#names similar to kane

[skylarbee]

milex and 'white nights' by dostoevsky

if you love milex do not, for the love of god and the well-being of your mental health, read 'white nights' - i am crushed and utterly inconsolable, and the fact that this whole story fits so well with the lyrics of 'killing the joke' and 'the meeting place' and the la cigale performance has me wanting to cry until tomorrow, and i can't keep all these thoughts to myself.

for those that don't know, it is the story of a man who meets a girl and falls in love with her; unfortunately, the girl is in love with someone else and is waiting for him to come back to her; and in the end, she returns to her lover, but wants to remain friends with our nameless character.

the two characters meet during the night, always in the same place - 'but I want to see you tonight'

the man can't sleep, he is too excited about their next night when they'll meet again; he even goes back to their meeting place on his own: - 'he struggles to sleep at night and during the day/he's worried she's waiting in his dreams/to drag him back to the meeting place/his love had left him there' - 'he's crying out from the meeting place/he's stranded himself there'

things taking a wrong turn is indicated by grey and gloomy weather, rain and dark clouds - 'cause the clocks count down and we're in for bad weather'

the man confesses his love to the girl, despite knowing that she can't love him, knowing that what he is going to say "is all nonsense, all impossible, all stupid! I know that this can never be, but I cannot be silent" - 'why do I always have to go killing the joke?'

the man has been lonely all his life and has been unsuccessful with women, but despite his loneliness and despair, he manages to make the girl laugh multiple times - 'but I, I live a lonely life / but I, I know I'm a funny guy'

at the end, she writes him a letter, asking him to forgive her for leaving him - 'her voice still echoes/ I'm sorry I met you, darling, I'm sorry I've left you'

nastenka's lover has been away for a year, but before he went, he promised her that when he comes back, he'll marry her. but when he does comes back, he doesn't go to her and the girl begins to doubt his love for her - this is when how our character finds her. in her misery, she wants our narrator to come live with her and tells him that she will love him; but after discussing their plans, her lover turns up - and tell me that this does not remind you of la cigale:

"Come along! Look at the sky, Nastenka. Look! To-morrow it will be a lovely day; what a blue sky, what a moon! Look; that yellow cloud is covering it now, look, look! No, it has passed by. Look, look!"

But Nastenka did not look at the cloud; she stood mute as though turned to stone; a minute later she huddled timidly close up to me. Her hand trembled in my hand; I looked at her. She pressed still more closely to me.

At that moment a young man passed by us. He suddenly stopped, looked at us intently, and then again took a few steps on. My heart began throbbing.

"Who is it, Nastenka?" I said in an undertone.

"It's he," she answered in a whisper, huddling up to me, still more closely, still more tremulously.... I could hardly stand on my feet.

"Nastenka, Nastenka! It's you!" I heard a voice behind us and at the same moment the young man took several steps towards us.

My God, how she cried out! How she started! How she tore herself out of my arms and rushed to meet him! I stood and looked at them, utterly crushed. But she had hardly given him her hand, had hardly flung herself into his arms, when she turned to me again, was beside me again in a flash, and before I knew where I was she threw both arms round my neck and gave me a warm, tender kiss. Then, without saying a word to me, she rushed back to him again, took his hand, and drew him after her.

I stood a long time looking after them. At last the two vanished from my sight."

and despite all this, the man is not angry with her; the last thing he'd do is hurt her in any way; he wishes her to be happy - and realises, that all his life, he's only been truly happy during these nights with her:

"my god, a whole moment of happiness! is that too little for the whole of a man's life?"

which hits even harder if we read the epigraph of the story:

"Or was his destiny from the start

To be but just one moment

Near your heart?" (Ivan Turgenev)

[kitabasis]

Gilded Serpents

In an alternate England governed by mage dynasties, the impending death of a family head means a competition among their heirs. The prize? A ritual taking of the head’s life, and with it, their title, and the combined magic—and souls—of all their dynasty’s previous leaders. The competition, is, predictably, fierce.

And it’s never fiercer than when it’s for the crown.

The eighty-year-old King of England is dying, and the whole country knows the competition will begin any day now. None know it better than his three daughters:

Gunnel, 24, ruthlessly practical and constantly overworked, who tried—and failed—to fill the space the absent Queen left behind, and hides her longing for a life ruled by herself alone

Aikaterine, 22, easily personable and subtly manipulative, who resents her status as the forgettable middle child just as much as she uses it to her advantage, and secretly has no idea who she is by herself

Calla—her father’s unabashed favorite—16, prodigiously powerful and incredibly principled (and autistic), who memorized every subtle rule of behavior to survive, but now is adrift as her father grows unpredictable

As the days pass, the King’s behavior gets ever more erratic, the competition approaches, and a certain bastard’s resentment of his family grows, it becomes clear that this will be a competition to remember.

Let the games begin. 

[britcision]

And listen, this is 2024, you can get good red wigs now

He’s getting the shittiest Party City ass red wig he can find on Principle and because it’s Funny

Possibly wearing it over the bright red helmet, also for the bit

(He and Kate can do a photo shoot and change the name for a weekend to Batwomen - all goons who do not refer to either of them or any of the other ladies who want in in the plural get extra beatdowns)

no cass is not batwoman she is either batgirl or batman ty

[elvenmoans]

I'm doing a good Durge rn I made specifically for bg3, but my evil Durge is going to be the father of the MC of the book I'm writing. MCs parents were serial killer blood mages and if the dad also had dark urges he'd be absolutely deranged

[thelibrarian1895]

The Bats AKA

So the Bats all have alternate identities, we know this. They have other identities all set in case of undercover operations, stings, and whatever other crime fighting operations might need some sort of name that isn't their assigned at birth legal name.

That being said, I would like to think they also have pseudonyms, names that aren't official anywhere in particular except at some point or another might get listed as their "also known as" somewhere in the depths of some government office. These are the names that they use when they're doing some civilian thing, something that doesn't warrant an ID, something casual, and don't want to be connected to Wayne for whatever reason.

I would like to suggest that Cassandra Wayne, when she doesn't want to introduce herself as Gotham's princess, might introduce herself instead as Cassandra Drake. Sometimes she'll be Cassandra Grayson but Cassandra Drake is the name she likes to use best. She would use Cassandra Kane, and that is Kane specifically, but since it's too easy to hear as Cain, she won't do that.

Tim, of course, can get away with Tim Drake when he doesn't want to deal with the immediate recognition that the Wayne name gets. The Drake may have been rich but they weren't at Wayne levels and most people outside of academic circles forgot about the Drakes after the death of Janet and the fall of Drake Industries and then the death of Jack. In the business world, he always has Wayne tacked onto his name. Tim would go with Tim Cain except neither he nor Cassandra want anything to do with David Cain so even that connection is something he'd avoid. He might, on occasion, introduce himself as Tim Grayson. However, Alvin Draper and Tim Drake remain his go to names.

Jason, in the occasion that he suspects someone might recognize the name of the dead son of Bruce Wayne, would probably go with a literary reference. He has been Jason Dashwood, Todd Austen, Jay Fitzgerald, though his favorite tends to be Jason Bennet. Eventually he might allow Jason Drake or Todd Grayson. On a few occasions, usually in space adventures, if he has to go around without his mask and he's pressed to do something spectacularly stupid, he'll introduce himself as Bruce Wayne.

Damian is very proud of his heritage, even if some of that pride is more than a little brittle, and hates the idea of introducing himself as anyone other than the son of the Bat. However, if necessary, he'll go with some amalgamation of his siblings' names: Timothy Todd, Thomas Grayson, Duke Brown, and Jason Pennyworth are all rotated as needed.

Duke tends to default to Duke Todd for the similarity in his own name for ease of recognition but might go with Duke Grayson on occasion or Thomas Drake. It hasn't come up all that much just yet.

Stephanie is rather smug that she's not famous enough to need to be anyone else but if she's going to do something that she doesn't want directly coming back at her, she tends towards Stephanie Todd, Stephanie Wayne, or Barbara Brown.

Bruce won't use any of the surnames of his children for various emotionally complicated reasons that he doesn't want to address. He tends towards Bruce Kane, until he saw Cassandra froze minutely when she heard the name, and so goes with his other aka name: Bruce Pennyworth.

[elodee]

HERMIT A DAY MAY - DAY 9

Skizzleman x Archer

Skizzleman, Skizzleman! Skizzleman, it's the Skizzleman...in the style of Archer! I picked this one for Skizz because I, for one, agree with Scar; Skizzleman is a secret agent spy man. I also wanted to pick an adult cartoon for him and Archer is an adult cartoon about a spy so that fits just right!

Note: Archer is, as I said, an adult cartoon with a lot of racy jokes, inappropriate scenarios, and (humorous) violence. I love the show but it is definitely only for adults.

To learn more about Archer and see my style references, keep reading below the cut! (Fundraiser fundraiser Gamers Outreach fundraiser~)

Archer is a cartoon that follows the exploits of a secret agent named Sterling Archer and his coworkers. Archer is a very handsome, very immature moron who is only good at his job when it's funny.

The characters in the show are not exactly likeable, but fun to watch because they're all kind of terrible and so it is funny when terrible things happen to them. The show feels like a mix of Always Sunny in Philidelphia, The Office, and James Bond if Bond was drunk and stupid.

Skizz, of course, is very likeable, so he would not be part of the main cast.

Style references:

Some of the Archer characters - from left to right is Lana Kane, an actually competent spy, Archer, the main character, and Dr. Kreiger, the token German mad scientist (Archer heavily lampoons common American action/spy movie tropes).

Full body reference image of Archer that I looked at for Skizz's pose

A screencap of the Archer opening animation - the opening of the show uses a lot of colorful rectangles and silhouettes (it is a James Bond reference) so I included some similar colored rectangles in the background behind Skizz.

[nightmare-foundation]

Hero/villain batfamily swap AU

Okay so I really wanna infodump about my au that I've recently made, which puts the batfamily in the Gotham Rogues' places. I haven't thought through all of them yet, and I haven't accounted for all the batfamily (i.e. Kate Kane, Luke Fox, etc), but this is what I have

The Rogues

Bruce- The Penguin

Dick- Two-Face

Tim- The Joker

Stephanie- Black Mask

Damian- the Demons Head/Ra's Al Ghul

Barbara- The Riddler

Duke- Mr. Freeze

Cass- Lady Shiva?

The Heroes/good guys

Jason- Batman

Nightwing/Robin I- Jacob 'Jake' Grayson

Red Hood/Robin II- Thomas Grayson

Raven/Robin III- Jonathan Crane

Spoiler/Robin IV- [name] Brown (she hasn't been named yet, but she's Stephanie's daughter!)

Robin V- William Todd

Black Bat- Rose Wilson

The Signal- TBD (feel free to suggest ideas)

Seer- James Gordon Jr.

Harvey Dent

Edward Nygma

Jack Napier

Oswald Cobblepot

Waylon Jones

Jervis Tetch

Basil Karlo

Admittedly, the ones I've thought through the most are Dick, Jason, Tim and Damian. Some characters i haven't thought much about at all or I have an idea of what I want them to be (like Harvey having a role similar to Jim Gordon, or maybe Edward works with Lucius?).

BUT- this is an au where an outside force fucked with the timeline (haven't decided who/what or how) and, after regaining their past timeline memories, the batfamily (now Rogues... except for Jason lol) have to work together to figure out how to fix the timeline. The problem being their current states make that task much harder than it'd usually be, especially with their current history with each other, even despite their memories returning. So there's a whole slew of issues, not just internal, but with each other and dealing with heroes. And they have... very complicated histories with each other.

I'll explain a few of them under the cut :)

Dick Grayson aka Two-Face

What differs in this AU is that Dick is, of course, never taken in by Bruce and is instead passed around from abusive foster home to abusive foster home in Gotham. Thanks to a mix of the circus having been not a safe place and the abuse he endures in foster care, Dick develops DID, BPD and OCD from the trauma. He grows up with a close friend in Jason Todd, and while they separate for a while (Jason going to train to become Batman, Dick going into law school), they come back together as adults.

Dick becomes a lawyer because Tony Zucco had used legal loopholes to get out of facing the consequences of murdering the Flying Graysons, and Dick fully intended on trying to fix the legal system in some way and to try to prevent something like that from happening to others. At some point, Dick ends up having 2 sons, Jake and Thomas, who are 8 and 3 respectively when Dick eventually becomes Two-Face.

Since he's very close to Jason, he's actually aware that Jason is Batman. When Dick gets more unsatisfied with the justice system, he joins Jason in crime fighting as the vigilante Robin. Unbeknownst to both of them, Two-Face (not yet called that, but i haven't thought of a name yet lol) is not only unsatisfied with the justice system, but also how Jason and Dick fight crime. (Two-Face believes in the anti-hero kind of lethal justice. No, he's not 'evil')

One day, I imagine something happens and Dick, in his civilian form, tries to defend someone from someone else, but the fight results in the attacker slamming a glass container full of acid into Dicks face. This is obviously deeply traumatizing, and not only that, it solidifies Two-Faces belief that vigilantes should adopt a more lethal form of justice.

This is, obviously, how they become Two-Face :) they're deemed too mentally unstable to care for their two sons, so Jason is the person who takes them in and cares for them.

Jason Todd aka Batman

Honestly, I haven't considered exactly how he gets the idea of becoming Batman, but I'm considering that the catalyst is similar; he witnesses his father's murder. Essentially Willis got on the bad side of some mob boss and gets killed in front of Jason and Catherine. Eventually, after that, Catherine succumbs to a drug overdose.

Jason grows up close to Dick, with them supporting each other throughout their childhoods and helping each other escape foster care. Eventually Jason comes under the care of Oswald Cobblepot (who is the surprisingly kind but tough CEO of Cobblepot Industries) after attempting to steal the CEOs tires. Through him, he gets into training, and he supports Dicks lawyer endeavors financially.

After he comes back from all of his training, he refamiliarizes himself with Gotham and then becomes Batman. There's a lot of stuff he's way more lax about than Bruce is, like killing or temporarily working with criminals if it yields better results, but he still has his limits.

Jason also has his own Robins, but his relationship with them is far more healthy.

Tim Drake aka The Joker

Tim wasn't actually all that unique prior to becoming the Joker. He grew up in and out of boarding school with somewhat absent parents, in a middle class then upper class household. Tim became a photographer and journalist as an adult.

How he became the Joker is simple: he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Because of who he was, he was framed, and dropped into a vat of acid.

What came out just... isn't Tim Drake anymore.

Misc.

This is essentially what I have for the others that I haven't fully figured out yet:

-Duke becomes Mr. Freeze not long after his parents are hit by a lethal form of Joker Venom. He keeps them frozen so that they stay alive while he tries to search for a cure.

-Barbara becomes the Riddler not long after Jim Gordon dies. There's a bunch of stuff that causes her to go villain mode, but her father dying is the catalyst, or the straw that broke the camels back so to speak.

-Damian is not centuries old like Ra's is, but he is on the older side (50s? Maybe older?). Really, a lot of characters are aged up lol. He is still related to Bruce and Talia. He has kids too! William (<- placeholder name, I'm having trouble naming him, I might give him a name that reflects his heritage. He's gone through several iterations already LOL) Todd is his grandson.

-Edward Nygma works under Lucius Fox and helps make things for Jason! He also totally makes escape rooms on the side. Cringefail malewife vibes, as he should always have

-Harvey Dent has a role similar to commissioner Gordon, though I'm debating if he's actually a police commissioner or a Private Investigator.

-James Gordon Jr. Is Seer, and i imagine part of the reason he became a vigilante was to prove people's assumptions of him wrong. He's physically disabled (not sure how yet, but he uses forearm crutches) and is diagnosed with ASPD. He works as a hero both in the streets and behind a screen. I'm not sure yet what kind of day job he has tbh.

[sketchcake-ocs]

more void creatures!!!!

Kane - a Wooded Slugcat void creature(Wooded slugcats/Woogs/ are slugcats that are native to the Ashen Isle(IO's island)

Vick - THIS is where Ollie's old name went, a creature similar to Grier and Argus but actually got out of the island range somehow

[thenaiads]

You can't run forever from me, darling.

Day 13: Reincarnation; confession;

@alterdnbweek

You are here at last, at the ruins of Kane's Castle, this place was always so near to your hometown, but you never visited before today.

It is always open to the public, and the tickets never cost much, either. Still, something has always held you back from coming here since you were a child.

Maybe were the strange and deadly incidents that happened in this place, the numerous horror stories that follow this place.

Stories about Mad Kings, Bloodthirsties Warriors, Vengefuls Gods, Cursed Family Bloodlines, and more.

You never believed in any curses, fantasized versions of Fate and Destiny, or Magic, and still...

You can't shake the weird feeling that something draws you here.

Something you can't ignore anymore, or fight.

This place feels weird, something feels like you are being watched by millions of eyes.

It's like it's waiting for something... or someone.

You look around the place and notice that no one is here visiting the castle, it's seems you and the employee who sold you the ticket are the only ones here.

You start to explore this place, even in its abandoned state you can see the beauty in it, and you ask yourself how majestic could have being the castle when its inhabitants lived here.

Now the place is almost empty, filled with forgotten memories and echoes of the past.

You go down the stairs and find what looks like a little church or a crypt, this place is so pretty and incredibly well-kept, there are statues of knights, a little altar, and some benches, even some little bells that descend from the ceiling and make a sweet tinkling, and... no one is here either.

You start looking around the place a little better, touch some of the things exposed, and try to read the phrases on the statues and the altar, you can't read well the words that you see but you think you can read something that seems too much similar to the word "Blood" in some of them.

You turn around and see a Carmine color Door.

You go near to it and the first thing that you notice is that there is a weird star-shaped hole.

A keyhole you immediately think.

And is so weird but, you swear that the shape almost resembles the familiar crystal handle that you inherited from your parents some time ago.

You look in your bag to reach for it, and then you insert the crystal handle into the keyhole... it fits.

You turn the handle and open the door and... darkness oozed in.

Everything was abnormally dark, you can't literally see anything at all!

It's almost like someone dropped ink all around whatever was in that room, like you were looking at the very definition of a black hole.

Wherever you look is pitch black!

You look down to the floor to try to see, to recognize your surroundings, it's like gazing into a very dark abyss, and it's so surreal.

Then you notice something truly unsettling.

In this weird void, you can see something that looks like little millions of eyes looking right at you.

And then a voice reached your ears

"Hello"

The voice... it came from someone that should be straight in front of you, so you raise your gaze to see whoever is and...

What you see is the beginning of a nightmare.

Eerie scarlet eyes flashed gleefully at you, a garish grin abruptly split open on a mortal pale face.

"Dream, you are back"

"...", you stay silent.

"I'm so glad that you returned"

"...", that is not your name, but you can't find the courage to correct the person.... the being in front of you.

"I waited for so long", the figure says while moving its hand near your face, its fingertips touching your cheek.

The touch is gentle and soft, but you can't stop the feeling of horror shaking every part of you

"Welcome back home, darling"

......................

I hope you all liked this 🥰🥰🥰 And sorry again for any grammar errors

Au explanation below for the curious!!!

Techno here is the messed up reincarnation of the God of War/Blood God, they used to reincarnate as a human, as a way to walk between the humans and do his job.

His second job as a god was to defeat a very powerful Monster h̴̩̼̕ủ̵̹͗̍̍̅̆m̵̗̤̈̒̄̅͆͠ä̸̮́̈͑̓n̴̫͛, that had a lot of knowledge about a particular magic that allowed him to cheat death (reincarnation magic, baby).

At every incarnation they would meet and fight each other the monster would always lose.

In one of their cicles the monster cruelly deceived the god, he disguises himself as someone lovely and gets near to the god with faked promises of friendship and loyalty to discover the god's secrets.

The God falls for this trick and allows his new friend to be close, but never to the point of giving him any secrets.

For a long time the twos stayed together and the Monster with surprise started to fall for his own lie, and cherish his enemy. But nothing last forever.

The God eventually finds out about the lie and enraged starts fighting the monster again as they usually did, but this time the monster doesn't want to fight and he runs. The God eventually found him and he would fight him once again, the monster now more human than he ever was in all his existence, let the God kill him.

They reincarnated and they ended up as enemies again, but this time things are different between them now.

"Dream, on his last breath and a sad smile: See ya next time beacon." "Techno so full of sadness and rage for this curse, and on the verge of tears: Please don't come back, you idiot."

In one of their reincarations, Techno finds a way to seal Dream's true nature and memories, so he could have the possibility to fully live as a human and break/change their terrible fates (if he doesn't remember he will not become power hungry again, and I will not need to slay him).

Dream on the other hand was tired of this cycle of life and death that he created for himself and decided to seal himself somewhere far away and sleep as long as he could and avoid his killer ļ̶͐̃ò̴ͅv̷̘̜̈è̸̻r̴̜͔͌ (depression and one side love will do this to powerful beings).

But things have not gone according to the plans.

.....................

The big inspiration for this story was from this incredible webseries 🤩🤩🤩

The Games "Fausts Alptraum" and "Slay the Princess", and this DNB fanfiction "The Hero We Need"

[brucewaynehater101]

So, just a thought

Janet is Kate Kane's half sister, Janet's mom had a fling with Kate's dad, or both of Kate's parents, and oops! Kate has a half sister that she doesn't know about. The half sister married Jack. Either Janet's maiden name is Drake and she forced Jack to take her name or she didn't mind giving up her name for Drake because the Drake name is less of a hassle than whatever her maiden name is and some distance from Kane and those connections was prudent.

Tim is Bruce's second cousin, he is family but also distant family by blood thanks to this affair.

That or Bruce is literally Gotham's favorite son and Gotham stands outside of petty things like time. Because it is outside of time, Gotham knew that it's favorite son would one day need something to keep him from going too far, Gotham created Tim. Gotham raised Tim to be as feral and independent as itself and to care for its favorite son as one would a little brother or a nephew.

I absolutely love cryptid batfam AUs. The second part of this isn't necessarily cryptid, but it has similar vibes. Also, the angst of Tim finding out that his whole life has just been preparation to take care of Bruce? Yikes. Poor kid went through it to be in charge of a grown adult. That's hilarious and I love it.

As far as the first part, being second cousins would be hella confusing for their relationship dynamics. Are they father and son? Coworkers? Cousins? Related people who don't acknowledge they are related?

I'd also love to see how them being cousins affects how Damian treats Tim

[countrymusiclover]

6 - The Truths We Hide

Part 7

Star Crossed Enemies

Tag list ( send ask to be added ) @severa-kane @100foreverfiles @ocappreciation @ocappreciationtag @arrthurpendragon @lover-of-books-and-tea @kmc1989 @caprisunzz @lindsayjoy444

The Ark 

“Luke, are you sure we’re not going to get caught?  I don’t want to go back into the Skybox.” Glass spoke nervously to her boyfriend who jumped down from the ladder that went up inside an air duct.  

He helped her climb down the ladder before she saw an entire wall of computer screens hanging up. She counted in her head how many kids appeared and it added up to the 99 other prisoners besides her..  “We'll be in and out before anyone knows.  If Raven could get in then so can I.” Glass didn’t know anything about this Raven girl that he mentioned but she assumed they had met while she was in lockup for her pregnancy with his baby that died with a miscarriage. 

Glass slowly walked up to one of the table computers that controlled the television ones on the wall.  “So how exactly are we supposed to find out if Cassio is still alive or not?” 

“We pull up her sister’s file.  Regardless of how many lies Dr. Griffin said she can’t change the fact that they have the same DNA.” Luke stands beside his girlfriend typing away on the tablet so fast that Glass wasn’t able to keep up with his movements.  He tapped onto Clarke’s name making her whole film appear bigger on the wall monitor. He clicked into her medical history finding a tab that was labeled ‘similar blood type’ and once he clicked on that the name of her sister appeared. 

Glass gasped not expecting it to be that easy to find.  “Does she have a file with vitals or not?” 

“One second.  Here we go.” Luke spread his hands out on opposite sides of the tablet bringing up Cassio’s picture with her vital information. “Thankfully there was a fire wall otherwise I wouldn’t know how to break through that.” 

She shifted her focus upward to her friend's photo.  “She’s alive.  I thought - I don’t remember seeing a wristband on her the day we said goodbye to each other.” Underneath her picture she saw in the status category that it read ‘Good activity - alive’. 

“Hold on, what if the first wristband looked differently than these do?” Luke picked up an abandoned one laying on the table. 

Glass wasn’t following what her boyfriend meant by that statement.  “I don’t understand.  What are you thinking?” 

“I think they created a smaller version of these wristbands.  Something small enough that Cassiopeia probably doesn’t even know it’s a tracking device.” 

“Yeah, but like what?” Glass asked him. 

“What are you two doing in here?.  How did you even get in here?  This is only available to specific personnel.” Glass quickly turns her head in fear seeing Dr. Griffin entered through the doors. 

Glass wasn’t sure what had come over her but she ran up to the doctor shoving her harshly backwards with her hands on the woman’s chest.  “You knew she was alive this whole time.  You made me believe she’s been dead - that you killed her but she’s actually still alive!” 

“Glass! Glass, Hey! It’s not going to help anything if you assault her.” Luke wrapped his arms around her waist dragging her away from the doctor before she could throw a punch. 

Abby sighed heavily standing by the nearest table behind her.  “You’re a member of the guard.  How did you figure out how to get into this room and hack into a restricted file?” 

“The air duct.” Luke snapped back with his arms crossed over his chest while he wore his member of the guard jacket.  “Now I’ve got a question for you.  Why the secrecy, why did you and the rest of the council send the 100 to Earth?” 

“Why couldn’t you wait before you sent my best friend down there all by herself to die!” Glass steps around her boyfriend getting up in the doctor’s face. “Especially if you were going to send the kids in the Skybox down a year later.” 

“I did it to protect my kids.” Abby replied simply. 

Glass sent her a confused look.  “Protect them from what exactly?” 

“The Ark is dying.” 

Luke pushed Glass back in the direction of the open air duct.  “We gotta go, Glass.” 

Suddenly the double doors slid open causing Luke and Glass to bolt away from Abby and scrambled back into the air duct we came in through.  The two young kids remained there hearing Kane’s voice  enter the room.  “There you are, Abby.  I have been looking for you.” 

“Are you tracking me, Kane?” The older woman asked. 

Kane answered.  “I’m tracking everybody, Abby.  Including your second child.” 

“I don’t have a second child.  No one on this space station does and you know that.” 

Kane took a few steps towards his friend.  “Stop lying to me, Abby.  I saw video footage of you and Jake sending her to the ground.  And I’ve spoken with Glass Sorenson. You kept this hidden and have broken the law and I demand to know why.” 

“You can question me all you want and my answer won’t change.” Abby glared at the man in front of her. 

Kane glanced at the two guards who had come inside the room a few minutes after he did.  He gave them an order before they made a move.  “Arrest her.” The guards placed handcuffs on her, twisting her arms behind her back escorting her out of the room. 

“Do you think they’ll come after us now that we know the truth about the Ark?” Glass glanced at her boyfriend. 

Luke shrugged his shoulders lifting up the duct lid watching Kane and the guards leave the room.  “Dr.  Griffin is gonna have more problems on her hands than whether or not we’ll snitch to the rest of the station.  We should be able to leave in a few minutes.” 

“I think I know what they put the tracker in for Cassiopeia.” She muttered under breath. 

Luke eyed his girlfriend.  “What?” 

“We have matching ones that I made.” Glass held up her right arm, revealing a simple leather bracelet that had a silver Star connecting the ropes together as one. “She’s never taken it off.  They probably placed the tracker into the star so it sticks into her arm to take her vitals.” 

Luke looped his hand with her freehand.  “All that matters now is that we know she’s alive down there.” Glass nodded through some tears, missing her best friend now more than she ever had. 

Cassie’s pov

Standing on the edge of the dropship ramp I scanned my eyes over the current setup they were currently building.  I counted at least one wall fully built and another being constructed at the moment.  Footsteps approached me where I slightly turned my head seeing it was Bellamy who paused at the end of the ramp looking up at me.  “What are you thinking Ms. Survival Expert?” 

“Who’s idea was it to construct a wall around the dropship?” 

Bellamy simply replied.  “Mine.” 

“That’s rather clever of you.  That was going to be my first suggestion to you, so good job.” I complimented the older guy standing before me. 

Bellamy sent me a shocked look with his mouth slightly hanging open.  “Did you just give me a compliment, grounder?” 

“Yeah I did.  Maybe if I’m lucky enough you’ll give me one back in the future.” I take the last few steps down the ramp until I was standing on the forest ground with their leader, shrugging my shoulders in response.  “So shall we start looking around for other suggestions I can provide.” 

Bellamy gestured waving his hand out in front of us.  “Have at it, Cassie.” 

I began my walk around seeing some people looking in our direction but I didn’t mind them looking.  I knew I was the enemy here in these walls.  But I was their best chance at living on this planet.  “How many patrols do you have to go out daily?” Glancing around I noticed that they were hanging meat over the abandoned fire pits.  

“A couple.  Why?” He looked at me confused. 

Turning my body slightly back in his direction I put my hands on my hips.  “I’d suggest you create some patrol groups and then create hunting groups.  You also need to create a smokehouse to store the meat in a better environment than what you have currently.  Those changes would improve your-“ I trailed off getting distracted when I caught sight of blonde hair moving across the camp that could only belong to my sister Clarke. 

“Are you okay?  You’re tugging at that bracelet on your wrist.” Bellamy questioned the blonde standing beside him. 

I dropped my mouth open contemplating if I could keep my secret that we were related or not for much longer.  I knew it would either be good or bad for me once she knew the truth and knew the struggle to not hate my mother for what she did to me.  “I haven’t been around her since I was sixteen.  It’s almost like I’ve seen a ghost.  But to answer your question I’ll be fine.” 

“Can I ask how you know her mother Dr. Griffin?” Bellamy asked me, thinking he already knew since Clarke and I looked very similar to one another. 

Fully facing the older guy in front of me I clasped my hands together in front of my chest finally saying the words after a year of being on the ground to probably the only other person who would understand what it felt like to have a secret sibling on the Ark.  “Clarke and I are twins.  I am the oldest by a minute.  Unfortunately she has no idea I am her sister because of our mother Abby Griffin.” Bellamy parted his mouth yet no words came from his lips, meaning he was truly at a loss for words over that news. 

[tadc-harlequin-au]

Hello, I'm the same anon who put forth the theory about the Golden Shards not belonging to the Void.

I was thinking, and found a mention of Canon!Caine's costume in your words, and I had a question-theory ripen for a moment:

Could this Man in the Red Coat be Caine's past identity?

-------

I don't think so, but I concede it, but it was also immediately disproved for reasons:

One: Caine's personality was unlikely to have separated from him, since a person's personality is themselves, and puppets in any form only go to the Void when they die.

Two: I have a more reasonable theory, and because of that I put forward a bold comparison:

The Charmer and the Man in the Red Coat are the same person. Do you know why? The identity of the collar, the scarf (or manifold, that cloth piece around his neck, dark turquoise in color) and almost the same face shape.

Now, the messy facts, which I will soon try to organize into a logical chain leading to an explanation of the theory above:

The tight-fitting clothing, especially around the neck, was foreign to Kane, whose features are strikingly similar to The Inventor's. The parallel is drawn.

The Inventor and The Catalyst were close. But The Inventor is strikingly different in the way he wears his clothes from the Man in the Redcoat. So The Inventor is off the list, and he didn't come to Poiemni in the Void.

The Inventor, The Charmer and The Catalyst are connected. But two at a time, they had their own relationships. That is the reason for the meetings in the Void.

Just a thought: the Golden Shards is the word combination to which the name "The Charmer" fits surprisingly well.

That's it for now, I'm off to sleep, I wrote this at midnight, bye👋.

-⚠️ (it will be my sign)

Goodnight ⚠️ anon! Another great theory, I see!

Well, if I put any direct inputs in this, it will raise some suspicions.

Still, it's quite interesting that these are your conclusions, however... A lot of things haven't been revealed yet, and you're already a little hot on the trail, and I am admittedly very impressed by that.

Which one am I talking about? You'll only know when the answers are revealed.

... I wonder if you'll be able to piece the journals when they drop. :)

[powerpolyculeshowdown]

Do you have recommendations for shows/books/whatever with canon/basically canon polyamory?

ok the only media w officially canon polyam i personally consumed are Iron Widow and Hades.

Iron Widow is a mecha scifi/chinese fantasy book, it has pacific rim mechanics, so it takes 2 ppl to pilot the mecha but its more dystopian in that the pilot (male) usually drains the life force of his concubine (female). the mc has a guy shes interested in from the start but she pushes him aside to seek her goals to become a concubine pilot (theres a very good reason for this but i dont wanna give too much away) ends up being forced to work w the most dangerous pilot (spoilers hes actually a misunderstood sweetheart and i love him), her first love somehow finds his way back into her life so he can be their ally and its very clear from the first time he meets the other guy that this bitch is bi af. At one point he literslly saves their lives and i wont elaborate on that cause again spoilers but someone mentioned it in a propaganda ask. They canonically fall in live w each other and start dating. Please look up the trigger warnings first cause theres some heavy subjects addressed in this book. The book itself has trigger warnings listed at the start so if u find it at a book store u can check them this was too.

Hades is a roguelike videogame w dating sim mechanics (ish) -you give gifts to characters to learn more about them, and theres two romance options but you can romance both at once, they're both aware of and okay with it, hinting that they mightve had a past even before zagreus was born (its greek gods one is death incarnate the other is one of the furies, they've basically existed since forever)

From the submissions I got:

ive been told Leverage is like the korrasami of polyam, as in they were as polyam as they could be in a show from 2010, so it sounds like its canon but not explicit because they couldnt get away with that.

The girls from Amphibia are apparently in a similar situation, heavily implied canon, someone told me it was confirmed by people who worked on the show, but i dont think its explicitly stated.

The Kane Chronicles apparently also has canon polyam, although its 2 bodies, cause I think one of them has a god in him or something? I never read the books, but I was told Sadie (i think thats her name? The girl) is in love w both of them, and kinda dating both too i think?

I dont know if Singing in the Rain is canon but theres that kiss gif that got prrtty popular on tumblr where kathy kisses one of the guys then the other, so it looks canon? or at least implied canon?

Sense8 as some people have mentioned has 1 officially confirmed to be canon throuple, 1 that has a lot of hints to confirm but a lot of ppl see it as a gay couple w a very supportive friend ig and someone else said in general because of the plot u could kind of see the 8 of them as a big polycule, although that one isnt canon

HoneyWorks/Heroine Tarumono is one of those songs turned novel turned anime. i dont think its confirmed canon but theres a lot of stuff pointing to the possibility, you mightve see @non-fantasy telling me about them in a few asks. im obsessed and ive yet to watch anything

Penumbra Podcast: Second Citadel has Rilla/Sir Damien/Lord Arum, i also haven't listened to this one but a lot of people told me rilla and damien were in a pre-established relstionship, both got crushed on lord arum separately, talked about it and worked things out to now be a canon polycule

im She-Ra (netflix) theres a trio that is implied to be a polycule at the end, a lot of ppl called them canon in the notes but i dont personally ember it being confirmed? i am very forgetful tho. It's Rogelio/Kyle/Lonnie, unfortunately they lost the prelim round

I believe people submitted some others that were canon but im very forgetful so i cant remember right now

[angelicsatin]

Nora Kaneʿ⬤ᱼ⬤ʾ| Novocaine✧˖°.

art & tempalte by the amazing @shizuwuarts / shizuarts on insta

Full Name: Nora Kane  Villian Alias: Novocaine  Age: 20 (S1) 21 (War Arc) Birthday: November 26 Zodiac: Sagittarius  Height: 4’11 or 150 cm Gender: Cis female Sexuality: Polyamorous Bisexual Blood Type: AB Status: Alive Affiliation(s): The League of Villians  Romantic Interest(s): Shigaraki Tomura, Dabi/Toya Todoroki, & Hawks  MBTI: INTJ Enneagram: 4w5

Quirk: Influence

By making eye contact with another person, the user of this quirk can influence or even ‘gaslight’ them into believing or feeling whatever the user wishes—speaking directly to them and telling them how they want to feel or remember. 

Drawbacks include retinal, hemorrhages/bleeding from the eyes, fatigue, dizziness, migraines, and it cannot be activated through photos or digital images. Additionally, her eyes are quite light-sensitive. 

Her ‘sunglasses’ are her support gear, provided by the doctor. Part of the lens acts like a rearview mirror, allowing her to ‘have eyes in the back of her head’ and protect her from sneak attacks. 

Random Facts ⁩*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Nora attended middle school alongside Hawks/Keigo 

She was raised being taught by her mother, who shared a similar quirk, that it was ‘evil’ and never to use it. 

Joined the League of Villains two months before the USJ attack

Does not participate in the USJ attack

AFO ordered Shigaraki and the league to seek her out to have her join due to her quirk

Shares a room with Shigaraki. 

Keeps her Hawks Pro Hero Figurine collection in her and Shigaraki’s messy room. 

Hawks is the only Hero Nora trusts.

Smokes with Dabi, and Hawks. (and Shigaraki sometimes)

Games with Shigaraki.

Sees Toga as a little sister.

She is considered a ‘burn-out’ by her parents.

Has an AU where she starts a band within the league.

Introverted and a recluse.

Causes drama and acts as a mediator – depending on the day.

She is not that strong, but she is agile and strategic.

Likes

The League of Villains 

Hand-held Video Games

Leisure Time

Pulling All Nighters

Smoking (Marijuana & Tobacco)

Watching Cartoons / Anything Animated

Collecting Anime / Idol / Pro Hero figurines (only Hawks figurines)

Not Paying for Anything <3

Horror Films / Manga 

Being Proven Right / Just Being Right

Heights 

Getting to use her Quirk Freely.

Rock & Pop Music

Drinking

Dislikes

Her Family

Quirk Discrimination 

Vegetables 

Rubber / Elastic Bands 

Breaking a Nail

Oranges

Having to be Social for Long Periods of Time

(Most) Jewelry 

Lightning 

Hot Temperatures 

People Who Disrespect Service Workers

Narrow-Minded People

Hero Society + Culture 

Bright Lights or Being in Direct Sunlight

Bad Customer Service

Personality ❣︎

Positive Traits: Persistent, Appreciative, Supportive, Analytical, Efficient, Observant, Sentimental, Affectionate, Creative, Passionate, Odd, Trusting, Considerate to her friends, Witty, Loyal, Persuasive, Resourceful, Introverted, Accepting and Tolerant, Flirtatious, Passionate, Easy-Going, ‘Nerdy’

Negative Traits: Sleepy, Chaotic, Morbid, Narcissistic, Bipolar, Stubborn, Self-Indulgent, Unethical, Volatile, Temperamental, Selfish, Cynical, Fanatical, Obsessive, Insecure, Undisciplined, Resentful, Rebellious, Compulsive, Irrational, Know-It-All, Disorganized, Messy, Shut-in, Pretentious, Possessive 

Backstory ⊹₊ ⋆

For as long as Nora can remember, her mother always lied about her quirk. Her mother claimed to be quirkless, so she could attempt a ‘normal life,’ as she put it. Watching her mother refer to herself in such a way, caused Nora to develop some deep-rooted self-image issues from before she even got her quirk. Her father was actually quirkless, a deliberate coincidence on her mother’s part – thinking if she married a quirkless man their child would be ‘lucky’ not to be born with such a misunderstood quirk. Unknowingly bringing Nora Kane, a child with a much more invasive version of her quirk, into this world. 

Quirk Manifestation

Around age 6, Nora’s quirk began to manifest and luckily for her, no one noticed at first. She used it more often than she meant to, in small doses. Examples include: Ordering her teacher to allow recess to run longer and ordering others to give her their ice cream at lunch, but slowly those around the child began to realize they had short lapses with memory loss. Eventually, the school called Nora’s parents and suggested that she be examined by a doctor for quirk development. The school staff had begun theorizing about her strength and potential, and they were afraid of what she could do. One hospital visit confirmed the suspicions and Nora had an officially registered quirk. Schoolmates and teachers nearly immediately started to treat her differently. The whispers, avoidance, and quirk discrimination had begun.

Her mother was not happy that her quirk had manifested, especially with how it fully functioned – and was a more persuasive version of her own. It scared her knowing her daughter was capable of making her do things or feel things without her consent. To try and restrict Nora’s usage of her quirk, and to drill into her mind how ‘horrible’ it was, she instructed her daughter to wear a rubber band around her wrist. Making the child pull it, and smack her skin anytime she accidentally used it. Her mother wanted her to associate pain with something she couldn’t help being born with. Fearing her mother and the discipline for her quirk usage, and existence, caused Nora to begin working heavily on controlling her quirk better. 

Despite the effort it took to never use her quirk, her classmates didn’t seem to take notice. At age 8, Nora would overhear her supposed friends talking about her. She had just been passing through the hallway at school on her way to lunch when she could hear them speaking about her in a classroom with a cracked door. She’d stop, hearing her name mentioned briefly, and begin eavesdropping when she heard the rest. “Nora’s quirk is scary!” “I know! She can make us do anything she wants, and we wouldn’t even realize it!” “I’m scared she’ll use it on me.” Nora’s heart dropped as the next kids added on. “It sounds like a villain quirk to me.” “I wonder what her villain name will be.” They went on and on. 

She felt nothing but anguish and hurt. Adrenaline flushed through her veins and small frame, as her heart thudded within her chest. Without stopping for a moment to think, Nora pushed the door open and rushed inside. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she met their eyes, fear was the only emotion she could sense from them. “Stop talking about me like that!” Nora screamed, her voice coming out as a shrill roar,, activating her quirk without really realizing it. “Stop thinking about me! Don’t talk about me! Keep my name out of your damn mouths!” She shouted out, her words laced with venom. Stomping her feet in succession to my orders as she kept her gaze shifting between theirs. “You don’t know me. You don’t even know me!” The young girl repeated over and over, crying out and keeping her quirk activated. When the teachers heard the shouting and commotion, they rushed in. Attempting to pull her out of the scene was proven difficult, as she looked at them, eyes meeting theirs before screaming out. “Go away! Leave me alone!” Once the words escaped her, she blacked out. What came next was a blur and something she’d never really be able to remember. When she finally came to and realized what was happening; the sun was setting through the windows. Nora was just huddled in the back corner of the classroom in the fetal position, while the students who she screamed at were sitting at their desks calmly. Slowly, she stood and began walking out of the classroom. As she passed them, one boy looked over at her. “Who are you?” They questioned as she stood at the exit. Nora would find out shortly after, she caused permanent memory damage to those students. They never remembered that moment, her or anything. But… other students informed them as rumors spread, and they were even more frightened.

Middle School to High School

Nora attempted to lay low during the rest of primary school, and once she made it to middle school, she was desperate to fit in. And yet the worst still occurred to her. After school one day, she began her walk home as normal. Taking back alleys and shortcuts to avoid bumping into anyone as she did every day. About two blocks from her home, Nora turned left down an alley as her route intended. Around that corner stood a group of students from her class. There was one girl she didn’t recognize at all, but afterward, she’d come to realize that she was from her elementary school. Nora passed them, pushing ahead and giving them a small smile and nod. This was her mistake. “That’s how she activates her quirk!” The elementary class-mate shouted, jumping back. One of the boys from her middle school had a feline-like tail as a part of his quirk, and before she could tell what was happening, he had already used it to wrap around her waist and drag her toward them. The grip he held around the adolescent pushed the air from her lungs as she gasped out. Harshly, he threw Nora against the wall behind her. Looking up with frantic eyes, she shivered as they all glared down at her with their varied quirks activated. One of which was the ability to form razor blades from their fingertips. She kept her eyes on him as she tried to scramble away, considering using her quirk but Nora knew that would make things worse over time. ”I think we should teach her a lesson.” One kid laughed at the others, using the tail quirk to keep her close and within their grasp. “You’re right, why don’t we make sure she never thinks to look at us with those eyes again-” 

”No!” Nora cried out, kicking her small feet as the boys deliberated. The kid with razor fingers began leaning down towards her, with his index finger extended. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, turning her face down as she pleaded to them. “I’m not using my quirk! I never do!” They laughed at her, rolling their eyes. “And we’ll make sure you never do.” One stated as the razor blade began to slice across her closed right eye. From below her eyebrow to the top of her high cheekbone. Nora winced, screaming out for help despite not expecting any. Suddenly, however, the wind blew from behind the bullies. Causing them to stand fully, turning their heads to view what caused this. When her view was clear, she spotted him through her one open eye. A blonde boy who looked a little older than her, with vibrant red wings sprouting from his back. His beautiful wings flapped harshly, pushing wind around and stirring.

“Leave her be. You all think you’re better than her? Why?” He demanded, feathers flying off his wings and towards the bullies. They flew to the collars of their shirts, pinning each of the bullies on the wall beside Nora as the blonde hero approached her with an extended hand. She stared up at him with wide eyes before averting her gaze from him. Concerned he’d be afraid of her quirk. “It’s okay. I’m here to help.” He reassured her, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet. He picked Nora up, bridal style, and flew her up into the sky. This was the first time she’d ever felt what it was like to fly. He didn’t say anything more than asking her where she wanted to go and directions to her home. He landed outside of her home, sitting my feet carefully on the ground before flying off himself. Eventually, in school, Nora would find out he was in his third year while she was in my first year. 

After this day, Nora began to seek the boy out in school, learning his name was Keigo and that he was training to become a Hero one day. She’d end up seeking him out at school, even befriending him despite the fact he was a few grades above her and about to go to High School. She latched onto him, like a safety blanket, her best friend and the one hero she wanted to protect her. It broke her heart, even if she wouldn’t admit to it when he moved on and began to attend UA. The two grew apart, and she never thought she’d see him again – not in the way they used to. 

Graduating High School + Meeting / Joining the League Of Villains 

Nora had turned 18 a few months before she graduated from public high school. She took a shoddy job at a fast food location near her home, working to try and save up for her own money. Every penny she made though, her mother would take as ‘rent,’ for her being an adult and living with her. Struggling, and unsure of what to do, Nora just kept trying. And yet, her mother told her after her 20th birthday, it was time for her to go, insisting that her daughter find her own place. Honestly, without any heads up either, leaving the girl finding a temporary home in an alleyway. All of her belongings were thrown into suitcases, backpacks, and cardboard boxes she hid behind the dumpster outside of her parent’s apartment complex. Running out of options, and feeling as though the whole world set her up for failure, Nora finally did what her mother had feared. She used her quirk for nothing but her own benefit again. She strolled along a busy street, ‘accidentally’ bumping into an unknown man in a suit. She stopped, quickly bowing, and began to apologize profusely. He calmly apologized, and when the two raised to meet each other’s eyes, Nora smiled as she activated her quirk. Urging him to feel calm and content, she began. “You’re okay, it’s all good. You want to give me all the money in your wallet, though, don’t you?” She chuckled, pushing generosity through to the man’s brain waves. Carefully focusing her quirk on his emotions and hands. “Oh, right. You’re right, yes. I’m okay-” He paused as he smiled, pulling the wallet from his back pocket. “I’m so sorry for running into such a kind girl, I should be more careful. This is for you.” He stated calmly, a warm expression growing on his face as he extended a wad of cash from the said wallet and placed it in her palm. Winking, she thanked him before ordering him to continue his life and work like normal. Only to remember offering his money to charity and that he will feel proud of himself. Nora ensured to erase any memory of herself from him before saying goodbye. She continued this ploy for money over and over on passersby until I returned to the alley. 

Slumping down to sit on one of her boxes, Nora leaned her back against the dumpster as a sigh escaped her lips. Beginning to count the money, joy rising. She had successfully attained almost $2,000 in cash. Suddenly, a thud startled her out of her train of thought. She jumped up,  looking around frantically – She panicked, knowing she wasn’t the most talented with her quirk due to years of repressing it, but she was certain she shouldn’t have been followed. When she fully stood, turning to the source of the startling sound, she spotted a stranger. The man had a slumped, odd posture. Unable to see his face due to a.. hand? A hand on his face. He had hands all over his arms and head. His hair was silver blue and shaggy. 

This meeting would change her life, her first meeting with Shigaraki Tomura and learning that a villain named All For One had been watching her somehow and found her quirk impressive – offering, or insisting, she joins the League of Villains. However, it’s not quite that fact that drives her choice to agree, but rather the passion she sees in Shigaraki and their shared feelings of hate. Both of them felt as though the world owed them. 

CONT.

[ashoss]

I think It’d be kinda interesting if Damian was a legacy because Ra’s was a demigod. Especially if it was a god similar to Ra’s personality rather than Damian’s, and he feels a tension against it. And maybe the Lazarus pit has some relation to nectar or the fire healing river in Tartarus and it works better for demigods, relating to how long it’s been working for Ra’s to keep him alive.

Google told me there was a minor god of trickery, cunning, deception, craftiness, treachery and guile named Dolos, which could fit Ra’s but of course doesn’t really match Damian at all, so Dami might feel such a fun tension with that legacy. And if Bruce was also a legacy of a different God, that would make it interesting for Damian too.

For the Waynes, I feel like either a legacy of Zeus (dating back before the big 3 deal) or Thomas being a son of Apollo (whose domain includes medicine [thomas], knowledge [bruce], and art [damian]). I also like the idea of Barbara being not necessarily a child of Apollo but having his divine blessing (bc oracle), and the demigod/legacy v blessed mortal dynamic between her and Bruce could be really cool. Another option could be Nyx (goddess of night) because of Batman’s ability to fade into the shadows so well. She is also sometimes known as the nurse of the gods (old use of that word, not medical related but related to raising other’s children) which is kinda funny with Bruce adopting so many kids.

Since Dami normally has both such pride about his heritage but also conflicting feelings from the vast difference between his parents’ families, I think having 2 competing legacies could offer some really fun explorations of character for him.

ough demigod Ra's is such a good take oh my god. it would really amplify his own conflicts about his heritage in such a fresh way- the pride in being a legacy via Ra's and whatever he's getting from Bruce's side? add the Kane magician aspect i was kinda playing around with? fun and fresh imo.

I think legacy Bruce would be interesting to play around with! i do like apollo and that might influence his brucie persona lol. but the past wayne (or even the kanes!) might be really interesting to look into as demigods lol. nyx would also be interesting! if anything Bruce could possibly be a nyx devotee if anything - definitely funny in the context of nurse of the gods lol. (i do remember reading a fic where jason was a child of nyx...)

i do think i'm gonna do blessed mortal babs! unsure if i want that to be when she was younger or if it happened after TKJ and her taking up the Oracle name (aka apollo heard some gotham vigilante was going by the name oracle and hes like: how about we make that real :D)

[whirlpool-blogs]

An Inside Look at Jack Hughes, the Top NHL Draft Prospect Flyers Fans Are Craving

Published January 28, 2019

Understandably, John Wroblewski had initial doubts.

Not necessarily about the player as much as the situation. Wroblewski was coaching the 2016-17 U.S. national U-18 team when the little brother of star defenseman Quinn Hughes tagged along for a skate.

That little brother was Jack Hughes and Wroblewski had yet to see him play.

"You sort of ask the questions, OK, well how often do you have a 15-year-old skating with a U-18 team and how good is the kid?" Wroblewski said.

The verdict?

"The answer is he's pretty good, he's pretty good," Wroblewski said with a laugh last Wednesday in a phone interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia. "We've got to keep an eye on him. You get him out there and instantaneously he fits in and exceeds and then also enamors you - all three of these observationalist thought processes come to your senses in that hour and a half skate of this tiny, little kid who somehow comes out and impresses you so much within that short period of time.

"Not only with his skill level, but kind of how some of the great players out there, how they can make the game slow down or speed up at their will. It's tough to describe unless you've been around him."

Wroblewski has been around him a bunch, coaching Hughes for the second straight season in the U.S. national team development program. 

Unequivocally, he now knows all about the 17-year-old, a darting and dynamic center whose playmaking ability can cause motion sickness for opponents.

Before the start of 2018-19, Hughes was hardly a blip on the Flyers' radar. Not with the team signing James van Riemsdyk to bolster an experienced roster and take its biggest step since the 2011-12 season. The NHL draft was an afterthought.

Oh, how things have changed.

The Flyers entered the All-Star break at 19-23-6 and with more points (44) than only two other NHL teams - the Devils (43) and Senators (43). A startling shake-up within the front office and coaching staff became the messy byproduct of another slow start, this one the most impactful of them all.

Suddenly but inevitably, Hughes' name has permeated the fan base. He is widely considered the consensus No. 1 pick for the 2019 NHL draft.

And Flyers fans are astutely aware. 

The golden spot is in sight.

Similar to any NHL draft, the climb of the top overall pick will be debated. Many will line Hughes up against past No. 1 selections - from Patrick Kane (2007) to Connor McDavid (2015) and fellow USNTDP product Auston Matthews (2016).

While Hughes is only 5-foot-10, 168 pounds and turns 18 just a month before the draft, Wroblewski sees him developing into a player of his own mold.

My belief is that he'll be in the NHL next year and there's really not a comparable. You're starting to see more and more of the hybrid type of player - guys that play with speed and skill. One of Jack's unique traits is that even though there are questions out there in regards to his size, he's a true center iceman and he will play in the middle and he will figure out a way to make it work.  You throw him into the blender with wingers like Kane and [Johnny] Gaudreau, but then you have to put him in the middle of the ice, so he's got that speed like McDavid. He doesn't have McDavid's size, but he's got things that I think McDavid would be envious of, as well.  There's a component here that I think has yet to be realized. Like his brother Quinn, young kids are going to look at him and want to be him as a player, sort of revolutionize the position that a quote, unquote undersized centerman can persevere and make it to be a superstar in the National Hockey League - because there's not a ton of them that have done that.

Wroblewski calls Hughes "manicured."

It's an excellent way to describe him. Hughes doesn't sound like a 17-year-old. He's well-spoken because he's well-groomed, unfazed by the hype of being the top-ranked 2019 draft prospect.

He credits much of his maturity and preparation to his "great support system," featuring his family and coaches.

His father Jim Hughes, mother Ellen Weinberg-Hughes and uncle Marty Hughes all played Division I hockey. His older brother Quinn was drafted seventh overall by the Canucks last summer and plays at Michigan, while his younger brother Luke is 15 years old and considered an up-and-coming talent.

"We've all kind of been through the ringer already," Hughes said last Tuesday in a phone interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia. "I'm thankful to have them around me."

Wroblewski said the scouting presence this season for the Hughes-led U-18 team has been "overwhelming," but in a good sense.

"It's been nonstop, it's been relentless," Wroblewski said. "The scouting community - reporters doing articles or scouting prospects, [people] that do this for a living, and of course the NHL scouts - is all trying to decipher where do these guys fall in the pick of the litter. And I'll tell you, right behind Jack on this team, there's a slew of other players that are going to be right there with him in the National Hockey League."

For Hughes, the eyes on him are at an all-time high with the draft a little less than five months away.

Is he keen to the amplified attention?

"No, I've been dealing with that since I was 14, 15 years old," Hughes said. "A scout is pretty much another person in the building. All I have to do is play my game and have fun."

Like Wroblewski said, Hughes is manicured.

He gives you guys the clichés at times, but there's a little bit of twist to his cliché answers. There's insight there, it's not like he's just throwing out these random phrases. He's got practice at it, but he's not just going through the motions when he talks to the media, which gives me a lot of hope that he could be at that ultimate ambassador to the game. Not just a guy that goes through and plays excellent hockey and is a focal point, but somebody who is also attractive to the media.  At the same time, when the cameras are away and he's not on the spotlight, he's a kid. He's a high school kid who is goofy and funny in the back of the bus - he's got personality, he's got swagger, he has a lot of the intangibles.

There wasn't just one play or game that convinced Wroblewski.

"I don't think moments capture excellence," he said, "particularly with a kid that's going to go No. 1 overall in the draft."

The World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in November 2017 was when Wroblewski really saw it. The U.S. had taken home gold by beating Canada, 6-4, in Dawson Creek, British Columbia.

Hughes led the field with 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in six games.

"He just completely dominated the event - and then as the octane and the temperature rose in the tournament, he continued to surpass expectations and continued to dominate and find another level," Wroblewski said. "In a hostile environment - he was a kid who grew up a bit in Toronto wearing the American sweater, and all of a sudden he's thrust into this environment; it was such a pro-Canadian environment, and he allows himself to block out all the X-factors and just concentrate on dominating the game at hand. 

"That to me was kind of the time where I was like, 'This kid is No. 1.' I always had that throughout the fall, but from there on, it was like, 'This is the kid that's going No. 1 next year.'"

Hughes strives to be the entire package.

That doesn't mean he's there yet. However, the multifaceted, no-holes-in-your-game mindset is what pushes him.

"As a hockey player, everything you do you want to improve," Hughes said. "You see the best players in the world working on their game, year in and year out. For me, I focus on everything, but some of the things I focus on the most are my faceoffs and my shot. Those are two things that need to be really good to be a good player."

What about his strengths?

I play a new brand of hockey - speed and skill, the way the game is now. I'm kind of an open book. There are a lot of great players out there and something that they all have in common is that they're Swiss Army knives. They can do everything really well. I feel like my game is what my game is, but I'm working on other parts of my game and trying to become the best at everything that I do. I'm going to show up to the rink to compete and have fun.

In 28 games this season as the captain of the U.S. national U-18 team, Hughes has 56 points on 13 goals and 43 assists. In 60 combined games last season between the U-17 and U-18 teams, Hughes had 116 points on 40 goals and 76 assists.

"He's a workhorse on and off the ice," Wroblewski said. "He'll do whatever it takes. When he finds a deficiency in his game, or if there's something not at - if you want to scale things out of five - if there's something that's not at a five, he'll start working right away at getting to that number. 

"Last year, it was his shot. He did not have a very good shot. It was still good, but it wasn't elite. He went at it hard this summer, his one-timer, his release, everything else has improved so much in that regard. And that's something that I think he'll continue to do."

The Twitter hashtag has grown in popularity for any struggling team near the NHL basement and in the ballpark of the 2019 draft's first overall slot. #LoseForHughes.

Hughes isn't oblivious to the slogan in which many Flyers fans have adopted.

"The first time I heard it was actually my OHL draft year (2016-17)," he said with a laugh. "It's not new to me, but every time I see it, it's pretty funny and I get a little chuckle out of it."

How hard the Flyers charge after the All-Star break will determine their chances for Hughes, while the NHL draft lottery results will have the final say.

Whichever team does land Hughes, its fans will be on board with his message.

"I'd tell them I hope to give them a lot of good years," Hughes said. "That's what every player wants - they want to go to a city that's hungry to win and a city that's a lot of fun. That's really what I'd be excited about - have fun with the city and playing hockey for the community and the city, for however long I'm there."