#if you get the fruit punch reference you have been here for a while.

[keepthyfaithandthylight]

“How many tears I saw him shed over the violence of the revolutionary government and over the prolongation of a dreadful regime, which he only aspired to temper with institutions.”

Once, when scrolling through the frev tag I saw a letter posted by @orpheusmori (if memory serves correctly) that was written by a friend of Saint Just. It’s lived in my mind for quite some time, and the final line is one that can really put my mind in a chokehold.

So, as a result.. I had to draw this. Why is it that I always draw when I need to be sleeping…

[crimsonwolf715]

Burnout

(TW: mentions of Dazai forcing himself to throw up, minor blood, minor injury, fatigue, and overwork. Things you need to know: Meow meowing something off the table is a reference to how cats swipe things off of tables, but Dazai does it. He’s not a cat, but he sure acts like it sometimes.)

Dazai walks into the conference room where Chuuya’s waiting for Kouyou so they can have lunch. 

“Cancel your plans. We have another training to do,” Dazai says. 

“Oh no, my lunch. What’ve we got?” Chuuya asks, leaning back in his chair. 

“Mori’s got us doing another stupid training exercise. On the positive side, Elise threw an entire pitcher of fruit punch on Mori so he had to go shower and change before he takes us, so we have like fifteen minutes because there’s no way that man showers properly.” 

Chuuya just sits there for a minute, then hums. “I guess that’s fair. Do you have any idea what kind of bullshit this training is going to entail this time?” 

Dazai nods. “Something about infiltrating and you throwing something. That last part may not be accurate because I stopped listening after he complimented Elise for the fourth time and said that you’re ‘incredibly powerful’. Which wouldn’t be a problem if he didn’t say everything like he’s the world’s biggest creep.” 

“Yeah, I’ve always had an odd need for validation, but I hate when he compliments me. Anyone else, and I normally take it well, but it’s just the way he says it.” 

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t really like compliments from anyone aside from three people, but Mori gives me the heebie-jeebies. Anyway, we should change the topic before he comes in. He’ll make us do more stupid shit if he hears us making fun of him. How have you been since we last talked? I know it’s only been four hours, but I’m curious.” 

“Well, I wasn’t paying attention earlier, and smacked into a door frame. I didn’t sleep last night, and I still haven’t gotten coffee. Oh, and to make it better, I apologized to the door frame too. What about you?” 

“I saw Ango earlier and called him Mom. Saw Odasaku and luckily didn’t embarrass myself. Interrogated someone who defected and ruined a perfectly good shirt. Oh, and then Mori told me we were going to this stupid training.” 

“Sounds like the ruin of a perfectly good day. I was looking forward to having lunch with Kouyou, but here we are. Speaking of which, I need to text her.” 

“I have to call Odasaku and tell him I will not be up for going for drinks later. I’m already tired and sore, and we haven’t even done anything yet.” 

Chuuya laughs. “Yeah, fair. I’ve been working a lot recently. It feels like no matter how much I do, there’s always more to get done.” 

“Yeah, it sucks.” 

Mori walks in with Elise right behind him. 

“Hi, boys,” Elise says, waving. 

“Let’s go, you two. We have things to do and we’re behind schedule.” 

“Why are we behind schedule?” Chuuya asks, smiling innocently. 

“It’s not relevant. I got held back, so we need to get moving. Dazai, what are you doing?” Mori asks. 

Dazai, who’s half under the table, answers, “I’m getting my pen. I dropped it while I was spinning it on the table.” 

“Why do you care if you dropped your pen? It’s not like you’re not used to making a mess, and not cleaning it up,” Chuuya says, smirking. 

“Well, I like this pen. I’ve got it, so we’re good to go. And Chibi, you make a ton of messes you don’t have to clean up. Get off your high horse. Oh wait, you’re so short that you couldn’t get on a horse.” 

“I’ll have you know that I know how to ride a horse. Also, normally when I make messes, it’s your fault. At least I’m not showing up at your house, and throwing drinks on the floor. Or how about that time when you purposely threw up on my couch?” 

“I didn’t purposely throw up. I absolutely hate throwing up. I don’t normally throw drinks on your floor. Only sometimes.” 

“First of all, sticking your fingers down your throat counts as throwing up on purpose. Secondly, you constantly meow meow drinks off of my table when I’m not doing what you want me to. You’re like an unruly bitch.” 

“First thing, don’t remember it, didn’t happen. Second thing, I like meow meowing things off tables. You shouldn’t leave drinks unattended if you don’t want them on the floor…” 

“Stop it, you two,” Mori says forcefully. “Let’s go, we have things to do.” 

“Fine, but it is still not my fault that you have the manners of a goat.” 

“How dare you, Chuuya!” 

“Stop fighting,” Mori says. “If you two don’t stop, you’ll be working until dawn.” 

“Eww, fine.” 

“You weren’t planning on doing that again anyway? That’s new,” Chuuya says, shrugging. 

“If you two behave, you can go home at five. Does that motivate you to behave?” Mori asks. 

“I don’t know what time it is now, so I don’t know if that’s motivating.” 

“Yes, because I haven’t gone home before nine in like two weeks, so I don’t really care what time it is now. I will not punch Dazai in the face… probably.” 

“Yeah, don’t punch me in the face, Chuuya.” 

“That’s what I just said. You have got to put your listening ears on.” 

“Sorry, Mom. I will.” 

“Bitch.” 

Mori takes the two of them to a car and they drive to an empty area in the middle of the woods. 

“There’s a base about two miles walking distance from here. Get there, get the intel from their computers, then deal with the base itself. I don’t want any trace of it left, boys. Do you understand?” Mori asks, holding out a data stick. 

Dazai takes the data stick. “I guess.” 

“Wait, you don’t want any trace left of what? The building, the organization, or the computers?” 

“The building and anything in it. This is the only base we currently know about, so this is the current target. Clear enough?” 

“Rubble and everything?” Chuuya asks.

“Chuuya Nakahara, I clearly do not mean that.” 

Dazai starts laughing. 

“It wouldn’t be the first unreasonable thing you’ve asked us to do. You once asked me if I could disintegrate things with my ability if I tried hard enough.” 

“One time you asked us to take out seven buildings in one night,” Dazai adds. “While we did manage it, it’s still unreasonable.” 

“Knock it off. Go, you have work to do. Come back here when you’re done and we’ll go back to base for paperwork.” 

“You know what would motivate me? Not having to do paperwork.” 

“I’ll do it, but you can’t go home until I’m done.” 

“How would I annoy you the whole time if I went home?” Dazai asks. 

“I would be annoyed the whole time if you did go home,” Chuuya replies. 

“Fair enough. We’ll head out now, Mori. You look like you’re gonna strangle us.” 

“I’m not, just go,” Mori replies. 

“Ok, we’re leaving. No need to tell us again.” 

So the two start the long walk to the base. It turned out to be a four mile walk instead of a two mile walk and the base is heavily guarded. 

“Would you look at that? So many new friends to murder,” Chuuya says, motioning towards the base. 

“Yay, murder,” Dazai replies. “I don’t think I brought enough bullets for all of our new friends. I only have like two magazines.” 

“Good thing I don’t need bullets.” 

“Yeah, that is a good thing. You up for a long, drawn out fight? We haven’t slept in like a week.” 

Chuuya laughs, though it does sound a bit hysteric. “I don’t really have a choice. Let’s just get this over with so I can go home.” 

“Okay, guns blazing it is.” 

Chuuya and Dazai storm the base. The two of them deal with the goons until they find the computer room. Dazai downloads the data from the computers while Chuuya continues dealing with the guards, who seem to be never ending. Dazai finishes up and then throws the computer on the floor. 

“Alright, we can go,” Dazai says. 

They make it back to the loading bay and Dazai notices a box labeled explosives. 

“Hey, wanna have some fun with this?” Dazai asks. 

“Yeah, sure. Whatever you want,” Chuuya replies, looking down at his bloody knuckles. 

“I’ll bandage up your hands when we get back to base.” 

Chuuya uses his ability to move the box of explosives to the middle of the loading bay. Once they get far enough away, Dazai blows it up. The building explodes with much more ferocity than Dazai anticipated, making him laugh. 

“Can we rest here for a minute?” Dazai asks. “I literally feel like my legs are gonna give out on me if I keep going.” 

“Yeah, we can take a minute. I’m going to pick the glass out of my hands. All of the things for that man to have hit me with, it had to be a glass bottle,” Chuuya mutters, dropping onto the grass. 

Dazai sits down, then lays down on the grass. 

“Oh, I’m gonna kill Mori,” Dazai mutters. “I’m fine with working a lot, but I told him that I’m not cut out for this much physical labor.” 

Chuuya scoffs, his eyes still trained on his hands as he pulls glass slivers out of his bleeding knuckles. “You’re such a princess.” 

Dazai sighs. “Maybe a little, but this is more work than anybody should be doing. We’re being abused, Chuuya.” 

Chuuya laughs. “Yeah, well, at least no one’s beating you. It could be worse. I could smack you every time you say something stupid.” 

“Please don’t. I’d have way too many bruises and Ango asks way too many questions.” 

“Boo hoo. I wouldn’t do that anyway.” 

“Yeah, it’s because we’re friends.” 

Mori’s car drives up and Mori gets out. 

“What is taking you two so long…? What are you doing on the ground?” Mori asks. 

“I cannot move,” Dazai answers. “I’m exhausted.” 

“I’m taking glass out of my hands, and it’s taking a long time, because my nails are so short they’re practically non-existent,” Chuuya says, still without looking up. 

“Get up,” Mori demands. “I’ll get the glass out of your hands in the car. Dazai, get up. We have things to do.” 

“What things do we have to do? I thought it was just paperwork, and then we could go home,” Chuuya says, dragging himself to his feet. 

“Yes, the paperwork. Kouyou also requested your presence but I told her she can wait until tomorrow, so you’ll have that to look forward to, Chuuya.” 

Dazai forces himself to his feet. “Wow, just paperwork and then we go home. I’m gonna do the paperwork though because Chibi’s knuckles are all messed up.” 

“I don’t care which one of you does the paperwork, as long as it gets done,” Mori replies. 

“Yeah, I think I’m gonna need stitches in this one spot. I’m still bleeding. You’re definitely going to have to do the paperwork,” Chuuya says. 

The drive back to the Mafia’s base is quiet. Mori deals with Chuuya’s injuries while Dazai does paperwork. 

“Do I label this as training or as a mission?” Dazai asks. “You said it was training, but it definitely felt like a mission.” 

“Training,” Mori answers. “Elise, grab the bandages and wrap up Chuuya’s hands.” 

Elise walks over and grabs the bandages, then hands them to Mori. “You do it.” 

Mori sighs, then takes the bandages and wraps up Chuuya’s hands. “There. As usual, I can’t give you any meds unless you really need it. Let me know if anything gets infected.” 

“Yeah, ok. I mean, I don’t plan on talking to you for the next few days, but you always try to ruin my plans anyway,” Chuuya says, sulking. 

Before Mori has a chance to respond, Dazai gets up. “Paperwork is done so Chuuya and I can go home.” 

Mori looks over it. “Alright, go ahead. Take tomorrow off too. Come back ready to do more work the day after.” 

“Whatever you say, boss,” Dazai replies. 

“I’m going to sleep through tomorrow. I know Kouyou wants to see me, but I don’t care. I’m just not going to exist tomorrow. Do you wanna come to my apartment with me?” he randomly asks, turning to Dazai. 

“I mean, I don’t have anywhere else to go. Odasaku’s God knows where and Ango left an hour ago for some out of town meeting. Since nobody seems to like my little shipping container house, I guess I’ll come with you,” Dazai answers. 

“Ew, of course no one likes that. Come on though, I want to get home as quickly as possible.” 

“Coming.” 

The two head back to Chuuya’s apartment to get some much needed rest.

[cosmo-clown]

You were literally who I was looking for:

Infodump in Dust AND Blueprint

OKAY BUT I WILL WARN YOU MY BLUEPRINT IS THE OPPOSITE OF HOW I TREAT DUST

I try to be very close to canon with dust,,,, i read through the whole blog (post hopefullylyyy coming soon still need to write it but due to reasons i might not get it done for a while college is so hard chat but i will try to get it out as soon as i can!! i have not forgotten!!!!)

DUST IS JUST REALLY SAD. REALLY DEPRESSED LITTLE GUY. he is miserable every day of his silly little life whether he’s having a good time or not he will always find a way to bring himself back into his own misery. he can never be happy with himself and what he’s done and the guilt of his actions will always haunt him and his hallucinations will loom above him reminding him that he’s a terrible person who can never achieve redemption, and even if he could he doesn’t deserve to be happy in the slightest. he treats himself like absolute shit when the player gives up on his timeline and lets himself waste away (and when nightmare picks him up, this doesn’t change, he just becomes nightmare’s little depression purse, like how dream gets energy from people cheering him on nightmare carries this depressed lump of a skeleton as an energy source)

i think thats canon-adjacent enough,, i think dust would fight against these things but i think he loses eventually,, not much you can really do against a god of negativity,,

BLUEPRINT on the other hand is. entirely headcanon. basically every detail has either been maassively editted or changed. i have reference sheets but i’m literally self conscious idk if i should post them yet.,, the arts olddd i probably need to redraw it

i’ll be drawing him over on @ask-fruit-punch when we start up again BUT as a treat here are some silly fun facts!! (more where this comes from i’ve been fixating for about a year now please save me)

-unlike canon, writing is something he actively enjoys and does, and he always has a notebook in his hands

-he is soulless!! he cannot feel emotions naturally and he’s a bit different to how ink is because [redacted]

-he’s twins with palette

-his paint inflicts poison damage!!

-he lives in the omega timeline :]

-more coming soon~~ he’s actually my favorite i have a whole redesign for whiteprint too plus like a bajillion aus of this guy please talk to me about him i’ll never stop (but also dont because i gotta save this for the cool ask blog!!) (but also please plase plase do i’ll scream and cry and throw things around my room /pos)

[levelzeo]

Level Zeo's Brilliant Diamond Nuzlocke - Part 3

Oh hi.  I didn’t see you there.  As long as you’re here, why don’t I tell you more about my Nuzlocke, as well as my head canons about the personalities of my Pokemon.  In fact, if you would like you can go read PART 1 or PART 2 for more context, or to just read them again because it’s your new favorite thing to do.  Whatever works for you.  If you’re all caught up, prepare yourself.  We’re going over not one, but TWO important fights in this update.

Current Team

Simmer the Chimchar

Boof the Bidoof

Doc the Zubat

Orion the Shinx

Snek the Onix

Agro the Machop

Boxed Pokemon: 1

Deaths: 1

Badges: 0

I promised last time that we would jump right into the Gym in this update, but a couple of things happened while grinding to level 13-14 that I want to briefly mention.  The first, and less important, thing is that Snek learned Dragon Breath.  I had no idea that Onix learned that move this early, and I find it to be a very funny mental image.  This giant rock snake slithering around and chasing down wild Zubats, only for her to blast one out of the air with a beam attack and then look at me with a big happy smile on her face.  I love it.  And I imagine that Doc begins referring to her as a “death ray”.

The second, and more relevant, thing is that Simmer evolved!  I’m so used to my starter evolving in the 16-17 range, I had no idea they evolved at 14 in gen 4.  You learn something new every day I suppose.

On the topic of learning, I imagine that Simmer’s newfound evolution was spurned by some learning and reflection he has had to do.  His training with Agro has borne fruit, and Orion has pushed him to stand up and fight instead of trying to fade into the background.  He’s still scared of course, still cautious and careful of every little thing, but he’s willing willing to push down that fear (at least a little bit) to be the fighter the team needs

Okay, enough grinding.  With the team at acceptable levels, we head for the Gym.  I’ve already taken care of the Gym trainers during grinding, so there’s nothing left to stand between me and Roark.  First Gym battle, start!

Round 1 is against a Geodude, and I lead with Boof.  Agro is my best fighter for this gym, being pure fighting, but I want to save his health for the final round.  The Geodude sets up Stealth Rock to start, but this doesn’t have much relevance to the rest of the battle.  Boof uses Rock Smash into the Geodude over and over again.  The Geodude uses Defense Curls and gets given all of Roark’s potions, but Boof’s onslaught of attacks is endless, and the Geodude is reduced to rubble.

Round 2.  I switch to Simmer against the incoming Onix.  The two Pokémon trade blows, a Power-Up Punch and a Rock Throw respectively.  Despite its imposing size, the Onix’s attack is barely effective.  Summer is able to calm his nerves and throw out a second Power-Up Punch, getting a Critical Hit and easily winning the round.

Final Round.  Agro vs Cranidos.  Cranidos hits hard with a Headbutt, probably hoping to get a flinch.  But Agro has been training for this, to prove his strength against a worthy foe.  He snaps back with a Revenge, and the Cranidos is utterly annihilated in a single blow!  The fact that this is the same move that killed Chips makes the victory bittersweet.  But even so, it is a victory nonetheless.

Coal Badge Obtained!

One badge down, seven to go.  The team celebrates their victory, and the sheer joy of having overcome this first major obstacle causes another evolution!  Boof evolves into a Bibarel!  One of our toughest and bravest fighters has obtained a new form, ready to tackle the obstacles that our journey has yet to throw at us.  Seeing this evolution, and also seeing how hard Simmer is trying, inspires yet a third evolution!  Orion evolves into a Luxio!

Okay, so technically these two evolutions happened while fighting random wild Pokemon shortly after the gym, but where’s the fun in that?  My Pokemon have evolved, and we’re moving on.

With the Coal Badge in our hands and new evolutions on our team, we are riding high.  I like to think Chips would be proud of us.  We can also now go back into Oreburgh Gate and use Rock Smash to access a new encounter!  So I do just that, breaking through the rubble to descend into the basement of the cavern, where I fight off a seemingly endless swarm of Zubat (I already have one cackling maniac of a Zubat, I don’t need any more).  After what feels like forever, I encounter a Psyduck.

Puddle the Psyduck has a Docile nature and is Strong Willed.  I imagine that she has been meditating in this cave to hone her psychic abilities.  She may not be a psychic type, but she wishes to prove that she doesn’t need to be one to access the true power of her mind.  My team of misfits bumbling into her meditation is something she sees as a sign from the universe, and she happily joins the party.

Since I want to have Puddle’s water and psychic moves on the team, I make the executive decision to sadly put Agro in the box.  With the first gym defeated, Simmer should be able to take over as the team’s fighting type for now.  Agro gives a bow to his fighting student, and makes the others promise they will continue training hard in his absence.  They all agree, though Orion’s is more of a “sure, whatever”.  

I also decide to swap Snek out and put Petard back on the team.  As much fun as we all have watching her blast things with Dragon Breath, we all know that in terms of both stats and personality, she is not made for the world of battling.  The team will miss her joyful presence, and Doc will miss his death ray.

With our reorganized team, I head back to Jubilife, where I run into Professor Rowan, who forces me to battle some Galactic grunts.  Puddle is easily able to break the psyche of their Zubat, and also able to throw water at their Wurmple until it faints.

Moving swiftly along, we travel up Route 204, using Rock Smash to make it through the Ravaged Path.  Before I know it, we’re in Floaroma town.  It’s a very pleasant place, and I’m sure it’s a place many of my Pokémon would enjoy relaxing in, but not all is well.  Some girl’s father has been kidnapped!  Oh no!

Heading over the Valley Windworks, we beat up the Galactic grunt outside, then run all the way back to Floaroma to go to their Meadow and beat up even more grunts.  These guys really suck, and most of the team greatly enjoys beating them up.  Though Puddle warns that we should not become complacent, something that probably doesn’t help Simmer’s nerves.

In the Meadow we pick up the key to the Windworks, and also slather some honey on a nearby tree.  We run all the way back to the Valley Windworks, and while we are there I decide to find a new encounter outside.  I encounter a Buizel who is both Calm and Likes to Fight.  I name her Bonny, after a famous pirate.  She’s a seafaring scallywag who enjoys both a good book and a good brawl.  But for now, the only sea she will be menacing will be the one in the box.

Entering the Windworks, Petard begins throwing rocks around to take out Team Galactic’s flying and bug types.  I’m sure he is using a lot of rock puns as he does so.  (You’re gonna have to be boulder than that if you want to beat us!  Looks like our victory is only a stone's throw away!)

It seems as though the grunts of this evil organization have no idea why they are here or what their group is doing.  I’m serious, they all talk about how they have no idea what the plan is.  Doc takes great offense at an evil organization being planned so poorly, and Poison Fangs all of the enemies that Petard couldn’t one-shot with rocks.

Eventually we find the one in charge of this particular operation, Mars.  I’m not oblivious.  I know that Mars is a dangerous opponent (at least in the originals, I don’t know if she has the same run-ending potential here in the remake).  So I’m cautious going into this fight, but I’m confident in my team’s abilities.

As Mars leads with her Zubat, Orion steps up to protect his friends from this winged foe.  The Luxio unleashes a Thunder Shock, and the Zubat is almost defeated.  But it isn’t enough, and the enemy is able to get in a counter-attack; U-Turn.  After hitting Orion for not-insignificant damage, the Purugly comes out to play.

I switch to Petard, who shrugs off a Fake Out before the two combatants begin trading blows.  Petard is practically juggling loose stones with the number of Rock Throws he uses, while Purugly hits over and over again with Thief.  Petard’s blows are able to wear down the cat enough that it is forced to use its berry, but Petard is too weak to continue.

Frightened by the possibility of anyone dying to this fearsome opponent, Simmer steps into the fray, taking an attack that would have probably killed Petard if it had been a crit.  Purugly slashes hard into the Monferno, but Simmer hits back with a Power-Up Punch, knocking the cat out of the fight.

Mars sends her Zubat back out, but we all know who the victor is already.  Puddle unleashes a single Confusion, and the Galactic Commander is finally defeated.  Despite losing, she seems to have enjoyed the battle, and happily packs up her minions and leaves.  The Windworks is saved, the little girl’s dad is freed, and the Grunts who were blocking the way forward are gone.  Our journey can continue.

Well.  That was a long update, huh?  A Gym Leader fight, three evolutions, AND the first Galactic Commander battle?  I think I deserve a break.  Next time we will be checking in on the honey we slathered in Floaroma Meadow (and also some honey I did on the tree on Route 205), and making our way to the next gym.  For now though, I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed playing and writing.  See you next time!

[nehswritesstuffs]

banish every gaslight; let clarity shine - Part 9

Oops I watched OPLA all in one go and I, like much of the fandom, is sobbing at how good we got it. Now I'm actively considering importing some of my fics circa 2006 onto AO3, so I'm curious...

Part 1 [FFN/AO3] - Part 2 [FFN/AO3] - Part 3 [FFN/AO3] - Part 4 [FFN/AO3] - Part 5 [FFN/AO3] - Part 6 [FFN/AO3] - Part 7 [FFN/AO3] - Part 8 [FFN/AO3]

Luffy upholds his end of the bargain, while a toy can't help but lend an ear. [2257 words; AU where there is a Third Corazón, whose existence makes Law’s life hell]

Law and Antonia did their best to not freak out as they flew through the air thanks to Luffy’s insanely springy legs. He landed on a few rooftops and used them as further springboards, taking him further and further away from the palace.

“What the fuck is going on here?!” Antonia gasped. “Put me down, you psychopath!”

“Can’t! Gotta get you away from Mingo!” Luffy kept bouncing, unperturbed by his cargo squirming.

“Strawhat-ya doesn’t seem like the sort of guy you can reason with,” Law stated sourly. It was frankly demeaning being hauled around all over the place as he was, but what choice did he really have? “Mind telling us where we’re going?”

“Not far,” Luffy said. Sure enough, he landed hard in one of the plazas, his feet crumbling the cobblestone underneath them to dust. He put the pair down and grinned at them, only for Antonia to smack his head. “Ow! What’d you do that for?!”

“Warn me next time!” she hissed. Antonia was about to scold him further when someone tackled her in a hug—Baby 5…?! “Whoa! Where’d you come from?”

“Nia, I was so worried!” Baby 5 sniffled. “I was afraid that Doflamingo got you!”

“Wait… don’t you always refer to Uncle Doffy as Young Master…?” Movement caught Antonia’s eye and she saw Viola unlocking Law’s cuffs. Seconds passed and he began to vomit as his Devil Fruit abilities came back. “Violet…? What are you…?”

“He needs time to recover,” the older woman said. She held Law’s shoulders as he retched to keep him steady. “We’ll never get to do anything with him in this state.”

“Torao sure as hell took a beating,” Luffy noted. “Whoever did that must’ve been someone he really didn’t want to fight.”

“That… that was me…” Antonia said, her voice quiet. She watched as Baby 5 crouched down on the other side of Law; he was only able to look at her for one fleeting moment of realization before passing out into Viola’s arms.

“Law-nii?! Law-nii, stay with me!” Baby 5 took her brother and felt the wound on the back of his head, grimacing—it wasn’t looking good. “Fuck… what did you do, Nia?!”

“I was only doing what Uncle Doffy wanted!” Antonia retorted. “…and since when do you call a complete stranger nii? Don’t tell me you’re in on his lies too?!”

“What lies?” Luffy wondered, tilting his head. “Gun Lady said that Torao is important to you both, but also that you’re like her sister. If he’s important to you, then it makes sense to call him nii, right? Why don’t you call Torao that?”

“I don’t know him!” Antonia snapped.

“Then maybe it’s about time to show you the truth,” Viola said grimly. She activated her Devil Fruit and held Antonia’s face gently as she went to press their foreheads together. Instead, Antonia backed out of her reach. “Nena, what is the matter?”

“This is wrong,” Antonia frowned. “You two are acting weird, this man knows about things in my head, and this kid,” she pointed at Luffy, “just punched my uncle through a cinderblock wall! What is going on here?!”

“I’m trying to show you,” Viola said, “now if you will just let me…” She took a step towards Antonia, only for her to take another step back.

“No!” She looked at Viola, at the expressionless Luffy, at Baby 5 cradling Law in her arms next to a puddle of sick, and couldn’t understand a damn bit of it. Another step backwards and she turned on her heel to run, simply wanting to get away from there.

“What are you waiting for?!” Baby 5 scowled. “Go get her!”

“She doesn’t want to be here,” Luffy said with a shrug. “I can’t stop her from that.”

“You got her over here!”

“Yeah, and she was the one who left.” Luffy looked back over towards the palace and grinned manically. “I held up my end of the bargain; now it’s time to kick Mingo’s ass.” He began to run off, only for Viola to shout after him, attempting to chase him down so that she could guide him through the city streets. That left Baby 5 with the unconscious Law, the former doing her best not to cry.

“I did my best, Law-nii,” she whispered. “I tried to keep Lami-chan safe as I could, but Doflamingo made it so hard…” A hiccup escaped her; fuck, it felt embarrassingly childish. “Please… Law-nii… help me save her…” His face crinkled in pain—he was still alive!

“That’s now the plan,” he groaned. Law opened his eyes slightly, the bright sun above almost blinding to his dizzy, ear-ringing, concussed self. “It’s really her, isn’t it?”

Baby 5 nodded, motion shallow and full of tears. “Yeah… it really is. She doesn’t know it, though.”

“…and you didn’t figure out a way to tell me earlier, why…?”

“It was too dangerous. I thought that was obvious.”

“Seas, I forgot the pain of having little sisters,” Law scoffed. “I don’t know if it’s the concussion talking or something else, but I’m ready to kick our uncle’s ass for doing this to us. You in?”

Despite the tears in her eyes and the way she was biting her lip to stay calm, Baby 5 could not remember a time she wanted to laugh in joy harder. She nodded and held up her hand, which Law clapped with his, resealing the bond they both feared had shattered beyond repair long ago.

“Okay, Bee. Let’s go get our kid sister back.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Antonia ran fast as she could through the Dressrosan streets, trying to put as much distance between her and the others as possible. She bumped into all sorts of civilians as she did so; everyone was confused, as seeing their princeseta in such a state wasn’t exactly normal.

‘Shit! I have to figure out a place to be alone!’ She continued to run as she tried to make her way through the streets. When that proved too congested for her, she climbed up to the rooftops and began to jump to and fro, using them as bases on which to easily move about. She eventually found herself at the base of Flower Hill, where she was able to stop for a rest.

Fuck… there was so much swirling in her head and she needed to make it stop. It was bouncing around, screaming, wanting her attention more than anything else. She held her head and shut her eyes, trying to concentrate on getting it to stop. Instead, all she could see was Trafalgar’s face as he stared at her in horror. She leaned against the base of Flower Hill as she tried to steady herself and her nerves.

“Are you alright, Princeseta?”

Antonia pulled a pistol out of her holster and pointed it at the source of the voice, her hands shaky. It was the Thunder Soldier, who was staring at her. He didn’t seem to be ready to move, let alone strike, though she kept her guard up.

“What the fuck do you want?!” she hissed, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Leave me alone!”

“You don’t look like you want to be alone,” he replied. “What brings you out this way?”

“We’ve been chasing after one another for ten years! Don’t pretend that we’re friends!” She allowed herself to sink down to the ground, her body and weapon suddenly too heavy to keep up. “None of it makes any sense…”

“What doesn’t?”

“Lately? Everything.” She watched as he placed his pop-rifle down and sat next to her. “Uncle Doffy wanted me to wring some information out of a man before killing him… yet… there was something about him that I couldn’t place.”

“Curiós…” the toy hummed. “Who is this man?”

“A shitty little Warlord who keeps spouting lies,” she scoffed. Seas… she was really baring her soul to this toy who normally kept avoiding capture, wasn’t she? Well, it was the least he could do for all the trouble he’d been causing the Family… “I don’t know what a hobby like you would know about it.”

“A surprising amount, nena,” he said, chuckling softly. “This Warlord… he claims you as his sister, no?”

She stared at him and blinked. “How did you…?”

“You were a very different child when we first met,” Thunder Soldier explained. He placed his hand on Antonia’s arm, the act disturbingly Human. “I miss that child—she held so much in her heart that she did not yet know how to handle, and yet did not let that keep her down.”

The young woman stared at the toy, her head tilting in confusion. There were so many times when she attempted to capture him, even kill him, and yet… and yet… something calming was settling over her and she could tell it was from him.

“Nena, I do not know what he has told you, or what others have said in his stead, but know that I am not your enemy, and that I want for you what I want for my own daughter.”

“You… have a daughter…?”

“Indeed, and all I want for both of you is to be able to live as yourselves, with people who love you for who you are, not people who enjoy what they can make you do.” He stood and stared at her, his face unblinking. “Did he call you ‘Lami’ by any chance?”

“…yes…?”

“Él és vivo…” Thunder Solider marveled quietly. “It really is him… you and your sister thought he must have been dead…”

“I’ve never met the man before today…”

“The man, yes, but you knew him as a boy, and he is here to right wrongs from long before you arrived here.” He brushed some of the stray hair from her face and Antonia almost felt better. “Did you know there is a way for you to know which of his words are lies and which are the truth?”

She stared at him silently.

“You must unlock your heart,” he continued. “You must reach deep into yourself, Corazón, and you will be able to bring back your memories of him… of what he means to you… then you can decide for yourself.”

“…but… why should I listen to you? All I’ve ever done is try to catch you for disassembly.”

“Of all the Elite Officers, the Corazón is the one that is supposed to love the most, correcte?” He picked up his pop-rifle and turned around, readying to go. “Some people can use Haki to look into their own hearts—I believe you are capable of it.”

“If you think I’m capable of that,” she mused, “then what does yours say?”

“I do not hold that kind of power,” the toy replied sadly. “If I did, then we would be having a very different conversation.” He sighed, which nearly seemed the oddest thing of all about their interaction. “I wish you luck in figuring out who you are, nena. This is day is only going to get worse.”

At that, he used his pop-rifle to push off and skated away, joined by small creatures when he was almost out of sight. Antonia looked at her hands—one empty and the other still gripping her pistol—and scowled.

Use Haki…? To look into her heart…? It was unlike any technique that her uncle had ever taught her… different from anything the other Officers—Elite or otherwise—ever did on a daily basis. Even if she did want to do it, how would she go about figuring how to apply Haki like that? She was left with more questions than answers; everything from the technique itself to Thunder Soldier’s possible motivations. Part of her wanted to call the toy back and question him some more, while another part felt the need to simply run and not stop until she was far, far, far away from Dressrosa.

Then again, whatever she did she needed to decide on quickly—if her uncle had been punched through a wall by some stringy kid, then he was bound to be angry. The last thing that anyone needed was for him to be angry, least of all the idiot who started it all: Trafalgar. Now that she’d had some space away from him to think, then maybe it was time to go back to him with a clear head…

…except it wasn’t going to be just him, was it? Baby 5 and possibly Violet as well… she didn’t like the idea of it. Maybe, possibly, allowing Violet to show her memories could help…? At least now she’d be prepared… and even if Violet’s memories were altered by time, it wouldn’t be as though she could rewrite them…

Antonia stood, brushed off her cloak, holstered her pistol, and began to run.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Doflamingo groaned as he extracted himself from the rubble of the wall he had been unceremoniously punched through. He growled wordlessly as he glared out over the nation—his grip on things was slipping, and he was not going to stand for it. Pulling a transponder snail out of his pocket, he held down the button on the top of the shell and hissed in anger.

“My prodigal nephew and that rubber freak have the Corazón. If I don’t have her back by my side within thirty minutes, then you know what’s going to happen, and you better be prepared for it.”

He threw the Den Den away before anyone could answer.

The King of Dressrosa was done playing games.

[tiikerikani]

New Job, (the rest of) week 1

There were a couple more people at the office on Wednesday, and a few others were at the other office to deliver the training sessions for the folks there.

__________

Thursday there were a lot of people, not least the people from Corporate. Not only are Thursdays apparently popular for in-office time, I think they sort of try to get everybody in when Corporate is visiting so that we look busy.

I have a BUS PASS now and I can be downtown AS LONG AS I WANT without having to watch for when my transfer expires.

Boss said she'd rather I prioritize selecting a proper documentation authoring and management tool (this was one reason they were in such a rush to hire somebody for this job) and that I'm the expert and responsible person here so I get to make a case for one tool or another. I don't know what 100% of the requirements are (I may have ADHDed out that part of the conversation from Monday) but I have the general idea.

But like I'm feeling completely in over my head. I've never managed documentation libraries nor used specialized documentation tools, having mostly done stuff in HTML/Markdown/other plaintext formats and Word files for customers, and have not been involved in publishing them. I got some software suggestions from people on Mastodon and I think I've found one that seems to have the right features and, from messing with the demo, easy enough to learn (though the latter is the least of my worries; I'm good at figuring out how to use things).

__________

At FOUR EFFING A.M. last night (yes that's how poorly I'm sleeping ... still... and I get a bit clumsy at this point in the insomnia cycle) I spilled my vitamin water on my computer keyboard. Anyhoo, cleaning that up took another couple of hours so I slept maybe like an hour?

I figured I can lie in a bit and just get to the office later today but despite taking a detour and extra connection to buy breakfast I still somehow managed to make it there only 10 minutes later than yesterday while having left the apartment about 15 minutes later. Just got really lucky with the connections I guess.

I was literally alone at the office today and I told my boss that something had come up at home and I really hadn't slept at all and she let me go home early to catch up on sleep. A nice(?) thing about smaller companies (esp. in tech) is that developers like to work weird hours anyway so they are pretty flexible about hours in general. (We have the smaller-company vibe because we're still fairly autonomous despite the corporate overlords.)

I still need to finish making the documentation tool presentation for Monday but I can do that at home later. I was planning to take the laptop home for the weekend anyway because I don't want to do my presentation from the middle of an open-plan office lol.

Anyway the keyboard works again after it dried out but it smells faintly of fruit punch and some of the LEDs are a bit fritzy (at least one of them flickers). I've never cared too much for the RGB blinkenlights anyway. If I just set all the keys to glow just green you won't even notice some are kind of dead because it's the blue that tends to die first (including the fritzy one).

I should get a smaller keyboard anyway, this one is so clunky and is rather deep so it's a real tight fit to have both it and my painting tray in front of me on the desk when I'm working from reference pictures. But it's not a huge priority.

[clubsmarties]

"Hey!" Wally exclaimed making his dimple show as crystal green eyes looked up at her excitedly. "I guess I really was talking to your walls. Anyway," he shook his head and offered her some cake. "You should have some. Taste the fruits of your labor. Isn't that a silly expression. How are fruits in labor?" The idea of it just making him chuckle. "I'm not lost silly," his finger tapped her nose or as close to her nose as he could get before he released a sigh. "Not lost. I just didn't like how we left things. I don't like it. Feels weird and strained and that's not us. Sure, I didn't forsee the giant fuck ups we'd be met with but that's the job. Rolling with the punches." He'd lost track of his sentence but quickly brought it back. "I'm sorry. Genuinely so. No I'm fine. Meds taking effect. Good as new in no time."

His head leaned back at her door and sighed. "It's nice having you here. I don't think I told you that. I miss adventure week. Remember? No. Probably not. Been a while. You kinda didn't talk to me for a bit. Why?" He had a lot of questions he knew that. "You can think of the answers while you sleep or rest. You don't need to tell me right now. It's late. Or early depending how you see it."

"Hey, do you regret coming? I think you do maybe. I drew something for you. Its in my room but can show you tomorrow. Not important." He closed his eyes and hummed. "Not asleep just resting my eyes. Did you see the ocean?"

Silence was not his friend, he hated it. "I asked you before if you liked muffins. Where did you learn to make this? I want....I don't know what I want. Maybe finish off this marvelous cake and sleep for a week. It'd be the same amount of time you were busy. Was it true you were busy." His hand wobbled the mug and he got so surprised. "Whoops. Better keep that one steady.'

'Did you like the ocean? Could you smell the sea breeze coming in?" His head turned to look at her, green eyes shining as they blinked at her. "You know," he started as he took a look at her hair. "This is nice.' To what nice was he referring to he had no idea but he liked the fact that he could look at her without having to search her face. She was just there. 'For the record. I'm not loopy." Though he sounded it but he was sure he wasn't.

"You and I both." She patted his shoulder with a small sigh. It was a fact she had come to know him since meeting him. Their conversations, their glimpses into each other's upbringings. Well more like her into his with the little she shared with him. "Well don't say I didn't warn you when you find yourself flat on your back in the first couple of seconds."

The salt in the air, the sounds of the crashing waves, and the night began to calm her. Bring her back to what mattered and what didn't. And a big part of her hated it. The usual gene, instinct, whatever the hell it could be called, to run was nowhere to be heard or seen. Instead, there was a voice that said that she needed to get some rest and apologize tomorrow instead. It irked her but annoyed her more that it was right.

There was no way that she was going to leave now that she knew for sure what his goal was. Wasn't that why Charlie had created Thieves Gambit? To help people instead of hurt them? Wasn't that what Wally was doing, helping someone? Internally something told her that she was oversimplifying this, that it was two very different situations. Yet, she knew this world inside and out, he was already injured, she needed to stay the course. Much like she had known in life, she needed to lay the traps out and wait for the bait to be taken and help Wally accomplish what needed to be done.

Knowing that there would only be little time until the sun would break across the sky, she decided to head back to her room. Taking one last glance out at the dark sky meeting the ocean at the horizon, where they combined into one, and you wouldn't be able to tell where one ended and the other began unless you knew what you were looking for, she decided to head back to her room. Any little bit of rest she would be able to get would help for what comes next.

Making her way down and back towards her room, she found herself yawning and actually looking forward to sleeping for a little bit. The ocean waves had served more than just a lull, it was also something that grounded her. Calmed her. When suddenly she found herself wide awake at the sight outside of her bedroom door. "Wally?" A small wave of worry overcame her thinking he perhaps was hurt again but saw the mug next to him. Had he come over just to thank her for it? Kneeling besides him, she looked him over to make sure that he didn't have any more injuries than he had earlier before asking, "Seems you got lost, need some help up?"

[morefandomscenarios]

Hii! Could I request headcanons for Kid, Law, Luffy finding out that their s/o has the celestial dragon’s brand?

Hello! You're referring to the slave mark, yeah?

I think their reaction could go two ways, depending on whether you're uncomfortable with having the mark on you (💔) or if you're indifferent/proud (💝) about it.

Luffy

If this is before Sabaody, he would be a little confused. He wouldn't know what it meant and would bluntly ask you what it was.

💔 With his emotional intelligence, he can sense that you dislike the mark, but he still asks because he wants to know why you look so scared and pained.

💝 Though he can see that you're unbothered by it, he's a curious person and he wants to know the story behind it.

If this is after Sabaody / after you explain and he understands the significance of the mark, and tell him what happened to you while you were enslaved, he'll fall silent.

Insert serious mode Luffy here. You know the look.

He's angry, of course. But not at you - at the people who hurt you.

If this is before the Sabaody arc, he'll make sure he lands another punch to the Celestial Dragon in the auction house for you.

He takes extra time to always admire and place kisses on the brand, reminding you that he doesn't mind about your status in the past and loves you just as you are.

Law

Being a doctor, his first approach to it is medical. Law makes sure the mark is well taken care of and you're not having some kind of pain or discomfort from it.

💔 Since the brand bothers you, he'll offer you to cover/mask it with tattoos. Personally I headcanon Law has some leftover scars and discolorations all over his body from the Amber Lead disease, but some of them are largely covered by his tattoos and they're so prominent against his skin, people barely pay attention to the scars.

💔 Or if tattoos aren't your thing, he'll try to research for herbs and plants which might be able to help with making the mark less prominent. And he would try to experiment with his devil fruit power to see if it could help with his endeavors.

💝 If you don't really care or think too much about it now however, he also wouldn't care too much. Bodies are just bodies to him.

Generally he doesn't seem bothered by it. But with you having a traumatic past, he'll subconsciously feel more comfortable sharing his past with you when the time comes.

Kid

His first reaction is anger, because Kid hates to see you hurt and the brand insinuates that you've been hurt before. He's seen the Celestial Dragons, he knows they're the worst kind of scum that walks on this planet.

💔 He's bad at comforting people so if you're sad about it, at first he wouldn't really know what to do.

💔 Other than the brand, if you have any scars or some sort of permanent physical/mental effect that was caused by your enslavement, Kid will try to be more careful when touching the subject.

💝 However, if you feel indifferent or even proud about it? He'll be twice as proud.

💝 He's the type that wears his scars with pride. It's a symbol of adversity, proof that you're a survivor, that you're resilient and brave and strong, and so he believes you should flaunt it like a peacock.

Wouldn't think twice and lash out at people who look down on you because of the mark. Better hold him back if you don't want innocent civilians getting punched by a metal arm... Then again, if they look down on you because of the brand, maybe they deserved it?

The only reason he hadn't attacked a Celestial Dragon so far was because they didn't mess with him or his people personally, so you better bet if they see your mark and try to get their hands on you, he'll land a punch or two. Or get some sharp shrapnel of metal so he can pay back what they owe you. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, right?

[grewlikefancyflowers]

‘Intrusion’ extra, what it says about Jiang Cheng’s role in MDZS, and how Wei Wuxian looks back on his past with the Jiangs

I said back in like June that I’d write meta on this and then put it off for a few months, oops! Here we are, finally!

First things first, both the ‘Intrusion’ and ‘Iron Hook’ extras are not just silly romps featuring married wangxian and fanservice, as some people seem to believe?? I’d say both of them clear up pretty neatly, for those that are still confused, points of contention in the fandom - such as Wei Wuxian’s heroism, and Jiang Cheng’s role as an antagonist. Specifically, if his actions were justified or sympathetic, and if he was punished unfairly by the narrative.

The first and most obvious statement made in ‘Intrusion’ is the parallel between the story of Young Master Qin (YMQ), and JC and WWX’s youths. I’ll summarise quickly the relationship between YMQ and the fierce corpse that has been bothering him.

They grew up together in YMQ’s grandmother’s house, since they were a similar age they played together

The fierce corpse (FC) was a servant in YMQ’s grandmother’s household

The grandmother took a liking to FC, and he was in some ways treated less like a servant, and more like a member of their clan, and was allowed to attend school with the other boys

YMQ specifically notes that his grandmother used to praise FC a lot

YMQ describes a story at the school in which someone answered a question, and FC incorrectly claimed he answered wrongly. When FC pushed the matter, the other students became annoyed and drove him out of the class

It is very heavily implied (to the point where ‘implied’ isn’t really the right word) that ‘someone’ was YMQ, that he had actually answered the question wrongly, and that he felt shown up by someone he felt should be below him proving so, and that he led the other boys in driving FC away

FC left the school and didn’t attend again

I probably don’t need to lay out where the similarities are…?

In response to YMQ’s story, Wei Wuxian (rhetorically) says this - ‘“Regarding the solution to that problem, in the end, who was right and who was wrong?”’

Aside from just exposing the kind of person YMQ is, in reference to a story wherein ‘FC’ is clearly a stand in for WWX, and YMQ for JC, MXTX’s decision to highlight specifically that it was FC that had the right solution to the problem is not insignificant. Nor how she specifies that he was the instigator of FC’s expulsion, while hiding behind the mob mentality of the other students.

Another interesting detail is that YMQ deliberately obscures the truth throughout the chapter, because despite his refusal to acknowledge it, possibly even to himself, he knows that between him and FC he is the one in the wrong. Similarly, JC obscures the truth about WWX, to the wider cultivation world during the period of WWX’s ‘downfall,’ (Ch.73) but also, more importantly, to JL after WWX’s death. JL believes that WWX ordered WN to kill both JZX and JYL (Ch.42). Of course, if JC did not have a guilty conscience, he would not feel it necessary to lie about these things. Or rather, convince himself that they are true, as he still blames WWX for the deaths of his parents’ and JYL and the end of the story (Ch.102).

YMQ’s attitude about servants is bad enough that it upsets Sizhui quite a lot, and shortly after their interaction with him, we have this exchange between LSZ and Wangxian.

‘Lan SiZhui thought about it, “I do not know either.” He responded with honesty, “He never did anything truly evil, but perhaps I find it difficult to deal with people of such character. I do not particularly like the tone with which he mentioned the word ‘servant’…”

He paused at this point. Wei WuXian was oblivious to it, “Typical, typical. Most of the people in this world looks down upon servants. Servants sometimes even look down upon themselves… Why are you two looking at me like that?”

Halfway through, he interrupted, not knowing whether to laugh or frown, “Stop—is there a misunderstanding here? How could I compare? Lotus Pier isn’t the usual household, after all. I’ve beaten Jiang Cheng up way more times than he’s ever beaten me!”

Lan WangJi didn’t say anything, but instead gave him a silent hug. Wei WuXian couldn’t help but smiled. He hugged back, stroking Lan WangJi’s back a couple of times. Lan SiZhui coughed. Seeing how confident Wei WuXian looked, not at all sensitive to the word ‘servant’, he was finally at ease.’

There’s a lot going on here...

Firstly, WWX definitely does not think badly of himself because his father was a servant, because WWX doesn’t think badly of servants. It is also true that Lotus Pier wasn’t so strict with hierarchy as other sects (Ch.51, Ch.71), and that WWX and JC sometimes playfully fought on equal terms in their youths. But WWX was also very clearly treated badly in the Jiang household due to his status, notably by YZY (Ch.51, Ch.56, Ch.57, Lotus Seed Pod extra), JC does also repeatedly enact real physical violence against WWX, that he simply brushes off (Ch.56, Ch.59). You could argue that the example from Ch.59 is under extenuating circumstances and therefore should not count, but the same excuse cannot apply to Ch.56.

Knowing this, Lan Wangji’s response to this, to hug WWX, does not feel casual at all. Instead it comes across as if he is offering comfort, which WWX accepts.

Finally, this exchange finishes with ‘Seeing how confident Wei WuXian looked, not at all sensitive to the word ‘servant’, he [LSZ] was finally at ease.’ To me, this seems to suggest that the entire purpose of this was not at all reader directed exposition about how good and equal the Jiang household was, but rather a WWX-typical veneer meant to appease LSZ’s concerns (taking a moment to quietly fangirl about how good MXTX is at ‘show, don’t tell’). Also suggests that WWX is aware on some level that he was treated badly, and LWJ is too - presumably, it is something that they have spoken about.

Continuing with the story of YMQ and FC…

YMQ returns to his home village as an adult wearing a jade pendant that belonged to his now deceased grandmother

FC asks to borrow it, YMQ allows it, thinking FC is missing his grandmother

FC returns telling him he has lost the pendant, YMQ thinks he has actually sold it, and has him beaten, it is very heavily implied that he breaks his leg

In the present, YMQ admits that he doesn’t actually think FC would have gone so far as to sell something of his grandmother’s

This is reflective of JC’s attitude towards WWX throughout his life, with regards to how he frequently comes to the worst conclusions about him, without having any real evidence, and lashes out at him for it. I spoke about this a bit before here. Most notable example is probably during their conversation in the demon-slaughtering cave wherein they discuss WWX’s defection, and JC decides that WWX is acting carelessly and playing the hero, though admits himself that WWX is following the Jiang Sect’s teachings, then declares WWX an enemy of the cultivation world behind his back.

The ambiguity of FC’s death, and YMQ’s role in it discussed in part 3 of the extra is referencing WWX’s own death, and JC’s role in it. In the end the conclusion is that whether or not YMQ was responsible, FC did not hold him to it.

In the end, FC is content to simply throw some fruit, and punch YMQ in the face in vengeance for his death, and even goes out of his way to avoid hurting LSZ when he is fighting him. He returns the jade pendant, that he really did lose and not steal, and goes back to resting peacefully.

WWX, LWJ, and LSZ’s views on YMQ’s fate are as follows

‘Lan WangJi gently tugged Lil’ Apple’s rein, his voice calm, “He was fortunate.”

Wei WuXian agreed, “Indeed. Young Master Qin has got quite the luck.”

After some time, Lan SiZhui finally couldn’t hold his words back any longer. Sincerely, he spoke, “But I still feel that only one punch might be a bit insufficient…”’

JC didn’t even get a punch to the face. I’d say he got off very lightly indeed.

[fighting-and-drawing]

Dorm Leader’s Drinks

Based on this post here. Kudos to @scertifiedsavanaclawstan​. Check them out before you keep going here.

This is my interpretation of the drinks’ descriptions I saw in the linked post above. I love Twisted Wonderland (although the ENG devs did us dirty on Chapter 5) and this was just an excuse to see how these drinks would be in real life.

Warning: Alcohol (respective TWST characters are obviously aged up [pretty sure they’re in some AU if memory serves]) Minors DNI. You have been warned. None of the cocktails were my idea (reference the linked post above). 

I repeat: Minors. Do. Not. Interact. 

Always Drink Responsibly (or better yet, don’t [your future self will thank you for this]). Exact recipes will not be posted and several key ingredients will be omitted.

Riddle’s Screaming Rose

From OP’s post, the Screaming Rose is supposed to be “SWEEET [...] flavored like strawberry and is good with food.” What the drink’s image and description reminded me of is a strawberry caipirinha/caipiroska, but instead I chose to make a sweet forward cocktail based on a Strawberry Smash. With a sweet, aged dark rum and a little amaretto liqueur, this shaken cocktail uses a rich 2:1 simple syrup, and fresh muddled strawberries to produce a cocktail that is not only very sweet but also fruity and a nice addition to any meal. 

However, I may have overdone it with the amaretto. Because I did not have access to any strawberry liqueur, I felt as if the minty amaretto would be a nice addition to the tart-sweet of the strawberries, but ended up slightly overpowering it. In the future, I would use more strawberries (either in puree or liqueur form) and maybe a few drops of rosewater. Overall, the drink is a 7.5/10.

Leona’s Purring Kitten

Now, this drink was a grand slam. Because the “drink of his is made with coffee” and can be “bitter” for some, this was very similar to a White Russian. However, instead of heavy cream or bailey’s as a float, I made whipped cream with a healthy dose of Rumchata to replace the cinnamon sticks appearing in the drink as well as forming the whipped cream dollop (although, I mistook Kalim’s drink with Leona’s so it came with an entire whipped cream float Whoops).

Like the description, this drink is bitter due to the coffee, but is very nice when mixed with the Rumchata whipped cream. I would have lessened the amount of cream put into the drink. Also, the animal cracker was a nice addition, making this a very delicious dessert cocktail. Definite 9/10

Azul’s Mermaid’s Tears

Oh, Great Sevens, Azul! Our only Martini and you had to have a “taste in drinks [that] was boring” (Floyd) and “tastes...healthy?” From the description and appearance of a drink served up and with edible flowers and a salt rim, it got me thinking of a Blue Margarita. However, keeping with Azul being from the ocean, I chose to use a lightly aged Puerto Rican Rum (to at least make this a little tropical) and a few drops of orange blossom water for some crisp, floral notes. 

I definitely overdid the half-salt rim. But, this drink was sadly exactly what I pictured: boring (according to Floyd), ...fine (according to Jade), and while not healthy tasting (technically since the healthiest drink in the world is Dihydrogen monoxide), it does make for a decent-ish drink that while I would drink once, would probably not order again. Azul, get a friggin’ Mai Tai, a Zombie, a Rum Punch—anything else! GDI!  6/10

Kalim’s Sleepy Tiger

With Kalim’s drink, I did not have much to go on. Other than the drink being “a mango-infused spirit with whipped cream” before the addition of date syrup (which I could not find dates to make into a syrup), it was the most mysterious. Luckily, I had extra whipped cream batched for Leona’s drink, so I decided to make another dessert-style cocktail. Using Casamigos Reposado (a reposado tequila with notes of dried fruits and vanilla/cocoa), chocolate liqueur, a few other ingredients, and mango simple syrup, I managed to create a cocktail I think best resembled the drink. 

At first, the flavors clashed between the whipped cream and the drink itself. However, this drink reminded me of a mango milkshake and slowly began to taste great. In the future, I would substitute the tequila with a rum (maybe a demerrara rum), but would risk ruining the vibrant orange color of the drink. 6.5/10

Vil’s Cranky Virgin

I had high hopes to make this drink amazing, as Vil (whether canon or AU) is a perfectionist. The drink is described as “appropriately expensive tasting, made with apple syrup and a VERY herbaceous liquor,” as well as being garnished with red apple slices and rosemary. Immediately, I knew gin was the key spirit, but it couldn’t be anything but Empress 1908 Gin. This indigo-colored gin is distilled with eight botanicals, including butterfly pea flower, that turns into a vibrant purple when mixed with citrus. Although the description described “apple syrup” I added rosemary when making a custom apple simple syrup to enhance the herbal notes of the spirit. A tiny amount of grenadine was added at the bottom to give the syrup its red hue. 

While not as purple as I would like it to be (possibly due to the addition of too much grenadine) the drink tasted like a classic, fruity, herbal Tom Collin’s. The rosemary may have been slightly overpowering and I would have appreciated more of an apple taste. In the future, the simple syrup would probably be made with apple juice instead of water or be simmered with apples for a longer time. I will definitely be revisiting this drink later on. 7/10 Don’t curse me, Vil!

Idia’s Gamer Rage

Did you know how hard it was to find Blue Raspberry Soda!? Well, I couldn’t find the damn thing, so I did the next best thing. For a “boozy root beer float” with blue raspberry flavor, I used a clear raspberry soda mixed with blue curaçao and a vanilla bean ice cream float and a cherry on top. 

Now, lemme tell you sumthin’, I wanted to not like this drink. Idia’s not my favorite character, but goddamn if this drink wasn’t good. I love ice cream sodas, Italian sodas, etc., and Idia’s Gamer Rage was no different. This was probably one of the top three drinks because it is a simple concept (unlike Vil’s or Kalim’s) and the combination was solid. Sweet, bubbly, and creamy. 8.5/10

Malleus’ Dragon’s Tantrum 

I had already covered Malleus’ drink prior to making everything here, but to summarize, the Dragon’s Tantrum has a lot of “lime mixed with [...] absinthe [that] makes it a drink almost no one other than Malleus orders.” I couldn’t use absinthe as the main spirit due to it having a super high alcohol percentage and turning cloudy when mixed with water. However, a Midori Sour is a perfect drink to have a large absinthe rinse.

I love absinthe (only buy the real stuff). Although Midori is a sweet melon liqueur, the Dragon’s Tantrum is very absinthe forward with hints of licorice and star anise and sour at the end that makes you pucker a bit. For those who love sours, this is a wonderful drink that outclasses (in my opinion) everything on this list. Solid 9/10

Final Thoughts

The drinks were a blast to make. I had always wanted to make cocktails based on the characters of the games I play (I’m looking at you, Ikemen Sengoku), and while I never imagined doing one for Twisted Wonderland, this post inspired me to exercise my growing knowledge of mixology and cocktails. Thanks so much to the OP, @scertifiedsavanaclawstan​. Bartender!Yuu has their work cut out for them. As always:

Drink Responsibly or stick to water (your future self and liver will thank you) Cheers!

Tags: @scertifiedsavanaclawstan

[cherrykindness]

wild tweets |

pairing: Harry Styles x Actress!Reader

summary: as newlyweds, you and harry read thirsty comments for buzzfeed.

warning: it's thirsty tweets, so below there is adult humor 😳

"It's a bright, sunny morning in Los Angeles, and there's nothing I want more than to be on BuzzFeed and read wild tweets alongside my husband."

"Thirsty tweets, babe." Harry corrected, laughing out loud with the producers behind the cameras.

"Thirsty Tweets." You said quickly, putting your hand over your mouth to stifle a giggle. "I'm terrible at that, I'm sorry. Can we start over?"

"Let's take a break for one to two minutes. You've given us a great introduction, Y/N."

You shook your head, smiling shyly before turning to Harry, who was already watching you with that easy smile at the corner of his lips. You liked how his hand remained firmly on yours, making those circular movements with the thumb that always served as a natural medice for your anxiety.

"You look so fucking beautiful."

The pleated dress with flounce sleeves fit you like a glove. You had made peace with the various shades of white since the wedding and knew that Harry liked to see you in that color too.

"Thank you, you're not too bad either, Styles."

You intimately suspected that Harry would always seem far beyond that "not bad" that came out as a euphemism from your mouth. He wore nothing but a pair of bell-bottom pants in a strong shade of blue and a soft vest printed with fluffy little sheep on a striped American collared shirt - in your opinion, no one could look better in farm animal clothing than Harry Styles and Princess Diana with her red "Black Sheep" sweater in the 1980s. In contrast, you knew your husband well enough to know that he was arrogant and knew exactly how hot he looked - you also made your thoughts clear enough when you kept him backstage beyond ten minutes in a rather heated kissing session.

"Are you anxious?" you asked curiously, remaining with downcast eyes fixed on the strokes that remained assiduous on your warm skin. "To read about how the whole internet dreams of fucking my wife?! Of course." Harry joked, leaning over to leave a small one on your cheek. "We agree on that, don't we? Although I'm a little nervous, I'm really interested to know all the crazy things they say about you. Everyone knows you're mine at the end of the day, that's enough."

At the end of the break, you and Harry made a silent agreement that you should be the first to pick up one of the scattered papers in the red pot. There were quite a significant amount of tweets, and as much as you were used to reading rather sordid things about your husband on the Internet, the excitement was there as if you were wading into uncharted territory.

"I would be a good girl all year round if Santa guaranteed me a threesome with Harry and Y/N Styles on Christmas Eve." You laughed, Harry staring at the camera with an expression close to the meme of the surprised Pikachu. "You guys are incredibly nasty, I love it."

"If that was the first one, I'm really worried about the next ones." Harry commented with a little corner smile, picking the next tweet out of the bucket. "I have an entire folder on Pinterest dedicated to Harry Styles' hands, and let me tell you why: those hands are art, and art needs to be recognized."

"What- Guys, you promised you wouldn't post my anonymous tweets here." You quipped with false reproach, laughing at your own stupid joke while everyone else in the studio did the same. "But I can't blame her, honestly." Shaking your shoulders, you opened another piece of paper. "Harry Styles finally confessed that he wrote Watermelon Sugar for Y/N!!!! Are you guys imagining the same thing as me?!!!!!! 🥵🍆💦"

"Exhausted emoji, eggplant emoji, and water emoji?" Harry frowned, staring at the tweet you held up. "I imagine you're in need of a vacation somewhere refreshing and you're craving a fruit that everyone eats like it's really a vegetable."

"That reminded me of that story-" You laughed, hiding your face on the table as Harry continued to offer a poker face to the camera, struggling not to keep up with you laughter. "I'm sorry, lovie, I have to share this with the rest of the world." You stated, wiping a few tears from the corner of your eyes. "Harry always wears those fancy suits to concerts, right?! Right! Turns out he looks really hot in some, like his ass molds perfectly into those tight pants and everything. I was home that night because I wasn't feeling well enough to face the big crowds, but I was still following everything on twitter. It was a concert in London, not so far from where we lived at the time, so it was obvious that he would come home after it was over. I follow some portals that do really fast updates of pictures, videos, etc; everything that happened at Harry's concert was on my timeline in a matter of seconds. When one of these profiles uploaded a picture of him with his back to the camera in a heavily accentuated black and white suit, I quickly sent him the image along with a peach emoji and then wrote "looks good tonight". He didn't reply to me until a few hours later, of course, but I obviously didn't expect a "ready for a Fifth Avenue peach salad for dinner?" and numerous cutlery emojis."

Harry rolled his eyes comically, indulging in laughter as did everyone else who occupied the backstage area.

"I'm against the eroticization of emojis." He said between uncompensated breaths, shaking his head negatively. "Let's go to the next ones, please, I'm already feeling exposed enough here."

"I like your old-fashioned spirit, baby." You assured him with a smile, laying on the sturdy shoulder hidden under the fluffy fabric.

Harry chuckled low, leaving a little kiss on the top of your head before selecting the next paper. The fans would die when that video aired, everyone was sure. You two easily forgot the cameras when you were side by side, and the public display of affection had never been a problem.

"My life mission is to look at someone the way Harry looks at Y/N and be reciprocated the way Y/N looks at Harry, then I could die happy." Harry read. "That was very good and healthy, thank you!" He smiled. "But don't settle for death in that case, please. Just make sure to keep that person around forever."

"Awn, we got so sweet now." You made a pout. "Thank you for sending us something so cute! I really hope you find the right person soon." Sending a kiss to the camera, you moved on to the next tweet. "I wouldn't want to get a golden ticket to visit Willy Wonka's factory, I would like to get a golden ticket to actively participate in Y/N and Harry Styles' Honeymoon.

"That was creative, so I will disregard the fact that you removed my last name from my wife's name." Harry joked.

"I will always be an Y/L/N." You flashed the tongue. "We had a great Honeymoon, but I know you guys already know all about it because there are pictures all over the internet of outings that I don't even remember existed."

"Even though we chose a rather reserved city, many paparazzi still managed to photograph some of our nights there." Harry agreed. "There was one particular day when we opted to have dinner at a restaurant near the beach. Y/N had found it even before the trip, it was pretty laid back and we could spend the evening at karaoke. I don't really remember what happened, but we woke up the next day with a terrible hangover, still wearing the clothes from the dinner and with several headlines saying that I was cheating on my wife in the middle of our Honeymoon with a blue-haired italian girl."

"That wig made me sexy, man." You blinked, laughing as you remembered the situation. "It's a shame the paparazzi only got low quality images, but I swear I looked really amazing that night. Italy, I miss you."

"We're coming to the end and I haven't had to ask production for a glass of water yet, thank you to whoever selected these tweets." Harry raised his thumb to the camera, smiling before turning his gaze back to the small paper he had chosen. "Y/N could literally punch me in the face and I would just bow down and thank them for it." He laughed. "She has heavy hands, so I would rethink that choice."

"It takes strong hands to be a superheroine." You blinked gracefully, referring to your works as a Marvel actress. "I move around a lot during the night, so I'll take this lovely opportunity to say that twitter can dismiss all the malicious theories about Harry always show up with a new bruise all over his body."

"Please stop making indecent assumptions while Y/N is aggressive with me at night only unconsciously, her father has access to social media."

You laughed, clearing your throat before reading the next obscenity aloud.

"I would sell all my possessions to have Y/N sitting on my lap for ten seconds."

"Oh my God." Harry laughed out loud, throwing his head back. "I should have said that in our wedding vows."

You shook your head, laughing low as you set the tweet aside.

"That was pretty funny and cheeky, I approve."

"Okay, looks like we finally got to the last one." Harry announced, waving the paper in the air dramatically before opening it. "Harry could literally crush me with those boots while fuc- I need that glass of water." He said dumbfounded, hiding his face between his hands after throwing the tweet over his shoulder. You laughed out loud next to the organizers, and meanwhile Harry leaned his head on your bust, staring at you still with wide eyes. "Please promise that we will be careful with our future children on the internet."

[bebepac]

Six Sentence Sunday 03.20.22/ Mood Music Monday

Hey y’all. Writing in general is coming easier again across the board.  A dear friend on here told me there’s no time table for grief and I really feel those words now.  She had given them to me in reference of a chapter I was writing and now I feel I’m living those words now.  Things are starting to feel a little better.  I can’t stress it enough, thank you for the people that have been just sharing a little extra love my way.  

Here’s what I’ve posted in the last week or so:  

A Piece of Heaven on Earth: Part 2

The Rotten Apple🍎 Presents:  Unhinged

Original Post 03/20/22 at 9:02AM  EST.

Mood Music Monday Submission

A Piece of Heaven on Earth: Part 3

The Book:  TRR

The Pairing: Liam x Riley (eventually)

Movie Inspiration:  Just Like Heaven

Song Inspiration: The Nearness of You by Norah Jones

Status:  Still in the writing process

“I have some news.  First off,  I know your name, and I know where you work, and I think we should go together and see what info we can find out about you.  Since we both agree, going to your family is not a good idea.  They will think I’m crazy.”

“Thank you again for trying to help me Liam.”  

“I made you a promise, and I want to keep it.”  

“So, what’s my name?”

“It’s Riley.  Riley Brooks.”

“Riley Brooks….Do you think I look like a Riley?”

“I think you’re definitely spunky and you tell it like it is, to the point of almost being obnoxious.  So I think the name Riley suits you.”  

“What did I do to be able to afford this amazing apartment?”  

Riley used past tense.. He wasn’t ready for that yet, so he answered with present tense.

“You’re actually a doctor at Mount Sinai.”  

“I’m a doctor?  That’s pretty awesome. How did you find that out?”  

“I walked down to the little Bodega down the street. The owner knows you.”

"He's a sweet man. He would always let me bring Chance in the store with me when I went there."

“I got some Tahitian Treats, but I’m going to put those in the fridge, so we can go to the hospital.  We’re going to find more about you Riley, and figure out what happened to you.”  

“F that noise!!!  We got plenty of time for that, but You HAVE GOT TO TRY ONE NOW!  Though the best way to drink one is to put it in the freezer for a bit and let it get a little slushy.”

Riley began to chant.  “Do it… do it…. Do it…”

“Okay already, enough with the peer pressure.”

Liam opened the soda, the loud hiss of the carbonated pressure being released,  and he took a sip, his eyes widening.

"Well?!? What do you think?"

"It's good….if you like fruit punch flavored battery acid."

Riley gasped.  “You take that back!!!!”

“I mean it’s not terrible, it’s just a very strong drink.”

“And bold and obnoxious for a drink… like me?”  

Liam cracked a smile.

“But, that doesn't mean I don't  like the drink. I do. It's a very unexpected drink that I didn't  think I was looking for.  Kind of like you Riley Brooks.”

Riley smiled back at him.  It almost felt like they were flirting with each other. Were they flirting, and how the hell was this going to work out?

Mood Music Monday Submission / this week’s wacky drabble

Ice Cream Social The Book:  TRH and beyond! Series: University Student Ellie: Chapter 6 Pairings: Ellie (Ali)  is single while at university (currently) Song Inspiration:  Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus Status: Still in the writing process

Jes and Jayme had to go to the restroom leaving Ali sitting on the couch by herself.

A guy walked up to her and sat next to her.  

“Hey.”  

“Hi.”  

“What’s your name?”

“Ali.”  

“Ali I’m Trey.  Trey Jacobs.  And you look like you should be the subject of my next song.”  

“Um… is that supposed to be a compliment or a come on?”  

“You don’t know how I am?”  

“Should I?”

“Yes you should, I’m Trey Jacobs.”  

“Yeah you told me….. And?”  

“My father is Von Jacobs, the singer.”  

Why did the name Von sound so familiar?

“Oh my God you’re Trey Jacobs.”  Jess and Jayme screamed in unison when they approached the couch.

Trey seemed to perk up being recognized.  Ali found it odd,  all her life, she had wanted to not be noticed in a crowd and here this guy was begging to be.  He seemed to be living for the limelight.

“Your friend has no clue who I am,  I find it intriguing.”  

“She’s also not from here.  Her home is near Greece.”

“So you’re not American?”  

“I am American.  My mother is from New York.”  

“That’s ironic so is my Dad. But we live in California now.”

Now she remembered completely.  

Von Jacobs and her mother used to date. He was a singer.  When her mother and father separated, Von was who her mother had taken her brothers to live with for three months; no one had ever mentioned Von having a son. She thought she would keep the less than six degrees of their connection to herself.

She stared at Trey in silence. She knew her tastes in guys seemed to mimic her mother’s a bit, and she found Nicolai to be incredibly attractive, and even found Nico, his father to be quite the silver fox. She wasn’t attracted to Trey in the slightest.  He was arrogant. The only thing she felt he had going for him is that he did have very remarkable gray eyes.  She was sure his father did too.  

The Rotten Apple 🍎 : Part 7  Fall From Grace

Series: The Rotten Apple 🍎

The Book:  TRH and beyond

Pairings:  Ellie x Nico (Ellie x M!OC) / Liam x Riley

Status: Still in the writing process

“Did your son have any enemies at the palace?"

"Nicolai was well loved by everyone."

"He was following in your footsteps to the guard?"

"Yes, my son was a junior guard, because of his legacy status."

"And you trained him along with the others?"

"Yes. My son did not receive special treatment because of my Centurion Guard status."

"Did he get along with his classmates?"

"He did, I mean sure there was some rivalry between the boys, as they all want to be considered for the KingsGuard and upper level positions, in the future."

"How many left handed junior guards do you have?"

"Four."

"I will need their names."

"Why are you looking for left handed people?"

"Because the person who hit Nicolai was left handed. Was Nicolai seeing anyone?"

Nico thought about Elle. But she had said they weren't together in that way.

"No, not to my knowledge. Why do you ask?"

"The trajectory of the hit has Nicolai in a seated position, with his assailant straddling him."

"Like a lover?"

"He had no defensive wounds on his hands, so he did not fear his assailant, nor was he expecting the attack."

"And the weapon?"

"Small bat-like in construction, but jeweled. We found these in his head wound."

A diamond and a ruby were in the small glass specimen jar the officer held up.

Nico jumped up.

"So it’s related to the palace?  This is a lot to take in. ”

"I completely understand. If you can get me the names of  your students so we can compile more info and I will contact the King. We need access to the palace to investigate further. The weapon is probably something stolen from the Crown’s own jewels."

"I will have the names of my students to you  first thing tomorrow."

Nico had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. The names were not needed.

He sat in his vehicle and pulled out his wallet. He wanted to be wrong. He needed to be wrong.

He pulled out the bills in his wallet.  He had a 50 and on the back of it was the King and Queen of Cordonia. Liam standing regally in the middle, Queen Riley holding the ceremonial Ruby Apple in her hand, and Elle posing with her bejeweled royal scepter….in her LEFT HAND.

Elle was also left handed like her mother.

Nico texted a friend he knew.

Nico: I know we haven’t been on speaking terms for a while but I really need a favor.

Alana: Must be a huge one if you’re coming to me. But you know I got you. What do you need my dear Nico KH?

Nico: Luminol spray.

Alana: Whaaat? Going all CSI- Cordonia on the palace? Swing by later. I'll hook you up with what you need.

[golden-barnes]

Plum tarts and red carnations

Pairing: Florist! Bucky Barnes x F! Reader

Summary: Bucky is enamored with one of the employees of the bakery in front of his store.

Category: Fluff

Warning:s some self-doubting thoughts and cursing .

Word count: 2.5k

Author’s note: I have been thinking about this since that one anon and thank you @buckycuddlebuddy because you helped to inspire me further with this. Also think of Bucky as Beefy because I'm a softy for a gentle giant. Comment and reblog pls and thank you!

“Damn Jerry. You’ve been growing nicely. A little bit more, and you will be ready to find a new home, bud.” Bucky whispered to the little sprout he was watering. Bucky loved his morning routine.

Before opening up his shop, he would check on his nursery. Water the plants in his greenhouse, checking them to see how they have grown. He liked talking to them; they never judged him or ignored him. He even named them. Sam would help, too, though he treated it more as a joke.

After checking on the nursery, he would focus on making bouquets and arrangements for the store. Nobody knew he was the one who made those beautiful arrangements, and he liked it.

It was like therapy for him. Matching the flowers and creating bouquets with meaning was a talent Bucky didn’t know he had. By this point, the shop was opened and ready for business.

While preparing a rose bouquet, he saw a woman in an apron running out of the new coffee shop from the table next to the cash register. Oh shit, she’s pretty. He thought. He kept staring at her and forgot the fresh roses next to him, grabbed one carelessly.

“Fuck.” He accidentally pricked his finger with a thorn. He applied pressure to his wounded finger.

“Oh, are you okay, sir?” The pretty woman from the bakery asked. Bucky didn’t notice her entering the shop, and now she was here. Looking disheveled but incredibly beautiful.

“Yeah, happens all the time. What can I help you with?” He said, trying to sound as composed as possible. He could hear Sam’s voice in his head. “Play it cool, Buck.”The woman let out a sigh.

“I’m co-owner of the coffee shop, and it’s our opening day. I was encharged of the decorations, and I ordered some flowers from this other place, but when they got here, they were horrible. Like really bad. And oh god, I’m rambling, but I need a brand new arrangement.” She said all in one breath. Bucky had to fight a smile from appearing. Adorable.

“It’s okay. What colors did you want?” Bucky asked. The woman smiled at him.

“We wanted white and purples. Something simple. But honestly, I know nothing of flowers. I don’t understand why Wanda put me up with this? Now we are late, and I still have to finish decorating the cupcakes.” She explained while Bucky started to search for the flowers in his shop.

“Lilacs, with white peonies and lavender roses, would make a nice bouquet. How does that sound?” Bucky showed her the flowers he was referring to. The woman gasped.

“Oh, they are so pretty! You, sir, are a genius.” She gushed, still looking at the flowers. Bucky felt his cheeks getting red from receiving praise.

“I can bring it to you,” Buckywhispered, afraid that she might not like that idea. “You know, because you still have some stuff to finish, so you can do it, and I’ll bring it to you in less than 10 minutes.” She looked at him and went to hug him. Bucky tensed, not expecting the hug, but soon relaxed.

“You are literally my hero. Just ask for Y/N,” She said, walking towards the exit. “Wait, what’s your name?” She added, opening the door to leave.

“Bucky.” Y/N smiled at him. “See you later, Bucky.”

Bucky has never worked on an arrangement as hard as this one. He was already meticulous, but he really wanted to impress Y/N. Can you blame him? The pretty girl needed his help, and he wanted her to be happy. He even added some baby’s breath and this new white ribbon that had come in for weddings. He was very proud of it but also very nervous.

With a deep breath, Bucky entered the coffee shop. A brunette was at the door, cleaning the tables.

“Sorry, Sir. We are still aren’t open.” She said. Bucky gulped.

“Uhm. I’m looking for Y/N.” He told her; she looked at the flowers in his hands and understood. She yelled for Y/N, who came out of the kitchen with icing on her check, giving him the brightest smile.

“Hey, Bucky! That’s beautiful! How did you make such a pretty arrangement in less than 20 minutes?” She grabbed the vase out of his hands and set it on the counter. Bucky blushed and scratched his neck, shying away.

“It’s nothing.. I’m just happy you liked it.”

“How much do I owe you?” She asked. Bucky put his hands up.

“Oh, it’s on the house. Don’t worry. Call it a welcome gift.” He explained; Y/N jumped and gave him another hug. This time Bucky wrapped his arms around her.

“You are the nicest person on this fucking planet. I have to make it up to you. What’s your favorite fruit?” She pulled away from him and looked at Bucky in the eye. Bucky felt his breath hitch, and his palms get sweaty.

“I-I like plums.” He stuttered. She gave him a big smile and handed him a cookie.

“Hmm, I can make something with that.” She winked at him.

-

“I still haven’t named you, but honestly, I don’t know. You look like a Janelle, but also, I feel like that doesn’t fit.” Bucky said to the new cactus that arrived yesterday, in the afternoon.

“I think she looks like a Lucille.” Bucky turned around and saw Y/N with a box in hand.

“Oh, hi.” He felt embarrassed. She had heard him talk to his plants. Not even Steve had seen that. It was his private thing.

“She’s cute. What type of cactus is it?” She looked at it, not looking weirded out or anything.

“It’s called a Bishop’s cap. They grow to be very pretty and sprout a yellow flower. Not very popular in the shop, but there’s this new cactus crazy going on, and I thought to stock up.” Bucky explained, putting the cactus down next to the others.

“Do you name all your plants?” Bucky gulped and turned around to face her.

“Yeah, and talk to them too.” Bucky fought the urge to punch himself. Why would he say that? Fuck, now she is gonna think he is a fucking weirdo.

Much to his surprise, she smiled at him. She suddenly remembered the box she brought and opened it.

“For saving me yesterday, I made you a plum tart.” She opened it and pulled out the tart. Bucky felt his heart beating faster, and his hands get clammy.

“You didn’t have to.” “Ah! I beg to differ. Everyone that walked into our shop loved the flowers. They were really something. Like I couldn’t stop looking at them. So I had to show you my gratitude the only way I know how. With treats.”

“I couldn’t possibly eat that all alone. Want to share?” Bucky asked, giving her puppy eyes so she wouldn’t say no.

“You drive a hard bargain, Bucky. Has anyone ever told you can get away with murder with those eyes?” Y/N joked.

“I think my grandma’ probably said it. I have some silverware in the shop’s kitchen. When you have to be at your shop?” Bucky said, signaling her to follow him.

“I’m on break—perks of being the boss.” She explained while Bucky grabbed a few paper plates, forks, and a knife. She grabbed the knife and cut a big piece, and gave it to Bucky. Then she cut a piece for herself.

Bucky took a bite and accidentally let out a moan.

“I take it; you like it.” She winked at Bucky. He diverted his gaze from her. Why the fuck did I do that? Bucky screamed internally.

“It’s delicious. I can see why your shop has been packed since yesterday. Reminds me of my ma’s.” Bucky admitted.

“I’m glad, but I can’t take all the credit. You should see the coffee mixes Wanda came up with. They are the real star.” Bucky smiled at her. Nice and pretty… She let out a cough.

“How did you get really good with plants? Like sorry for the personal question, but you have a talent.” She inquired.

“Well, uhm. After getting discharged, my friend Sam suggested that I take classes to handle stress and PTSD. One of the classes was gardening, and I just found it so calming. So I started taking more courses and learning ‘till I decided to start my own business. I don’t think I could ever work anywhere else.” Bucky noticed her staring at him. “What?” He said, smiling awkwardly at her.

“Nothing. Just thinking about how you are the nicest man I’ve ever meet.” She said nonchalantly. Bucky chuckled.

“It’s nothing major. I just found my calling.” Bucky stated.

“I feel the same. I baked a lot in college, and then suddenly I was like fuck, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.” She recalled. Her eyes glowed under the light of the kitchen.

“I felt the same way when I started this shop.” Bucky admitted, she bit back a smile.

“By the way, I like the name—Howling’s flowers. Oh, and how pretty this store is, it looks like I walked in a magical forest.” She complimented.

“I- thanks. I named my store after my squad and the decor well; that’s kind of an embarrassing story.” Bucky chuckled nervously. She rolled her eyes.

“Oh, please. I own a coffee shop named Magic café, and all of our items are named after magical things. I am the last person to judge.” Bucky bit his lip nervously while listening to her.

“I based it on The Hobbit. It was my favorite book when I was younger, and I just couldn’t imagine decoring this store anyway else.” Y/N looked at him with an open mouth.

“Okay, are you government android? Because you are friendly, great with plants and well-read. You are too good to be true.” She laughed. Bucky needs to find a way to blush less in her presence because this is like the fourth or fifth time it has happened.

They finished eating their pieces of tart and talking for a while. Y/N decided to go back to the shop, not realizing how much time she spent there. Before leaving, Bucky gave her some more lavender roses.

“Oh, Bucky, you don’t have to.” She protested.

“It’s just to add to the arrangement. I feel like it was missing a few more roses. You’ll be doing me a favor.” He assured. She grabbed the flowers and smelt them before smiling and giving him a small thanks.

Little did she know that lavender Roses mean love at first sight.

They played that little game for weeks, almost 2 months. Y/N would take her lunch break at Bucky’s shop. Feed him some food and pastries that she was experimenting with, and he would give her flowers.

“To put on the counter. Your store deserves fresh flowers every day.” Bucky claimed. But in actuality, all the flowers meant something. The white camellias? He was telling her that he admired her. The amaryllis? That he found you beautiful. The white and purple stocks? A silent plea for bonds of affection from your part. But he couldn’t bring himself to say these things out loud.

Speaking to Y/N in flowers was much easier. Maybe because she didn’t know and couldn’t reject him.

“Bucky, you gotta tell her, man.” Steve would try to reason with him. “She likes you; you like her. Just tell her that you like her or ask her out on a date.”

“You don’t get it, Steve.” Bucky would argue, which led to an entire discussion on how Bucky is being a coward that ended with him telling Steve and Sam to fuck off.

But they were right; it was simple. She has been an absolute doll with him. She doesn’t mind hearing his rants about the new book he read and helped him water his plants. She even bought waterproof labels to put their names on their planters. She even asked (more like demanded) Bucky to send her the pictures of every bouquet and arrangement he made. She loved seen his creations.

And he loved being her test subject. She would bring him new pastries to try. He was her official taste tester. Anything new in the store, Bucky had already tried it in every one of its variations. Y/N would speak to him of all of her special interests and all of her new hobbies. He had even met all her friends, and they loved him.

So why was this so difficult? Bucky groaned while arranging the flowers at the front of the shop.

“What’s got you all groaning and gloomy, Bucky-bear?” Y/N asked him. She looked radiant in her work clothes. Ugh, Bucky had it bad.

“Nothing, j-just thinking.” He nervously replied.

“Don’t overthink. You might over-heat your brain, bubs.” She joked, entering Bucky’s shop. And like the hopeless romantic he is, he followed.

“Soooooooo I have been trying out this new pasta recipe, and you are the only one I trust to give me the truth.” She said, opening the Tupperware she brought. Bucky’s heart fluttered at her words. He felt light-headed; maybe that’s why he couldn’t stop himself from opening his mouth.

“I like you.” He blurted out. He slapped his hand over his mouth. Y/N turned to him, widen eyes, and mouth gaped.

“Bucky, do you mean that? Because if you are playing with me, I will fight you with this.” She warned Bucky, threatening with a spoon.

“I like you a lot. Actually love you. I- that’s what those flowers meant.” Bucky explained. Y/N put down the spoon.

“What flowers?” She asked, in the softest tone he has ever heard her speak in. Bucky turned his gaze to the floor, embarrassed that this was his confession.

“All of them. They all meant love in one form or the other.” He admitted. Y/N stood in front of him and put her hand on his cheek. He felt his heart do backflips.

“What flower means I’m in love with you, Bucky?” She asked, caressing his cheek.

“Maybe red carnations.” He joked, leaning into her touch.

“I’ll ask this handsome florist with a heart of gold to make me a bouquet to give you.” Bucky chuckled while she let out a little giggle.

“I would love a bouquet, but I would much rather have a plum tart from the sexy baker on the store out front.” Y/N hummed.

“I think I can make that happen.” She said, pulling him closer. “Can I kiss you, Bucky?” She asked; Bucky could only nod.

She grabbed his face and pressed her lips against his. Bucky wrapped his arms around her, pulling her even closer, molding her body against him. Their lips gliding over each other smoothly, as if they were made for each other.

They pulled away to take a breath, and they both had the same dopey smile. Tarts and carnations. Who knew they mixed so well?

[fandom-hoarder]

What's the issue with Lucifer being a virgin? His arc overall sucks, but it makes sense to me that he'd never have had sex because he looks down on humans, sees it as gross and beneath him.

I want to preface this with: this is just my opinion on a solely canon reading of virgin Lucifer. Idc about fanon. A lot of fanfiction writers are way better than late season spn writers were at exploring the interesting aspects of many characters and concepts like this.

But if, along with everything else absolutely ridiculous going on in s12, we're supposed to believe Lucifer cares enough about the human concept of virginity to care about punching his v-card? It's too much. Lucifer's only goal in having sex with a human woman was making a powerful child he could use.

However, one more note before I get into it: after rewatching LOTUS and the continued discussion in the notes of yesterday's post, I'm not entirely certain Lucifer actually did call himself a virgin. I'll have to do an actual s12 rewatch to confirm, so this reply is based on the hypothetical that virgin Lucifer is s12 canon. Update: it was explicitly said in 13x22

[CW: discussion of sex in general, issues of consent including rape, the cage]

My main issues with virgin!Lucifer:

1. The concept of virginity.

2. Lucifer raping Sam.

3. It's pointless.

(Further detail under the cut)

IRL, virginity is a silly social construct with way too much weight given to it and arbitrary/homophobic (e.g.: "only p in v penetration counts") or erroneous (e.g.: "broken hymen") definition. It's often used as a marker of innocence or purity; a lack of worldly knowledge.

Lucifer, while perhaps never before having the desire or opportunity to have physical sex while inside a vessel, still has carnal knowledge. Using actual bible canon to fill in the obvious here: Lucifer spied on the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve ate the Fruit of Knowledge and learned shame--so he's seen sex, at the very least. And he was not like some guileless child exposed to adult sexuality without understanding-- he was one of God's first angels, and he was there to plot.

He knows how sex works and uses lust and desire to manipulate people. He has simulated sex in Hell, at the very least -- raping Sam. Calling a rapist a virgin just cuz he hasn't stuck his physical dick in a physical vagina is just. Ridiculous.

And in spn, the concept of virginity for an angel is even more ridiculous to me. Imagine stuffing a millenia-old cosmic being, of unknowable power and form, into a tiny human meatsuit and holding that amalgamation to the human standards of sexuality and virginity. When not only Lucifer, but MOST angels, see sex and other human activity as beneath them?? Like I said in my prev tags, it's an eldritch comedy!

When not in a vessel, angels haven't been shown to have a sex drive, or interest in romantic or sexual love. Most angels IN vessels don't seem to, either. (Obvs there are outliers, especially after the s8 Fall, hence the "most".)

Sure, you can say Lucifer is technically a virgin -- but then so are all angels. Canonically they're "junkless," so if someone WERE to stick to the idea that one must have sexual organs to have sex, no angel can. Are we just supposed to count their vessel as their physical body? It's not even theirs.

IIRC most angels refer to their vessel as their vessel, detached from their self. They're just borrowing it. They have to ask for consent. This act of penetrating a human body with their grace is already used as a metaphor for sex all over canon.

But if, further, we're to believe virginity can be a thing that actually applies to angels -- when exactly does it count? If an angel in a vessel sticks their fingers or other object into their vessel's or someone else's hole of choice, does that not count because it's not p in v? Does it count if the physical vessel orgasms, even without p in v? It's a question adjacent to one of my main points about the concept of virginity in the first place-- the parameters of what "counts" are arbitrary and homophobic.

And then we have Sam being raped in the cage! With Hallucifer, some argument has been made that it was just euphemistic taunting or something. Nevermind how unrealistic it would be for the actual Devil to torture Sam for over a century in Hell and NOT include sexual torture. However, I'm unable to read later Sam/Lucifer interactions as anything other than referring to actual rape in the cage, and therefore canonizing it even more than Hallucifer did.

So what actually is the point-- after so much conniving manipulation and taunting of sexual assault-- of claiming Lucifer is a virgin, and being serious about it? Is it shaky scaffolding for a redemption arc? Is it just another crass throwaway joke? Is it poorly done commentary on the societal assignment of purity to virginity?

In the end, to me personally, the idea of canon virgin!Lucifer squicks me out and fills me with Samgirl rage.

[xoluvx]

flashbacks; t.holland

Pairing: frat!boy tom x fem!reader Warning: smut Word Count: 2.9K

The sugary taste of the party concoction in your cup coated your tongue as you leaned into your bubbly friend. She was clutching your arm as the rim of the cup ghosted your lips. You could almost feel the sticky residue of the drink as the cup slightly bumped your lip, your friend expressing something excitedly.

Licking your lips, you looked into the crowd trying to pinpoint the boy she was currently obsessing over. One of the reasons you were here; and not cuddled in bed with a glass of wine and reruns of your comfort show.

“Are you going to stand here all night or are you going to make a move?” you asked teasingly lifting your brow, taking a sip of the sweet drink. You were so going to regret this tomorrow. The hangover was already looming.

“And look desperate? No way,” she scoffed straightening her back; her chest almost spilled from the tight top she was wearing. Which only made you aware of your own ensemble. Jeans that were stretchy, but somehow itchy and uncomfortable and a simple black tank that suddenly felt very tight. Despite it being one of your favorites.

It was just the party. It wasn’t that you didn’t like to party; you just weren’t in the mood. Especially when your friend was clinging to your side like a wounded puppy who wouldn’t shut up about this guy she’d decided not to chase. Whatever that meant.

Taking a sip of your drink, you glanced towards the mob of people dancing, counting the minutes until you could get home. You were completely oblivious to the brown haired boy who was mimicking your moves; his lips wrapping around the cool glass of his beer.

-

“So who invited you?” you asked over the roaring music trying to get the attention of your friend, but she was so caught up in looking for the drinks she had completely missed your question. There were a few girls who had tagged along, none of which you were close with.

Your roommate had dragged you here, and being that you hardly got out somehow you’d decided this would be good. A good college experience.

But the loud music was thumping in your ears and thumping in your heart as you tried adjusting to the unknown environment. A cup was shoved near your face and you took it, not questioning its contents. Only becoming aware of the alcohol when you took a careful sip.

“You’ll get used to it,” your roommate spoke over the music pushing the cup towards your lips again, as if the more you drank the less you’d notice the alcohol disguised as fruit punch.

She wasn’t wrong.

It’d been an almost an hour; your body was warm from the heat radiating from the sea of bodies. People standing too close; so close you had definitely bumped into girls’ boobs and guys’ groins.

Seeking fresh air, you sighed a wave of relief when you managed to sneak out the house. There were people out in the backyard, but nothing compared to the crowd inside. And unlike inside, there was fresh air circulating.

You awkwardly stood against the wall of the house. The cool surface sent shivers down your spine, but it was refreshing. Your third cup of jungle juice was half empty, but you were babysitting it. Holding it close to your lips as you looked at the people minding their business in the backyard.

None of their faces familiar.

And none of your attention on the boy holding a blunt, glancing at you whenever it wasn’t his turn in the rotation.

-

Tom snapped out of the memory; the first time he’d seen you was probably an accident, but it’d felt like fate to him. Like you were meant to waltz out of the house and he was meant to see you. To cross paths with you.

It wasn’t as if he couldn’t have every girl at this party, he’d talked to a few, but there was something about you that caught his attention.

Tom watched you eyes light up as you laughed softly at something someone in your friend group had said. He was standing near the music “booth” with some of his brothers. The guys around him were laughing, shoving each other, daring each other to hit on that girl or sleep with that one, but Tom was watching you.

You had turned your back, still oblivious to his presence and still feet away from him, talking to someone he’d vaguely remembered. Your old roommate maybe.

He signaled to the person who was DJ for the night. Soon the house filled with the familiar tune. One that caused you to look towards the DJ.

Your eyes locked with Tom’s and a small smirk spread across his lips as he took a sip of beer never breaking eye contact.

Gulping, you breathed shakily bringing the cup to your lips hiding half of your face.

-

“Do you want to dance?” The voice startled you causing you to turn around. His breath was warm on your neck, he was close enough to taste. You turned to your roommate who had dragged you back in. She smiled, shrugging her shoulders before slowly backing away giving you no option, but to accept. Not that you didn’t want to.

“Okay,” your breathing was shaky as your heart thumped letting him lead you through the dancing bodies until you were in a small section spacious enough for your bodies.

Unsure of what to do you swayed your body to the beat of the song, your hand still in his. You could dance to it, but it was slow, too slow for you to awkwardly dance to it face to face.

He wasn’t shy. Swiveling your body, his arm wrapped around your torso, fingers still intertwined. You could feel his warm breath on your skin again as your bodies pressed together. The two of you swaying to the song.

The seconds of the song seemed to elongate. Like you were dancing in slow motion. His hands were now on the side of your thighs; his fingers slowly ran up your legs until they were digging the sides of your waist pulling you closer if that was possibly.

He was a stranger, but the way your body melted into his made you think otherwise.

-

Shifting your gaze from his, you tried hard to ignore him. Tried hard to push out the memory of your first interaction. The first time you felt him pressed against you.

But his gaze was piercing, you could feel it burning holes through your clothes.

Excusing yourself, you made your way towards the bathroom. The bathroom only you knew about. It was the only way you could escape the thoughts racing through your mind and his piercing gaze.

Taking a deep breath, you held to the sides of the counter looking at yourself in the mirror. In the matter of thirty minutes you’d had almost two cups of the intoxicating sweet juice, you hoped the alcohol didn’t hit you all at once. But as you looked at yourself in the mirror, it felt like you were stepping outside of your body. And you were looking at yourself looking at yourself in the mirror.

Composing yourself, you straightened your back giving yourself a pep talk before swinging the bathroom door open.

“Hey,” his voice rang in your ears clearly over the music softly thumping downstairs.

Looking up, your lips parted watching him lean against the door frame. He’d been waiting for you. While you were trying to hype yourself, he was waiting. The false confidence quickly dissipated seeing him.

“You okay, love?” he asked cheekily. You felt yourself growing warmer. A small twinge in your heart heated your temper.

“Perfect,” you said through gritted teeth. He pushed past you leaning against the bathroom counter. Crossing his arms, he glanced at the counter before turning to you. You could’ve left. He wasn’t holding you back, but you stayed put still in the bathroom now facing him.

“Remember when we-” he started saying running his hand over the cool marble, looking up at you. His eyes dark.

You tried rolling your eyes at the memory he was referring to, but vivid images of your body pressed against the cold marble as Tom held an arm around your chest urging you to look in the mirror as he fucked you flashed through your head.

A cheeky smile spread across his lips as he watched your hands turn into fists. Biting the inside of your lip, you scoffed trying to keep your cool. But the burning images of his cheek pressed against yours, his hips rutting against your ass were still too clear to pretend like it’d ever happened.

Tom pushed himself off the counter swiftly urging you to push your back against the bathroom wall. His arms stretched, so he was trapping you. His smile small, but teasing as he watched your breath hitch.

“I remember,” he whispered. The warm gust of air from his breath made your lids flutter and you felt yourself melting into him all over again. Falling into his trance. Making you remember.

-

It’d become a habit. One you didn’t mind. You’d show up at parties and he was there to sweep you away a few minutes after your arrival. Soon enough you were sneaking back into his house, when there weren’t parties, and you’d spend hours tangled in his sheets letting him do unspeakable things to your body.

His lips were like honey. They stuck to yours and you wanted to relish in every ounce of its sweetness.

When he’d ask you to spend the night, after weeks of sneaking in, there was a part of you that felt proud. Like you’d won this rare trophy no one had ever acquired. It also confused you. Because your relationship with Tom was completely sexual. But your feelings were conflicted and your body was starting to confuse his warmth with love.

Especially that first night you slept over.

He’d touched you differently. His sheets felt warmer and so did his caresses. He kissed you softly holding your chin as he pushed himself into you. The wave of ecstasy washed over you as he thrust into you gently building the pace until you were whimpering under him, moaning his name repeatedly. Holding his shoulders, biting his skin gently as he made your body quiver. Your pussy pulsing against his cock.

It was different.

And you’d fallen asleep. Just like that, wrapped in his arms under his covers. Like it was the most normal shit. Like you’d been doing it for years.

But it didn’t last. Of course it didn’t. Nothing ever does.

-

“You’re so full of it,” you whispered through gritted teeth, shaking your head pushing past him leaving a dumbfounded Tom in the bathroom.

Tom’s lids fluttered with confusion, though he knew exactly what he’d done. He knew the course of events that led to this precise moment.

-

Your head rested on Tom’s pillow, his cool sheets rested limply over your body as you turned to look at him. His lids fluttering open, lips slightly parted as he felt the warm rays of sun warning his back.

The back of your hand softly stroked his cheek until your fingers found their way into his messy hair. Messy hair and all he was still so attractive. His lips curled slightly and you smiled as your hand rested on the back of his neck, your fingers playing with the hairs at the nape of his neck.

You felt your heart skip a beat and you caught your breath trying not to think too deeply into what this was.

“You should probably go,” Tom’s voice was husky. You blinked. Did he just say what you thought he said? The harsh words pierced through your chest and you furrowed your brows. “I mean- you probably don’t want the guys to see you,” he voice trailed off as he tried reaching out to you.

But his words were ringing in your head and you were already pushing the covers off your body searching for your clothes.

Tom quickly got out of bed watching you fumble with the buttons of your jeans.

“I didn’t mean it-” Tom tried explaining himself slipping into his boxers.

“I got it.” You snapped pulling your shirt on. “Wouldn’t want them to know Tom has a heart. Better yet, that you’re not sleeping around with multiple women, it’d hurt your reputation.” You wanted to hurt him with your words.

“You’re right,” Tom said plainly going to the door opening it for you as you finished slipping on your shoes.

You wanted your words to sting just as much as his had. You also wanted him to chase after you.

But he wasn’t.

-

Tom inhaled holding on to the bathroom counter seeing his reflection in the mirror. Exhaling, he shook his head leaving.

You know you should’ve left by now. The whole encounter with Tom should’ve been enough to send you out the door, but the feelings that arose were desperate to be numbed. And what better way to do that than alcohol?

“Drink!” A roar of voices erupted as someone stacked the cup on yours. The bitter taste of the beer coated your lips, its taste was familiar only ever on your lips after Tom’s were on yours. But it was still bitter; you shut your eyes trying to wash out its taste.

When you opened your eyes, the arm that’d brushed against yours as you lowered the cup was none other than Tom’s. His usually teasing look had vanished, simply taking the ball from your hand to continue the game.

You tried keeping your cool. Despite having stormed out the bathroom and holding the upper hand, you could feel yourself melting at the thought of standing next to him. Flashbacks of playing drinking games with him, his arm hanging around you, lips slightly brushing against your cheek when he’d say something, flashed behind your eyes as you shut them for a second.

“I think it’s time for shots,” someone exclaimed. It was one of Tom’s frat brothers, one of the ones who lived in the house and who probably knew everything that’d gone down between you and Tom.

“You down?” his voice roared again holding the bottle of tequila towards you. Your friend bumped your side slightly encouraging you. Shrugging, letting out a small laugh, you reached for the bottle, but he quickly retracted.

“Body shots,” he smiled cheekily. You could feel yourself growing hotter, Tom still standing a few inches behind. You could feel his eyes burning holes into your back. The guy motioned with his head; Tom reached for the bottle.

Biting the inside of your mouth, you watched Tom tilt his head at you. Almost as if asking you if you were down. The people who’d been playing stack cup were still around the table, watching your every move. Hoping on the table, you sat tilting your neck as Tom ran a slice of lemon along your skin, sprinkling salt on the same spot after.

It seemed like everyone else has faded. It was only you, Tom and your beating heart. Taking a swig of the bottle, Tom scrunched his face before sticking his tongue out. He ran it along the stripe of salt on your neck and lingered on your skin longer than you’d expected. His lips slightly wrapped around your skin before he retracted leaving your skin tingling and your heart fluttering.

The uproar of cheers drowned out, but you were quickly replaced by another girl who was now holding her arm out letting someone else lick salt off her skin.

Tom licked his lips, running a finger along his bottom lip ignoring everyone else.

“I’m going,” you said motioning towards the door that led to the backyard. You didn’t owe him an explanation, but you were left in an awkward silence, you felt like you needed to excuse yourself. Tom nodded his head giving you a tight line smile as you turned quickly pulling out your cellphone

Typing out a message to your friend letting know you were leaving, you slipped into the cold night. You made your way towards the side of the house knowing there was a path that led to the front of the house. The cold air hit your face and you wrapped your arms around your torso watching the scattered bodies who were getting fresh air.

Passing the front door, you made your way down the sidewalk. You were all too familiar with the path that led home. Focused on getting home quickly, you didn’t sense the body walking quickly behind you trying to catch up to you. It wasn’t until a gasping Tom was running backwards catching your attention. 

“Tom,” you gasped clutching your chest, but still not stopping. You continued walking. 

“Hey,” he said exhaling. 

“What are you doing?” you asked trying to look ahead of you. Just one more block. 

“I wanted to make sure you got home safe,” he said settling at your side walking next to you. 

“I’ll be fine,” you said. “I know my way home.” You could feel your chest tightening as he walked next to you. You didn’t look at him, but you could feel his arm brushing against yours, his eyes tracing the profile of your face. 

“Can I still walk with you?” he almost whispered. There was a softness in his voice. Like he was surrendering. Admitting his wrongs and letting you take the lead. If you were willing to. 

You didn’t say anything, you just kept walking while your heart skipped. 

Somehow you felt at ease, though. The flashbacks replaced by Tom’s soft breathing at your side. 

masterlist

[collectivefandomstuff]

Title: A Hindering Hand Type: Fanfic, crossposted to AO3 (https://archiveofourown.org/works/27270097) Status: Complete. Chapter: 1/1. Fandom: DC/Batman Rating: T Warnings: Language. Beta: No beta we die like Jason Todd and also Damian Pairings: None. Word Count: 4k+ Genre: Humour/Comedy Characters: Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown, Damian Wayne. Summary: When Dick is refused the opportunity to coddle Damian, he decides to lavish his other siblings with his questionably helpful assistance. They are palpably ungrateful.

Excerpt: Damian didn’t answer the first time, so Jason made use of his annoying gene(s) and called him over and over until he picked up. “Todd,” Damian snarled, “I am at school. I realise that you were incapable of finishing your formal education but-” “Your fucking Dick of a brother broke into my apartment and re-decorated my living room.” Jason informed him. 

”You have got to be kidding me.”

Jason stared at what used to be his perfectly clean kitchen; now a hollowed out shell of its former self. Cabinet doors were thrown open, his carefully organised supplies haphazardly shuffled around. Every single counter and parts of the floor was covered in flour, cocoa, and something wet and heretofore unidentified. He didn’t even want to look closer at the stove or the sink, both filled with sticky, clearly misused, pots and pans. There was a smell hanging in the air, the same one that had set his inner alarm bells off when he entered the apartment: burnt sugar and something that smelled suspiciously like rotten fruit. Jason took a deep breath to stop himself from just whipping out his guns and shooting at the mess. It would be cathartic, but ultimately unhelpful. Instead, he fished his phone out of his front pocket and thumbed through his contacts.

He got through two rings before the line opened.

“He got you too?” Tim said on the other end. His tone reminded Jason of Bruce, which was usually a clear indication that Tim was fucking done.

“How can he be this useless?” Jason ground out.

“He was raised by Alfred.”

“So was I. And you.” “Fine. He was spoiled by Bruce.” “uh-huh,” Jason agreed, daring to move into his living room. Thankfully, the carnage hadn’t spread there, though there was an oven pan, placed strategically in the middle of his coffee table. The contains looked like what Jason imagined “dubious food” in Zelda looked like in real life. “I have to stop hanging out with you,” he told Tim. “Why?” “I just made a video game reference in my head.” “Which game?” “Not the point.” “I mean-” Tim began, but before he got any further into arguing why the specific game was “of import” to the discussion -fucking dweeb -Jason cut him off: “I’m going to kill him.” Tim was quiet for a moment. “What did he do exactly?” “Hi Little Wing,” Jason recited from the note that had been stuck underneath his brand new fucking oven pan Dick you bastard that was expensive. “I made you some brownies!” Jason stopped to look closer at the brown sludge that he was pretty sure was stuck to the bottom of his new pan. Martha herself recommended it, Dick goddammit. “I hope they turned out all right! Don’t work too much! D.” There was a pause. “Did they turn out all right?” asked Tim. “No,” Jason gritted his teeth, “No, they did not.” “He’s really on a spree this week.” “Yeah?” Jason muttered absently, poking at the sludge with his gloved finger. It jiggled. Somehow, that made everything so much worse. “Mm,” Tim said, and Jason could hear the tapping of computer keys in the background which meant that he had about 30% of Tim’s attention. “He hit Cass and Steph a few days ago. I guess since Cass is staying there when she’s in town he thought it was two for one. Tried to do their laundry.” “Why haven’t they killed him?” “They’re working on big drug bust. So, no time.” “Well I have time.” Jason groused, already trying to reorganize his plans for the evening. He would need at least three hours to repair the damage Dick had done to his kitchen. “Good,” Tim said, his voice cold, “because so do I.” Jason stopped trying to figure out how many new appliances he would need to buy to focus for a moment. “What did he do to you?” Tim was silent for a long while, then: “He tried to clean my apartment.” Jason shuddered. On one hand, he understood the compulsion. His replacement’s usual idea “clean” was “nothing hazardous is currently growing somewhere”. Still, the only thing worse than Dick trying to clean was Bruce trying to clean. Or cook. Or do laundry. Or vacuum. The Batman he may be, but Jason had never met a more incompetent homemaker in his life. Once, Bruce had tried to dust a little and they had to call the fire department. “And?” He prompted. “He moved everything,” Tim said, deceptively calm, “and threw out at least thirty-four irreplaceable things.” Oh shit. There was a reason why Jason stomped down the urge to clean Tim’s apartment. He once moved an old magazine when the younger boy wasn’t even there and the next day he got received three upset calls and a computer virus for his trouble. “He re-organised my desk. My cases. My clues.” Tim continued to rattle off. “And he didn’t even manage to clean properly. I’m pretty sure he tried to scrub my TV with vinegar.” Jason bit his lip to keep from laughing. Looks like Tim got it worse. “Shut up,” said Tim grouchily. “I didn’t say anything.” “You were laughing at me.” How- Jason’s hand clenched around the phone. “I told you to stop putting cameras in my apartment.” Tim snorted. “So find them and take them down. Think of it as practice,” he said, lilting the word “practice” in the same way Bruce usually did. “You’re such a creeper.” “Says the murderous crime lord.” “At least I’m not a stalker.” “Have you checked your bottom cabinets yet?” Jason stilled at the sudden change of subject. “Why?” “Looks like the re-organising urge lived on.” Oh, he had better fucking not. Jason stepped back into his kitchen and, with the care of someone opening a bomb case, edged open the door to his pots- and pans cabinet. He came face to face with his toaster, nestled between a pasta drainer and three boxes of cereal that he had not owned this morning. It was the sugary shit too. “Son of a-” “I think he put your spatulas in the fridge,” Tim said cheerily. Jason was going to wring his little neck. Right after he had stomped on Dick until the unbridled rage in his chest went away. “This is why I don’t want any contact with this family for-” “You know why he’s doing this right?” Tim queried lightly. Jason frowned. “I don’t keep track of the family gossip, pretender. I have better things to do with my time.” Tim made an offended noise at being called “pretender”. “Fine. Then why don’t you try to make him stop and call me when he’s tried to clean your guns?” Jason rolled his eyes. The dramatics, honestly. Bruce 2.0. “Why is he doing this, Tim?” He asked reluctantly. Tim sniffed. “Damian told Dick that he wasn’t needed at the moment, which was the little brat’s way of trying to get Dick to take some time to de-stress, but obviously Dick took this to mean that Damian has cast him aside and considers him a bad parental figure.” Jason spent a good few seconds rethinking the whole “moving back to Gotham” idea. He could just… leave and never talk to this insane family ever again. It was entirely doable. Just, one little call to Roy and hasta la vista you absolute nutjobs. He sighed. “So we have to talk to the demon child?” He asked tiredly. “Yeah pretty much.” “I still think my first plan was better.” “If you kill Dick, the family will never leave you alone.” That was a surprisingly good point. Dammit. “Can I punch him a little?” “I’d encourage it.” “Hey,” said Jason suspiciously, “just what are you planning to do him exactly?” “Honestly?” Tim replied. “I’m going to send a false tip to the department of Agriculture, fabricate evidence, and make them recall his favourite cereal.” Jesus fucking Christ this family was a pizza bagel of crazy with a sociopath topping.

-

It took them a while to track down Robin during patrol, and when they managed to find him they were met with immediate resistance. Which, taking into consideration who they were, wasn’t all that surprising. “Calm down.” Red Hood said placatingly while he jumped out of range from Robin’s swords. “We just wanted to talk to you about N-” He dodged a batarang that was clearly aimed at his throat. Add psychopath topping to that pizza bagel. “Would you knock it off,” Red Robin snarled, spinning out of the way when Robin spun to aim a kick at his stomach. Hood seized the opportunity and darted in to restrain the tiny beast that, let’s be real, was absolute proof that Bruce should not be allowed to procreate. Robin thrashed in his hold for a good three minutes before he finally settled down, glaring murderously at Red. “What do you want?” Robin spat. Even when Hood could feel him literally vibrating with supressed rage, he still kept perfect syntax. No abbreviations here. Little freak. “We need you to call N,” Red said. He looked a little ruffled and more than a little miffed. “I will do no such thing,” Robin sniffed. “Think again,” Hood said in his ear, letting his voice drop into a menacing tone. “Look,” Red Robin said. His hair was sticking up at the back after the struggle and he looked real fed up with this. Hood could relate. “N is running himself ragged trying to prove he’s a good parent or something and you need to make him quit before he injures himself.” Robin stilled. “What would Grayson be doing that would cause him such stress?” “He’s cooking,” Hood drawled. “And cleaning,” Red added. Robin’s whole body tensed. “I will take care of it.” He declared imperiously. Hood looked at Red, who shrugged. Yeah, good enough, I guess.

-

It was not good enough, he guessed, Jason realised as he took in what used to be his living room, but was now a cut out of a living room no one would ever willingly ”live” in from Garishly Tasteless Designs Magazine. He had his phone up and dialling before his eyes had even swept up the full length of the dirt-yellow curtains. It took a while to get the full effect of them, because he kept getting distracted by the frills and the suspiciously Nightwing-esque pattern. “Yeah?” Tim answered on the other end of the line. His voice said he was knee deep in something and wasn’t really paying attention. Probably his revenge plan, which Jason was seeing in a whole new light right now. “He redecorated.” Jason’s voice was so low it was almost a growl. There was a pause. “It didn’t stop?” Tim sounded much more alert and aware this time. “No it did I just went out and bought this lime green couch myself from Blind, Bath and Beyond,” Jason snapped. He heard Tim groan into the receiver. “But we even talked to Damian,” his replacement whined. Like he had anything to complain about. His living room didn’t have- was that a fucking Billy the Bass? Jason was going to shove his guns so far- “I’m calling the brat,” Jason ground out before hanging up and redialling. Damian didn’t answer the first time, so Jason made use of his annoying gene(s) and called him over and over until he picked up. “Todd,” Damian snarled, “I am at school. I realise that you were incapable of finishing your formal education but-” “Your fucking Dick of a brother broke into my apartment and re-decorated my living room.” Jason informed grimly. “He- you must be mistaken.” “Look, kid, there aren’t a lot of things I know, what with my not completing my formal education and all, but if there is one thing I will never unlearn it’s how to spot Dick Grayson’s fucking taste in fabrics.” “I see.” No, you little shit. You don’t see. Jason was the one who was cursed with seeing this absolute monstrosity of a- was that crystal?! “You said you were handling it,” Jason reminded him, firmly putting his back to the living room. Looking at it was bad for his blood pressure. “I do not understand.” Damian said seriously. “I specifically told Grayson to stop bothering you and go back to Blüdhaven where he could be of use.” Oh. Oh Damian. Jason resisted the urge to smack the phone into his face. Sometimes Damian’s age and social inexperience really shone through. Jason took a deep breath to keep from screaming. “Listen, Damian.” Jason said carefully. “Dick is feeling a little neglected right now, and what he needs, what we asked you to do, was to start hanging out with him again.” “-tt-” Damian was probably rolling his eyes. Jason could have Tim check later, he was sure the little creep had cameras in every building in the city. “That is preposterous!” “No,” Jason said dangerously, “it’s not. So now would you just call him and tell him you need help with your homework or something?” It was truly a testament to Jason’s level of desperation that he was willing to be this nice and patient. “Grayson needs to rest-” “Just FUCKING CALL HIM!!” Ok, so there was a limit to that patience. Oh well, he was only human. Damian, however, apparently thought that this was one indignity too far because the call disconnected. Jason glanced behind him and immediately regretted it. Porcelain figurines. Oh, how he missed the days when he was a big-name villain, and the only thing Dick did was fight him. In the corner, a cuckoo clock struck seven and a tiny robin popped out and chirped at him. Jason’s vision blurred with sickly green for a moment. Yeah, he was staying in a safe house tonight.

-

It took for days of no progress and Tim having his entire coffee-stash replaced with decaf (“cheap decaf, Jason. Low-level, buy in bulk decaf.”) before they threw in the towel and went to the manor. The estate looked as menacing to him now as it had when Jason first saw it as a little kid from Crime Alley. It probably always would, no matter how many times he was back. If Tim was feeling apprehensive, it didn’t show. He just looked grumpy, like a particularly displeased cat. His replacement rapped his knuckles on the door and stepped back to cross his arms, frowning. He looked very intimidating. Like a squirrel with an anger management problem. The door swung open to reveal Steph, dressed in a t-shirt that Jason was pretty sure wasn’t supposed to be a splotchy pale blue. Her jeans looked new. “He’s not here,” Steph told them in a biting tone. “Who?” Tim asked. “Dick. Though for the record we have to come up with a new name for him because ‘Dick’ is going to be real ironic soon.” And whoa, Steph did know how to look properly intimidating. “What’d he do?” Jason asked her. Stephanie stepped back to let them inside. “There was an incident with a waffle iron,” she said icily. “He tried to cook?” Tim guessed, taking off his shoes. “He tried to laminate.” Steph corrected. Tim grimaced. “Is Damian here?” Steph snorted. “Damian is useless. We need to strike back.” She lowered her voice, her eyes cold. “And strike hard.” Damn, if this continued, Dick wouldn’t even be allowed back into Gotham. Actually, yeah he would. Only Batman could bar people from entering Gotham, apparently. Because Bruce was only one with any rights around here, that fucking- He was getting off subject. Also, not paying attention. “-alking to Dick,” Tim was saying, “trying to talk to him is a good way to make this worse.” “I wasn’t suggesting we talk to him.” Steph said, cracking her knuckles. Tim looked unimpressed, which frankly impressed Jason a little. Stephanie was scary. Not Batman scary but- Hang on. “Hang on,” Jason said, holding his hand up for emphasis, “Batman is the only one who can bar someone from coming to Gotham.” “What the hell is your point, zombie boy?” Steph asked, crossing her arms. “We don’t need to redirect Dickies attention back to Damian. We just need to redirect it. To someone.” Jason grinned at them and it probably only looked about 30% insane. “Someone with the power to stop him.” Understanding dawned on Stephanie and Tim’s faces. “Someone who deserves to have his clothes ruined,” Steph whispered reverently. “Someone who has time to redecorate because he doesn’t have a job,” Tim added gleefully, “someone who flounces into board meetings too late and does nothing.” “Exactly.”

-

Tracking down Nightwing turned out to be the easiest thing they’d had to do so far. He didn’t even try to avoid them. “Hey guys!” N smiled cheerily at them as if he hadn’t spent the last two weeks putting them through some kind of Donna Reed inspired psychological torture. “Nightwing.” Red Robin greeted coldly and, yeah, in costume the replacement could totally pull off intimidating. “Whoa, what’s with the murder faces?” Nightwing said, stepping off the ledge he’d been standing on and walking closer. Hood crossed his arms. “You’ve been busy lately,” he commented and even the helmet couldn’t filter away the unvoiced insult at the end. “I guess?” N replied. “Did you like the brownies?” Hood tried to remember that they weren’t here to beat him senseless. Based on Spoiler’s clenched fists it seemed like he wasn’t the only one struggling with that. “N,” Red Robin said with the calm voice he usually reserved for interrogating suspects, “we appreciate you trying to… help us.” On “help us” Red’s voice broke through the calm and straight into “I’m going to kill you and bury you in store-brand decaf coffee” territory. “But we really are doing fine on our own.” Nightwing pursed his lips. “You are all working so hard-” he started, but Red cut him off. “Yes, and that’s why we appreciate it. But we’re actually worried about someone else, who needs your help a lot more than we do.” Nightwing paused and Hood could almost see the gears in his head whirring. “Who? Damian?” “Not Damian,” Red said, because they all knew it wouldn’t work to say it was Damian, “B.” Nightwing crossed his arms. “You think B needs help?” And here was the fragile part of their plan. Hood cleared his throat. “B,” he said, trying to keep his tone civil, “works himself to the bone and he doesn’t accept help from any of us.” “He has Alfie though,” N argued. “Alfie is busy taking care of Damian, since you’re not helping him as much anymore.” Spoiler rebutted. And damn, blondie, good answer. “We struggle too,” Red said, “but we help each other, right guys?” “Uh-huh,” Spoiler agreed. “Right.” Hood lied, thankful that the helmet veiled his eyeroll. “You guys help each other out,” Nightwing said with obvious disbelief. “You.” “Red is always helping me with cases,” Spoiler said, “and studies and stuff too. And I help him with staying alive and acting like a human.” Red nodded. “And Red and I work together on cases,” Hood said truthfully. “And sometimes Hood makes sure I eat and stuff,” Red added, “and I help him with security.” “They also hang out and play video games and watch nerdy movies,” Spoiler revealed. The little snitch. “Really?” Nightwing said, looking between the three of them. “That’s great!” He shuffled around a little. “So, you guys don’t need me either, huh?” Oh god. Oh dear god it was the voice. The patented Richard Grayson sad-and-feeling-neglected voice. The voice that could inspire shame and guilt in the most hard boiled criminal. At least he was wearing the mask so he couldn’t give them the accompanying puppy eyes. “Well,” Spoiler said and Hood could see her wavering. She didn’t have the years of experience needed to withstand Dick’s manipulation. “But B does!” Tim exclaimed, dragging Spoiler to stand behind him. Good move. “And the little brat too, even though he doesn’t admit it.” Hood added. Nightwing bit his lip. “Look,” Red’s voice was genuine now, “we all really do appreciate it, but B and Dami need your help more. And frankly, the last time I saw B he looked dead on his feet. We’re all good. But he isn’t. He sleeps less than I do.” Maybe that was even true. Huh. Were they doing B a solid here? Wait, no. No they weren’t. It was recommended by Martha, Dick you absolute menace. “Ok, I hear you.” N said solemnly. “I just wanted to help out.” Martha. Think about Martha. “We know,” Red said, patting N on the back. It was really awkward. “Did I tell you B has started eating power bars for dinner?” “Wait, seriously?” Nightwing looked disturbed. “That’s so bad for you.” “Yeah,” Hood said as if he hadn’t watched Red do that at least three dozen times, “he’s really setting a bad example for li’l D, isn’t he?” He thought Red might have done the wave if he could have. Hood certainly wanted to give himself the wave for that stroke of genius. “Okay, I know you guys are manipulating me,” Nightwing told them drily. Shit. “But you have a point.” Oh thank Jesus. N stretched. “Well,” he said, “I’m going to make sure B doesn’t kill himself. And yes, I’ll stop helping you guys.” He shook his head. “You three should really open up more, you know?” They nodded, because at this point they would do anything to make him stop “helping out”. Red cleared his throat. “So, good luck, uhm...” Nightwing grinned. “I’ll stop, but you all have to give me a hug before I leave.” Fuck. N pounced on Red like a jaguar on a gazelle, completely ignoring the scandalised (and very undignified) “meep” Red let out. Hood turned around, ready to make a run for it. “If you leave before a hug I’ll make you dinner next time!” Nightwing called cheerfully, still holding onto Red Robin like he was a life vest. Triple fuck. Hood sighed. The things you do to not have your living room secretly re-decorated.

-

As awful as it was to get cuddled by Nightwing, it was all worth it about a week later, when Tim climbed in through his living room window for their bi-weekly movie night. This week: when the great go bad- The Godfather 3, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions. “I see you got rid of the ruffles,” Tim remarked. “You didn’t see that on your stalker cam?” “I’ve been busy watching Bruce lately.” “Oh?” Jason prompted, putting the pizza boxes on the coffee-table. “He tried to call me five times today,” Tim said. He walked over and got two beers out of the fridge. Jason sniggered. “It’s that bad?” “He’s only got one target now. B is about to break.” “Tell me more, tell me more,” Jason said, making himself comfortable on his new -fucking stylish thank you very much -couch. “Like, did he do something to his car?” “I can’t believe you just made a Grease reference, you absolute nerd,” Tim commented flatly. “Musicals are cool,” Jason told him. Because it was true and he would fight anyone who said otherwise. “Was Olivia Newton John your childhood crush or something?” “Who’s to say it wasn’t Travolta?” Tim gave him a deadpan stare. “Because,” he said drily, “unlike Dick, you actually have taste.” Jason mulled that over. “Touché." He shrugged. "Now tell me about B.” Tim looked up from where he was connecting his computer to the TV and grinned sharply. “You want to experience what the Germans call ‘Schadenfreude’?” “Hell yeah I do.” Tim hit a key on his laptop and the Cave flickered into view on Jason’s TV. At least, he thought it was the cave. “Is that?” “He re-decorated the cave.” Tim laughed. It was not a nice laugh. Jason approved. On the screen, Bruce had just entered through the door to the storage area and was making his way to the computer. Trailing after him with a plate of questionable looking sandwiches was Dick. Jason nabbed a beer from the coffee table and leaned back against the couch. “Oh we are so watching this tonight. Sofia can wait.” “I made a compilation of the past week,” Tim said smugly, picking up the other beer and folding himself into Jason’s new armchair. It was beige and, most importantly, neither pea-green nor suede. On screen Bruce collapsed into his new, avant-garde office chair and put his head in his hands while Dick chatted pleasantly in his ear. “You know,” Tim said thoughtfully while Dick re-arranged Bruce’s files, “sometimes I think he’s being purposefully bad at this.” “Why?” “Oh just,” Tim reached for the pizza and Jason handed him the box, “whenever he starts doing this, we all have to interact with each other to make him stop. Like how you and I only started hanging out to begin with because he kept breaking into our safe houses to make ‘breakfast’. Well, that and that time he gave you a haircut in you sleep.” Jason stilled with his beer halfway to his mouth. “He…” Oh god. “That’s totally what he’s doing isn’t it?” Tim looked at him over his slice of pepperoni. “Yeah, probably.” Jason slammed his bear down on the table. “THAT SNEAKY FUCKING BASTARD!” Jason glared at Tim, the proof of Dick's successful manipulation. He didn't even like the replacement. Why the hell was he hanging out with him? Stupid, meddling big brothers who ruin your life. "It's okay," Tim reached over and patted his hand, "I just confirmed that they're taking his cereal off the shelves this week." And yeah, that made it a little better, actually. "I still don't like you." He told Tim. "I know. Wanna watch Bruce find out that Dick redid his wardrobe?" "Yeah ok," Jason grumbled. Maybe, he admitted to himself only, the replacement wasn't all bad. The screen zoomed in on Bruce's expression as he came face to face with a sequined suit. Yeah, Jason thought, taking another sip of beer, not all bad.