."

"The priest has failed," he reminded her. "I won't. Tell me everything I have to do to bring him back, and I will."

[synnthamonsugar]

DESTINYTOBER: Day 13 - Guardian

Read it on AO3

Aryn belongs to @wonderwafles

. . .

Phoebe didn't know why she allowed herself to get cajoled into joining these Tower mixers. Parties weren't her scene, and as far as she was concerned she got enough socialization on patrol. Still, she knew Ylenna would fret about too many nights spent alone in her apartment if she didn't — and there was food — so she relented. 

Tonight's mandated mingle placed her at a table of Lightbearers who challenged her faculties of recognition to varying degrees. No one was totally unfamiliar, a few she even knew casually, but she might struggle with names if pressed. 

They'd breezed past initial smalltalk and into the question-based party game part of the evening. Thoughtful quiet fell upon the table when one bubbly hunter asked:  "Greatest Guardian of all time. Go." 

"It's gotta be Osiris, right?" opined a titan, "He's done too much to not be. Hell, he's doing more than most even without the Light."

"That's blatant Ikora erasure," chimed in a warlock, raising her hand to preemptively silence the titan. "Yes, yes, I know — Osiris was her mentor, but sometimes a student surpasses the teacher."

"And Saint's better than either — "

"Ulan-Tan? He had no right to be right about everything, and yet — "

" — don't want to be controversial, but Savathun convinced the Traveler to give the hive the Light. That has to count for something —"

Through the lively chatter, Phoebe locked eyes with the woman sitting diagonal from her. She maintained a parasocial rivalry with Aryn, who she regarded as something of a dark mirror to herself — both Awoken Titans, heroes of the Red War whose lives diverged toward different paths. Where Phoebe walked in the Light, Aryn stepped in the side of the Darkness. Rumors swirled of lavish audiences with Calus, of prowess on the Gambit field and mastery over Stasis. Accomplishments from before her time, too, probing the mysteries of the Dreadnaught and killing the Taken King himself. 

If there was a choice that Phoebe made, Aryn was assured to have done the opposite. Morally, Phoebe found her reprehensible, but couldn't help but appreciate the inverse symmetry between them. On some level, she wanted to pick her brain, try to piece together how they could be so similar and different at the same time. In Aryn, perhaps she could find proof by contradiction of her own ideology. 

(And, perhaps, a friend. She got a tingle of excitement thinking about winning her over, and quickly buried the thought.)

Aryn gave a knowing smile. Surely she'd also heard stories about Phoebe awaking the Traveler, and killing it too. The rumors of her resistance to the Darkness. Maybe even the death and revival of her Ghost. How did she feel about Phoebe killing her once-beloved Emperor? 

Phoebe twisted her lips in kind, hoping her grimace didn't show through. 

The murmur at the table drew quiet. 

"Well? What do you think?"

"Yeah, you two haven't said."

Everyone looked in the direction of the Awoken Titans, awaiting their answers. 

Phoebe wanted to say: Me, I'm the greatest guardian to live. No one has done what I've done. She thinks if Ylenna heard her speak those words, she would slap her across the back with such unconstrained pride that she wouldn't be able to breathe right for a week. She also thinks it would sound insane to everyone else.

After a pregnant pause, Phoebe looked to Aryn again, hoping to bait the self-congratulation out of her so that she could acceptably do the same. "You first."

Aryn laughed. "No no, you go. I insist."

[zahri-melitor]

Newish Comics:

Batman: The Brave and the Bold #14: I am largely uncompelled by this set, but I was amused that they had to specify "look! This Barry/Iris story takes place before we break them up! Because we want fluffy Barry/Iris!"

Also charmed that in the Black and White story at the end with flashbacks to previous events there's Bruce as Tengu in KnightsEnd! That's a bit of a deep cut I wasn't expecting.

Green Arrow #13: Williamson please learn to pace a story at some point. That said, I was very fond of seeing Roy and Lian snuggled up together, and Connor and Mia hanging out together. Also Williamson finally acknowledged Sin's existence for the first time? I think? in this comic.

I also note Williamson is on team "we like Jade" rather than on team "Jade's a villain who's done a bunch of irredeemable things" (Which. Both positions are perfectly acceptable, but does give me a bit of an 'of course you're like that' for a guy with a known tendency to prioritise biological relationships)

The plot is ridiculous but it's editorially mandated, everyone is about to go into their Stupid Eras for the next two-three months.

The Flash #10: speaking of editorially mandated storylines...I was snorting at 'make Ollie and Barry punch each other', in terms of Ollie was doing everything but shouting what his name was and Barry was going ??? mystery guy who is not Bruce.

Jai is great in this issue. Wally is busy ascending into a higher plane of existence, still, and I am waiting until his brain comes back online and the various creepy higher dimensional beings stop trying to brain wipe him and use him as conduit, as they will not enjoy him handing them their asses.

Please get Bart into a room with his friends so he can notice they're also young adults over 18 and stop reverse aging himself, he's drawn younger than Jai in this. Or actually address the plot point that Bart's currently making himself be the age he was when Max was his guardian, and what that means about their relationship.

Zatanna: Bring Down the House #1: oh this is fun. It's functioning as a Zatanna origin story, and a good reminder that Zatara is in hell.

And now a look at everyone losing their minds for the Event:

Suicide Squad Dream Team #1-4: super reluctantly reading this as lead in for Absolute Power.

I'm not sure if I'm more mad over how Amanda Waller is being villainised here or how they're characterising Lori Zechlin. Lori, what have they done to you?

As I scrutinise this, it's written by the actor who originated Nia Nal, and uh...it could use being less Nia's perspective v general Squad attitudes. It just feels very very righteous v Waller Being Evil For No Reason.

I dunno. I don't think Nicole Maines has enough experience or practice in writing for a shared property. Her Nia stuff on its own has been fine so far, but managing to write decent team dynamics for the SUICIDE SQUAD is something that takes a lot of skill and experience (given the number of strong personalities involved). It probably shouldn’t be handed to a writer who’s effectively never written a comic that doesn’t star the character she played on TV.

Absolute Power: Ground Zero #1: sigh.

This is not going to be a particularly compelling event to me.

Like hmmmmm part of me wants to point out that under a different storyline, Waller living out 20 years of peace in a virtual reality as a mother figure would be something that would affect her a lot, given her history.

Unfortunately, we are no longer in Suicide Squad 1987.

The Warlord #58: this week in Skartaris we don't see Travis at ALL. Guy who's cosplaying Travis is doing a terrible job of it, and pissing off Tara, who has been driven back into finding her childhood sweetheart Graemore attractive. We get a full retrospective of their childhood growing up together: Graemore was the son of a blacksmith and a tailor whose family were captured in warfare by Tara's father. Graemore played with Tara while his mother made swords for Shamballah and his father educated Tara. It's a very cute 'they grew up together' teen love story.

While all of this is going on Darvin the Thief goes to try and extort more money from the people on council paying him to hold Travis prisoner, and he suddenly realises where he's seen Joshua's weird bracelet before...on Tara's arm!

Surely this can only end well.

In the Arion backup, I am very slowly starting to get my head around how to fit Skartaris's ancient Atlanteans, Earth's ancient Atlanteans and modern Atlantis together. They do all come from the same group (which is what I expected) but it's definitely interesting in terms of the various interactions between magic and advanced technology.

(Now I actually need to read some more Aquaman to confirm my understanding, as it's still pretty vibes based right now)

[wario-speedwagon]

top 5 ai the somnium files characters??

ohoho, well lemme tell ya with great pleasure! :D

(disclaimer, I've only played through the first game, so I will only be including characters from that game and not the sequel)

5. Boss

It's in her name, she gaslights, gatekeeps, girlbosses and looks good doing it! Jokes aside though, I love how she is simultaneously secretly and subtly caring while also just. blunt and unapologetic about overworking her subordinates or unashamed to crack dirty innuendos. She has all sorts of random trinkets and junk all over her office, from boy band posters to christmas trees to party decorations. Shady but with a heart of gold. She's not quite as deep a spoiler angst rabbit hole character as some others, but she's a joy every time she's on screen, ya love to see her <3

4. Hitomi

This is my one underrated underdog pick, but ourgh, loving and supportive single mothers doing their best while keeping their dark tragic backstories private from their kids, my beloved <3 I could delve into detail just how magnificent her backstory is, from the circumstances of her being a mother to her tragic past love life, and how being a stereotypical normal boring sweet schoolteacher mother figure, she's been unfortunately involved in the most dangerous secrets but just trying to live her best life with her daughter despite it. Hitomi my beloved, seemingly simple characters with hidden depth, my beloved

3. Aiba

She is soooo silly and also maybe the only sane person here, or at least sane in the way an AI personality would be. She is Date's AI assistant and also his prosthetic eye, and the right gif is the form she takes when she's outside of his eyesocket. The left gif is her digital avatar form. She's constantly judging Date's thoughts and actions, she gets excited about bugs, she helps Date be a better parent (more on that later), she does Hacker Skillz on a whim, she might be capable of actual love even as an AI! Truly a worthy pfp :3

2. Date

You've heard of Love to Hate, but this guy will force you to learn what Hate to Love means. Cringy horny porn-addict failure of a person, how dare you be an amazing character with a super sad spoiler backstory and amazing angst going on. I need to push him down some stairs right now. He has a fantastic coworker good cop/bad cop dynamic going on with Aiba his eyball assistant (he's mysteriously missing an eye and Aiba is his replacement), and he's a grumpy but genuinely trying temporary guardian for a bratty middle schooler who holds him in contempt and pretends to hate him (i.e. we're talking wet cat & wet cat found family dynamics >:)

1. Mizuki

I love this child. I would do anything for this child. I would do anything to be this child. Snarky ass middle schooler. Human weapon of mass destruction because why not. Had a hard home life with her abusive or neglectful parents and is now a tsundere wet cat found family roommate with Date whom she bullies like a sibling but is still in denial about who her real family are. She carries grenades and such in her backpack even to school and she carries her favorite lead pipe with her everywhere. (spoilers) she has seen both of her parents' dead bodies and in some timelines her best friends' and favorite teacher's as well...

Ough the character depth and growth and angst and silliness of this character, the sheer badassery, her iconic-ness--oh yeah, she canonically says in game says that she respects and is inspired the LGBT community (based). You just can't get more S-tier than Mizuki. Might be favorite character of all time. I'm so excited when I eventually play the sequel because she's the protagonist in it! :D

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

reading update: june 2023

as promised (to myself) I spent all of gay months reading books by and/or about the gays, no exceptions! (unless you count the heaps of old Batman comics I was reading, but come on. it's all pretty fruity.) the trend will be continuing into July as well because I overshot and still have book I need to finish, so in the immortal words of Janelle Monáe: happy pride forever!

anyway, what have I actually been reading?

Empress of Forever (Max Gladstone, 2019) - man, I've been meaning to read this FOREVER! and I'm glad I finally did. Gladstone's space opera follows ultrawealthy tech genius Vivian Liao, a sort of dykey Lex Luthor who's CERTAIN that she's the good guy. okay, yes, she's trying to get control of the nukes, but she's not going to use them. it's just that the world's a mess and she needs to be in charge. unfortunately our girl Vivian doesn't get far in her master plan before she's transported across the galaxy and finds herself on the run from the all-powerful Empress in the company of a cybernetic monk named Hong and the legendary space pirate Zanj, the Empress' greatest enemy. from there our heroes are off on a slow, messy quest across the galaxy as they make new friends, grow as people, and strive to bring the Empress down. it's a very long book and can feel slow in places, but all of the time devoted to fleshing out the characters ultimately pays off as their stories converge into a resonant narrative about the notion of identity and what it means to be yourself. if you like Becky Chambers' Wayfarer books of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, get on this shit.

also hey listen Max Gladstone is having a bit of a Moment rn; the book he coauthored with Amal El-Mohtar, This Is How You Lose the Time War, is getting a huge boost thanks to the Trigun (????) fandom??? over on Twitter, and you should definitely go check it out

Not Gay: Sex Between Straight White Men (Jane Ward, 2016) - Ward is a brilliant queer feminist writer; rigorous and insightful while keeping her work imminently readable. while the title may sound facetious, Ward actually takes entirely at face value that there are men having sex with each other an engaging in otherwise homoerotic activities - mutual jerkoffs, hazing rituals that involve anal penetration - that sincerely aren't stemming from a place of gay desire and asks us what the fuck we're supposed to make of that. what results is a fascinating look at masculinity and the intricate rituals that both subvert and maintain it. shockingly thought provoking for a book that contains so many transcribed craigslist posts of men looking for straight guys to have totally normal hetero dudesex with!

The Latinos of Asia: How Filipinos Break the Rules of Race (Anthony Christian Ocampo, 2016) - I was lucky enough to get to see Ocampo (who is gay) speaking at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity this year, and naturally I had to buy one of his books while I was there. I strongly suspect he's about to become one of my new favorite nonfiction writers, because the Latinos of Asia was a brilliant read that I really couldn't put down. Ocampo (who's also Filipino!) delves into the formation of Filipino-Americans' racial identity, and finds that many feel caught between the most conventionally accepted racial categories - feeling alienated from the idea of Asian identity, which is often perceived as pertaining to East Asians like Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans, and instead relating much more firmly to Mexican-Americans and other Latinos. it's a FASCINATING study on race and one (of many!) loopholes that exists in this very large, messy, totally made up construct of race.

A Lady for a Duke (Alexis Hall, 2022) - for my pride month romance novel I wanted to read something that I might actually like. I've previously adored Hall's genre-fucking ultra-queer Sherlock Holmes pastiche, the Affair of the Mysterious Letter, and Lady for a Duke was really well-reviewed, so my hopes were high! and you know what? I fucking loved this. it was like cotton candy, perfectly sweet and made to be inhaled without a second thought. Our Heroine Viola was the heir to an estate who faked her death at Waterloo so that she could run away and be herself - that's right baby, this is a 19th century trans lady romance! she reconnects with her old BFF the Duke of Gracewood, who's been catatonically depressed since losing his best friend in the war, and reader, you will not believe what happens next. just kidding, you totally will: they want to kiss each other so bad! they're yearning so bad and it's great. it's a very silly book and Gracewood is the most unexpectedly forward-thinking 19th century duke EVER who is instantly down to accept Viola entirely as a woman and thinks that having biological children is overrated, and you know what? that rules. I'm not reading this book for historical accuracy I'm reading it to watch a man beg his girlfriend to fuck him tenderly in the ass. and she does!!! if I'm being honest everything after they finally hook up is kind of nonsense and the book probably is too long, but god it's a delightful time.

Chlorine (Jade Song, 2023) - back in the days of twitter I started following Jade Song as soon as they announced selling this book, the story of a competitive high school swimmer succumbing to obsession as she fantasizes about becoming a mermaid. finally getting to pick up the book from the library and actually read it felt crazy after existing in potentia for so long! while Song's novel is a little rough in some places in exactly the way I expect from a debut, it's still gripping and visceral. our protagonist lives in an intense and demanding world, striving to please an overly handsy coach, wanting to please the immigrant parents she can barely speak to, stumbling through sex with boys on her team while longing for her female best friend. through it all she fixates on mermaids, and the story is told in flashbacks building up to a drastic act of self-mutilation at a swim meet. it's definitely not the right book for the faint of heart or anyone looking for feel-good fluff, but it's harrowing in the best way.

Vagabonds! (Eloghosa Osunde, 2022) - gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous! Osunde celebrates queer life - those called vagabonds, society's outliers - in Lagos, Nigeria, slipping between the real world of social stigma, oppressive religion, judgmental family, and dangerous politics, and the world of magic, gods, and the unreal, blending the two together in an effortlessly dizzying effect. the ultrawealthy hide behind layers of flawless masks to conceal their identities, a lonely woman dying of cancer summons up a daughter than only she can see, and a young man channels the devil to raise his murdered lover. while the stories start bleak, firmly establishing the danger of life on the margins, they gather speed with increasing warmth and love as the story progresses, eventually bringing all of our protagonists together in glorious, life-affirming celebration of vagabonds and all who love them. Nigeria, in Osunde's hands, reads much like family - imperfect, sometimes even awful, but also capable of harboring tremendous love, surprising tenderness, and still worth holding out hope for. I think measuring books in terms of relatability is a fool's game, but as an American queer watching more and more legislation and persecution roll out against my people each day, it was hard not to feel a cord being struck. Vagabonds! is a beautiful reminder that queer resilience is eternal, and reader, I did cry.

Quietly Hostile (Samantha Irby, 2023) - I was a ride or die bitch for Sam Irby even before she picked up and moved to my small Michigan city, effectively becoming my neighbor. (not really, but she is married to the mother of a friend of a friend, so.) despite this, I will freely admit that I was a little underwhelmed by her last release, 2020's Wow, No Thank You. it's possible that WNTY was damned by its March 2020 release, putting it in the awkward position of being a humorous essay collection creeping out into the world at a time when everyone was paranoid and nothing was funny; maybe on a reread I would receive it a bit more warmly. Quietly Hostile, on the other hand, is just stupid funny right out of the gate. Sam Irby is old (see: in her early 40s) and going downhill, writing candidly about peeing her pants everywhere, adopting a rancid little dog, getting sent to the hospital with a severe allergic reaction, and jacking off to plot-heavy porn of elderly lesbian nuns. it takes a little bit of work to get me to actually laugh out loud at a book but man, I was chortling. if you don't already know her work, this is a sign from god (me) to check Samantha Irby out now.

what am I reading now?

Black Water Sister (Zen Cho, 2021) - the was one of the oldest queer novels(TM) on my list and I really wanted to knock it out for pride month. the Malaysian setting and culture is a welcome addition to contemporary urban fantasy, but I'm not sure I'm crazy about the story overall. and yet, I'm over 200 pages deep and don't want to give up, so ? I guess I'm persisting.

Giovanni's Room (James Baldwin, 1956) - my local library lost their copy just in time for pride month, so I bought one on ebay for all of nine dollars. haven't started yet, but I'm really excited to finally pop that proverbial Baldwin cherry!

[missterious-figure]

So uh.. by the way, who is this mysterious her?

*Muff flinches at the question and looks at the question(I made up a word don't judge me💀) with a 'not the right time' expression*

Sun stiffens. He is glad that Moon is asleep. He starts fiddling with his hands.

"I suppose I should tell you. We've been vague about her."

He takes a deep breath then gives a shaky exhale

"Her name was Rosetta. She was a moth. A rosy maple moth...I think that's what she had said. It was a long time ago. Do you remember that story I told you? The part where I said that wasn't the last time we had seen her?"

"After me and Moon had left we went about our lives, searching for our family and trying to hunt non-humanoid bugs. We barely caught enough to get by. We needed help. We needed our parents. Me and Moon came across the village. As soon as we entered, however, everyone was screaming and running. We were just looking for a family and wanted our parents. We didn't understand what we were. We tried to go into other's homes to be apart of their families. But we were abandoned every time. No one wanted us."

"We just wanted to be loved by others. We were just children. The villagers didn't tolerate us for long. They chased us back the way we came. It was hopeless... we were on the brink of starvation. Moon and I were ready to succumb to death. But our guardian angel showed up again. Rosetta found us and brought us back to her cottage. She welcomed us with warm arms. She became the mom we were looking for. She cared for us like we were her own. She held us and feed us worms and whatnot."

"She understood fully what me and Moon were, and what we would become. She knew the risks. Her kindness was stronger than fear. She adopted us regardless. Others hated her, mocked her, and threatened her when they learned she had taken in two infant vampires. But she ignored them. She truly was the best mother anyone could ask for... We loved her very much."

"I'am afraid that's all I'm going to share. Moon... might share the rest of the story when he is... comfortable..."

Sun was holding back tears. He wiped his face and forced a smile

"So now you know who she is. The BEST mother in the world"

[delicategardenerbear]

What do anyone think about this idea of making a new alternate universe for sonic using unused characters, concepts, and beta designs of existing characters as well as the concept art of Satam? Here are some of my ideas.

Feels the Rabbit is the main hero in this universe that is helped by the brilliant but lazy Dr. Teddy Eggman who also acts as the young rabbit's father figure

Madonna of this would be a mix of her original concept and her Archie Comic version with elements from Topaz, so basically Ada Wong from Resident Evil, she was send with her partner to keep an eye on Feels and Dr Eggman but soon formed a bond with the young rabbit, acting as a mother figure to him.

Beta Rouge (I'm not sure what to call her) is Madonna's partner and her personality is similar to Lara Croft so she was a former archaeologist who ventures into ancient tombs and hazardous ruins around the world and give what she finds to museums, in fact she was so good the G.U.N. offered her a job which she accepted in hope of more excitement and was paired with Madonna.

Gazebo Boobowski and his daughter, Tiara Boobowski, were the guardians of the six magical Rings of Order, as well as the ancient art of Ring smithing, I'm not sure what else to do on these characters, any ideas?

Terios (the top two) could be similar to Wolverine in terms of origin as well as personality with him probably mentoring Feels the Rabbit. He is related to the bottom character, who will be named Void, who is basically Sabretooth. Also, the two designs next to each other could be their super forms. They don't remember their origins but remember being experimented on by humans, resulting in Void's hatred of humans and his insanity as well as Terio's general distrust of humans, though Terios escaped with the help of a mysterious white hedgehog.

Very little is known about Venice the hedgehog but all that known is that he believed he is from the future and is here to set things right, I'm actually having problems with coming up with a ideas for him

In this universe, Mobians live alongside humans because of a crisis at Mobius which led to mass immigration to earth. Feels the Rabbit lose his family during an crisis and he was found by Teddy

Inferno

an fire elemental that follows and protects a young bobcat after the child save her from being captured from government agents. She has total control over fire as well as their physical body

Buttercup the Bobcat

After saving Inferno from government agents, she and her family are forced to go on the run. She is a good-hearted but mischievous girl, think a mashup between Calvin and Hilda, a part of her regrets helping Inferno due to the trouble it brought her and parents but they her assured her that she did a good thing

Glam the Hare

A up and coming rock and roll sensation that's making headlines, his style of music is Very reminition of glamrock as well as 70s funk. Glam was just a struggling musician that was trying to make it big in the music industry, his luck changes when playing at a live music bar when famed music producers Lennon Bulldog overheard Glam and immediately offered him a contract which changed his life

Washington Wolf

A famous mascot for a car company who ironically has a fear of going fast

Boomy the Turtles

Feel's best friend and rival who after losing his legs in an accident and was given cybernetic legs are able to turn into rockets by Teddy. He is laid-back and care-free guy who tends not to worry about things but is very competitive when he wants to be

Martin Simpson

Teddy Eggman's assistant who is very positive and hard-working to a weird amount. He is almost always smiling but rarely talks and sometimes plays practical jokes and pranks also Teddy doesn't remember hiring him but since he's worked hard so he doesn't question it

Ziggy the Black Cat

The Wario to Feel's Mario, He's a greedy, rude and hot-tempered but surprisingly intelligent individual who always making some get rich quick scheme but fortunately is a nuisance at best

Axel Mole

A very passive and unassertive guy who tend to stay out of conflicts and just want to explore the world. He always has to wear his special goggles when he comes to the surface so as to not hurt his eyes

[catfox13102ndblog]

Alyla Of The Dead: A zombie apocalypse crossover AU

So I got his little thing I thought of, so why don't I share it all with ya.

So yeah, I had an idea for a zombie apocalypse AU, and it does feature Maria, but here's the thing...

It isn't related to Sonic at all! It's actually an Alyla Browne crossover AU! As you could guess by the title. (It was orignally conceptualized as a Sonic AU, but eventually it changed into what I'm telling here.)

This means that this Maria is who we follow, not the Maria from the games.

And not only her, but other characters who Alyla Browne portrayed, like Charlotte, young Furiosa, Angie, and young Alice Hart, will be in there as well.

There is another funny little thing I should mention too:

In the AU. Gerald, Maria, and G.U.N as a whole all exist in that reality (their Movie counterparts of course). But the Sonic series is still just a game franchise.

And this timeline has the Dreamcast and Sonic Adventure fail so badly that SEGA straight up closes their doors, meaning that Sonic Adventure 2 was never made at all. (Gee, Sonic really did have a rough transition into 3D in this timeline, huh.)

Maria herself is a fan of the Sonic franchise in this AU, and she's often called "Maria Robotnik" as a fun little nickname because of this. (mostly just an in-universe way to keep her OG name)

But enough talking about small little notes, let's talk about...

The Lore (So far)

(NOTE: THE 3RD SONIC FILM HASN'T BEEN RELEASED YET AS I WRITE THIS, SO THE LORE MAY OR MAY NOT BE CHANGED IN THE FUTURE)

So the current lore I thought about was that a scientist on the ARK attempted to cure Maria's illness (whether it's NIDS or something else entirely in the third Sonic film, we don't really know yet) by using a sample of her blood, while experimenting with this blood sample, something else had happened entirely.

The scientist had accidently created a mutated variant of the illness, it had infected the scientist by unknown means, and caused him to be violently ill.

Eventually he died from this mutated illness, and no one could've prepared for what happened next.

The dead scientist came back to life, attacking any staff near him, luckly they were able to subdue him, and study why he was like this.

They concluded that this new form of Maria's illness had brought him back from the dead, many of the scientists thought it was absurd. After all, how could he be dead, yet still able to move?

Regardless, things went horribly wrong, as the staff who the zombified scientist had attacked became infected, died, and reanimated themselves, chaos would erupt on the ARK as it slowly became overrun with zombies.

In response, the US military was sent to contain the outbreak on the ARK, Maria was the only one who they found alive. (they had no idea Gerald was alive as well) With enough reaserch, they managed to cure Maria. Later, in 2022, the military founded the Guardian Units of Nations (G.U.N).

Finally, in 2024, our story begins when the mutated illness that the military thought was fully contained, breached containment under mysterious circumstances. Resulting in a global scale zombie apocalypse.

(It's also worth mentioning that Maria still looks like she did in 1974, we don't know how or why, she just does. She never aged at all after 50 years apparently)

Now, onto...

The Zombies

To put it simply, the zombies are based on George A. Romero's shamblers, they move slowly, eat the flesh of the living, and can only be killed by a shot or heavy blow to the head.

I also headcanon that the zombies specifically resemble the ones seen in the 1990 remake of Night Of The Living Dead as seen down below. But it's just a headcanon, what they look like is mostly up to interpretation.

In fact, the AU itself is heavily influenced by George Romero's zombie films as a whole.

And that's all there is to tell you so far, there's a lot more I could tell you though.

Well, you can ask questions and stuff about it, and I'll try to answer ya.