#ng: aka...what a life

[beforethepoison]

[talesfromthemightyi]

Tales From the Mighty I: The debut live radio shows

On September 25 2011, Noel did live radio sessions, as well as a batch of interviews, for a few radio shows ahead of the High Flying Birds tour.

The tour kicked off the first leg of what would become a two legged tour through-out North and South America as well as the Asia leg in 2012 and the Oceania and so on.

This debut album tour would last until November 13 2012.

Here's the full day's live radio show broadcasts that happened on September 25, 2011:

RTL 102.5 FM:

01. If I Had a Gun 02. AKA... What a Life! 03. Supersonic

Watch here

Virgin Radio Italy:

01. If I Had a Gun

Watch here

RMC1:

01. The Death of You and Me

Watch here

*The above set of songs were all recorded on the same day and were all performed acoustically.

[roseyrays]

# ENHYPEN SMAU RECS 💖

# RIKI

# more time with you! — by @yenqa, it’s very CUTE and the ANGST is scrumptious :))

# love dive — by @tzyuki, RIKIY/N ARE SO CUTE

# love is (not) easy! — by @kynrki, riki smau, THE ANGST RHAHAHA MADE ME CRY BUT I LOVE IT

# shoot! — by @amakumos, again ADORABLE and THE FLUFF (rikiy/n is what i want in an relationship), can’t believe you can find the love of your life in genshin

# cupid’s corner — by @amakumos, ANOTHER GREAT SMAU, ITS JUST SO CUTE & RIKIY/N MAKES ME WANNA JUMP OFF A BRIDGE

# trial and error — by @kyyuri, AGHHHH, again rikiy/n>>the world

# beat the allegations — by @woonierkiz (aka my mutual), it only has two chapters for now BUT AHHHHHHHHH

# don’t date my brother — by @mosinterlude , LOVED HOW YOU ADDED KONON AND THE ANGST 🤌🤌, also love the fact that it has some idol’s sisters (and brother) <33

# soulmate tracker — by @son4taa, i remember reading this a while back but forgot about it im sorry 😭😭, ITS VERY GOOD THOUGH

# 💌 c u p i d 💘 — by @roseyrays (aka me!), yes this is self promoting 🤌🤌

# ( 尤も ) natural — by @ifearjwn, NOT THE PADDLE BOARD, y/n simps 🫵😁, love u riki, can’t wait for more chapters!

# oh, ni-ki you’re so fine! — by @aernx ,made by mutual! ,sooha jumpscare 😟, NI-KI SO CUTE

# JUNGWON

# stuck by glue — by @yyunari, WINX CLUB AU!, me when y/nwon 💖💖

# mint chocolate shirt — by @wonieleles, i love me some one-sided rivalry, won just stop being mean and kiss her already 🙄

# idol crush! — by @enhas-bestie, I WANT TO PUNCH THE ANTIS SO BAD

# whats after like?! — by @haew0nz, i forgot about what happened 😭, will reread but ik it’s good!!

# cat hotline ♡ — by @faelyncore, CATS AND LOVE=FAV

# wr⩇ng r⩇⩇m! — by @soov, SO CUTE SHSJSJSJSJ

# our beloved leaders — by @tzyuki, yes i just binged the whole smau today, f that zira anti fr, Y/NWON 😔😔🩷🩷

# JUNGWON & RIKI

# pick me! — by @urszn, YUUURRRRR

# SUNOO

(i only read one 😭 please recommend me some)

# ykwim? — by @astrae4, still only has a few chapters but i love it already 💖💖

# SUNGHOON

(i only read one 😭 please recommend me some)

# vlive confession — by @starjaeyun, ITS JUST SO AHH, waiting for more chapters 💖💖

# JAKE

# paper rings — by @117luv, the kids are adorable ❤️❤️, when he changed his user 💀

# dad diaries — by @117luv, spinoff of paper rings, cute ☹️❤️❤️

# hey prez!! ✰ — by @yeeunjia, on hiatus but really good ❤️

# rink of love — by @pagesofmiracles, so cute 😭😭🩷🩷

# JAY

unfortunately didn’t read a jay one yet 🫠 will read after i’m done with this

# HEESEUNG

# dear, heeseung — by @jungwnies, will reread ❤️, it’s cute too

# twitter sucks! — by @filmbyjy, the comedy here LMAO, riki in this is literally me

# curious cat — by @heerocks, AHHHH 💖

# JUST ADDED

# don’t date my brother — by @mosinterlude, LOVED HOW YOU ADDED KONON AND THE ANGST 🤌🤌, also love the fact that it has some idol’s sisters (and brother) <33

# soulmate tracker — by @son4taa, i remember reading this a while back but forgot about it im sorry 😭😭, ITS VERY GOOD THOUGH

# rink of love — by @pagesofmiracles, so cute 😭😭🩷🩷

# our beloved leaders — by @tzyuki, yes i just binged the whole smau today, f that zira anti fr, Y/NWON 😔😔🩷🩷

# 💌 c u p i d 💘 — by @roseyrays (aka me!), yes this is self promoting 🤌🤌

# ( 尤も ) natural — by @ifearjwn, NOT THE PADDLE BOARD, y/n simps 🫵😁, love u riki, can’t wait for more chapters!

# oh, ni-ki you’re so fine! — by @aernx ,made by mutual! ,sooha jumpscare 😟, NI-KI SO CUTE

[shadowsndaisies]

codename: nightingale - performance

Reference: Young Justice Season 1 Episode 24

WC: 9.1k

synopsis: the team tests their acrobatic abilities and robin takes a trip down memory lane. aka the one where ng is a supportive girlfriend. ft. couply vibes from our favorite non-couple. 

main masterlist

codename: nightingale series masterlist

a/n: I know I'm consistently inconsistent, but. it means a lot to hear from each of you and to see your comments and responses to what I write. it's hard to believe that there are only two updates left in the season, but it's been a long time coming. I do plan to continue with this series, but the breaks will probably be similar to the ones many of you have already been experiencing. thank you again for all your dedication!

BRUGES December 22nd, 20:08 CET

You weren’t really sure how to feel as you stood before the crowd. Standing on the ground beside Conner, you were dressed in a white and red leotard, identical to the ones the rest of your team was wearing. Each of you was wearing a similar mask that covered the top half of your face, and while you pulled your daggers out, your eyes connected with Conner’s, he seemed to recognize the slight unease in your expression. Before he could comment on it, the Ring Master was walking into the spotlight, and the crowd seemed to get louder as he started the night. 

“Damen und Herren, Mesdames et Messieurs, Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the Haly International Traveling Circus! Where the world in the center ring is your oyster, and these are our latest pearls! The Daring Dangers!” he announced, and you straightened out, blades twirling in your hands.

“Dan Danger!” The spotlight focused on Dick as he swung from a trapeze high above everyone’s heads. Your breath caught in your throat as you watched; part of you absolutely amazed at how he moved in the air, and part of you trembling with fear as your brain flashed to the memory he had shown you at the start of November.

You held your breath as he launched from his trapeze and somersaulted in the air opposite M’gann, “Dawn Danger!” Haly announced, and the light focused on her for a second. 

“Diane Danger!” The light moved to Artemis as she notched three arrows and then to Roy as he did the same, “Dane Danger!”

You nodded at Conner as you took your starting position, knowing your alias was coming soon. “Dean Danger!” Haly called, and a light shone on Conner, who was juggling barrels. You watched the moves, and as soon as he tossed two barrels, you ran and pushed off his crouched back. Vaguely you registered Haly’s “and Dana Danger!” announcement as the light shone on you.

You sent two blades flying clear across the ring, through a few hoops where they hit their bullseyes, triggering confetti cannons that shot up in time with Artemis and Roy’s release of sparkler arrows and Dick and M’gann’s well-timed tumbles through the hollow barrels that Conner had tossed. You barely blinked as you tucked down into a roll and came back down, using the momentum to spring up into a handspring with the agility of a trained acrobat. 

“You'll never see another trapeze act like this, folks! And all of it, without a net!” you had straightened out and returned to the podium beside Conner, new blades in hand, just in time to hear Haly’s statement. You winced at the thought before your eyes caught on the pained sound that Dick made. 

“Robin!” M’gann’s shout had your gaze shooting up immediately. And your heart leaped up as you watched Robin fall, the imaging too real for a memory, paired with shrieks from the crowd. 

“Don’t blow our cover!” Robin instructed as he fell, and your eye twitched.

“Dean,” you hissed, at Conner, eyes dipping to the barrel in his hand, and he nodded, understanding your meaning. 

“But saving your life's okay?” Conner asked, sarcasm dripping from every word as he launched the barrel up in the air with enough force to meet Dick in the air and then push him back up to where M’gann was coming back around for another pass from the trapeze. 

“What did I just say?” Robin chastised as M’gann caught him.

“The crowd couldn't see me using telekinesis from below,” she countered, dropping him back at the platform of the trapeze frame. “Besides, I've been using it all night. I'm not exactly the acrobat you are,” M’gann adds as she lands beside him, the two of them wearing show smiles and waving out to the crowd.

“Yeah, neither am I right now. I think I've caught that 24 hour bug that's been going around the circus,” Dick admits, and you make a clicking noise in contempt that only Conner could hear. 

“But the show must go on,” you note with an obviously upset tone.

“Yes,” is all Dick answered. 

Your eye twitches once more as you start hitting targets that Conner was lobbying up in the air, most containing some confetti or glitter that would explode mid-air. You have a brief flash-back of the mission briefing, the one you hadn’t technically been invited to but had stumbled onto, to the great annoyance of Dick.

[FLASHBACK- MOUNT JUSTICE]

“Advanced weapons tech have been stolen at manufacturing plants throughout Europe. And each theft coincides with tour stops made by the Haly Circus. Batman is sending us undercover to catch the thieves,” Robin had led the briefing, and no one else had commented on it. 

But you had sent him a look that made it apparent that you didn’t believe that Batman had authorized anything, but you also trusted Robin too much to make that a public fact.

“This clown car have room for one more?” Roy asked with a faux cheerful expression. 

Your brows dipped as you looked at him. You weren’t completely sure where you stood at the moment. Everything he did to antagonize Artemis earlier this month still didn’t sit well with you. But this was Roy, who was practically your brother; after all the years he’s supported you and everything you’d been through together, there was no simple answer. 

“Uh..” Dick shot a look at you, noting your stormy expression, “We've got this covered,” he offers hesitantly. 

Your forehead creases as Roy leans closer to Robin, talking in a hushed tone you can’t hear. Whatever he says has the slightest effect in twitching Robin’s lips down. Not enough to be noticeable unless you’d been paying rapt attention to the interaction. 

Haly’s announcement pulls you from the memory, and you realize you’d subconsciously been doing your routine and were now standing on one foot in Conner’s hand, hitting a final confetti target before being tossed up in the air for a summersault and then caught by Conner once more. “Put your hands together for The Daring Dangers!”

“Didn't think you’d make it through!” M’gann adds as you all regrouped together on the center podium, waving out to the crowd with show smiles.

“Neither did I. Help me backstage,” Dick admits, your eyes flashing something dangerous as you and M’gann loop an arm around Dick on either side.

Subtly you support his weight, Conner, Roy, and Artemis flanked you as the team made their way backstage. Your eyes caught on Ray, the stage hand, as he talked with the next act as you passed by.

“Ray, have you seen my other torch?”

“Here, you dropped it outside the train.”

“Thanks, you're a lifesaver!”

“Break a leg!”

Haly’s introduction timed up perfectly, “Bear witness, ladies, and gentlemen, to the Dragon's Breath!'' and a second later, the Ring Master himself is walking back to the backstage area.

The twins immediately swarmed, “Haly, what's the deal? Giving the top slot to those Danger kids?”

The other pipes in, “That's our slot!”

“Was your slot until you missed that performance in Paris,” Haly scoffs, looking at the twins and then glancing at us.

“Carlo was sick! He's better now,” one twin argues

“Plus, those Dangers are a sham! They say they're brothers and sisters. They don't even look alike!” Carlo butts in, and you can’t help the quirk to your lip because he’s not wrong. A few of you could probably pass for siblings if the masks stayed on, but not all of us.

Haly simply waved a hand at them, “Ah, you just don't like the competition!” he huffed, shooing the twins away. When he turned around again, he noticed the man in the suit standing just a few feet away. “Ah, for crying out loud, not you again! We're in the middle of a show!”

The man in the suit offered an unimpressed expression, "Then we'll talk after. But we will talk. Another city last week, another tech firm robbed. Another stop on your tour. If I prove you're responsible, I will shut you down.”

Haly frowned at the man, “I've got three minutes to gather props and get back to the center ring," and promptly turned to grab what he needed. 

The suit noticed us when Haly walked off and approached, “Faraday, Interpol." He introduced himself, and you made eye contact with Robin. He hadn't mentioned Interpol during the briefing. "New act?” The agent asked. 

“Yeah, just joined the tour," you affirmed, plastering on the same camera smile you used at all the events Oliver would drag you to. 

“Probably clears you. But don't get too comfortable. Haly's going down for this," Faraday warns before stalking off. 

You were crouched on a roof with Robin and Miss M as you all observed the prospective target when Superboy spoke up, “If Interpol's already on this, why are we bothering?”

“Because Batman said so," Dick deflected, “Why? You had something better to do?”

You turned back to look at Dick and quirked your brow, you were well aware of the significance this circus held for him, but no one else on this mission was. To them, his attitude was most likely abrasive.

“How do we know the thieves will hit here?” Artemis asked from her perch with Roy; you let your eyes drift toward them and were happy to see they were both still in one piece. 

“There are more obvious targets,” Roy supplied, begrudgingly seeming in agreement with Artemis.

“And Faraday will have them covered!” Robin shot back defensively. “But I analyzed the tech already stolen, and the patterns suggest this is the place.”

M’gann interrupted with a soft voice, “How are you feeling?”

Her question had you turning back to Robin, features softening. You could see the strain he was putting himself through. 

“Lousy, actually, but I'll manage,” he offers, and a frown pulls at your lips.

You were ready to butt in and tell him maybe he should stay back, but before you could, Conner cut in, “Contact! North-East quadrant.” You all watched as a hooded figure approached the gate and managed to flip their way over it. Their acrobatic skill was apparent. “Looks like we know why Carlo missed their performance,” Conner offered.

“Could be Carlo, could be his brother,” Robin reminded everyone. “Keep an open mind, and move in!”

You repelled down, Robin doing the same by your side, though you noticed as he landed a bit harsher than normal, before turning and trying to find your mystery acrobat again. 

“Did you see where he went?” Robin asked as we regrouped, and everyone focused on finding any sign of your culprit.

Conner landed beside you, and a minute passed before he answered, “The warehouse.”

You all managed to slip into the warehouse undetected and took up positions surrounding the hooded figure from the railing above.

Robin laughed, drawing his attention, and that’s when you realized under the hood that he was also wearing a mask. “Caught red-handed! Red faced too, I'll bet.”

Artemis glared at him, “Acrobatics won't get you out of this.”

You saw the baton before he had it all the way up, and your eyes went wide, “Look out!”

No one else had a chance to say anything before your offender utilized a mock of devil's breath (fire) as a distraction. You all split up to avoid being burned, tumbling away from the heat. 

“Somebody do something!” You huff, pushing yourself up and looking down at your arm, you can feel a burn there, and you bit down on your cheek to keep from letting out a pained cry.

“Those crates are full of live ammo! Move!” Roy shouted, and your eyes went wide. Roy jumped down toward you and helped you up, pulling you to your feet before tugging you after him.

You all found a somewhat secure spot and pulled down the metal supports around you, blocking you from most of the blast as the explosion shook the building and shattered the glass windows. 

You waited an additional minute for aftershocks before Superboy kicked down the metal around you, “That guy is dead meat!”

“Superboy, no!” Robin shouted, stopping Conner before he could follow after our mystery firebug.

“You need to get her out,” you tell him as you gesture back to M’gann, wincing when your suit pulls against your burn.

“He's getting away!” Conner argued, and you couldn’t hide your surprise. 

You could feel the rage pouring off of him. You hadn’t felt something this intense from Conner in a while. It was potent but awkward. You were all upset, angry, and annoyed, but no one to his extent, even with them being as close as they were.

You frowned at him, “And that matters more than Miss M? The fire's killing her!” You remind him, and suddenly the rage evaporated; his fluctuating emotions became increasingly more baffling with each mission.

“Right right!” He corrects, taking M’gann into his arms and running out from the smoke.

With the pressing concern of M’gann’s health resolved, Robin turns to the rest of you. “Artemis, NG, Arrow! Find the thief!” he shouts, but you all see as he collapses.

“Fuck,” you mutter, rushing up to him.

“Because he matters more than you?” Artemis asks, repeating your words from seconds earlier.

“You're still off your gigs, pal. We're getting you out too,” Roy determined as he and Artemis each looped an arm around him. “Birdy, you alright?”

“Fine! I’m right behind you!” You affirm, wincing once again as you grab your grapple, every movement of your arm paining you.

By the time you returned to the train, your arm was throbbing. You had applied burn paste on the bioship in the small bathroom while everyone else decompressed and bandaged it up, deciding to deal with it fully once back on the train, hoping to avoid any questions about it. Everyone seemed to be in a mood when you touched down and relegated themselves to quietly fuming while preparing for bed. Between the six of you, there were two compartments, one for the three boys, the other for the three girls. M’gann got ready for bed first, and Artemis approached you while she was in the shower. You were seated on the floor beside your bed. Despite having changed to get in unnoticed by anyone who happened to be wandering about, you still smelt like smoke and had no desire to get that on your bed. Artemis gently sat down beside you, hands hesitating before gently grabbing at your arm. You let out a hiss at the contact despite how light her touch had been. 

“I saw it, before we carried Rob out, but it was hard to see, and there was fire everywhere, so I thought maybe it wasn’t as bad as I had thought, until you walked out of the change room with a bandage on…” she trailed. 

“It’s fine,” you tried to shrug off. 

“I know I messed up last time, but I thought about what you said. I want to be on this team, NG, I want-“ she cuts herself off, dropping your gaze. “I want them to be able to put their trust in me,” she says firmly. 

You stare at her for a second, knowing she’s trying to be exceptionally open with you right now. Allowing you to read every emotion she’s got while holding your arm and meeting your masked eyes. Tiredly you pull the mask from your eyes, and hers widen. 

“I’m not giving you my ID, not yet. I-” you take a deep breath cutting yourself off. “it’s a lot for me. But I could use some help with this burn, if you’re offering,” you respond. 

“Yeah, let me grab the med kit,” she nods, stretching out to grab a box from under her bed. 

When M’gann came out of her shower, Artemis had cleaned your burn and debrided what she could. You had taken a mild painkiller and used a localized anesthetic on the area to keep the pain at bay. M’gann’s eyebrows raised at your unmasked face but simply offered you a warm smile once you replicated though much more muted.

“That looks pretty rough, I didn’t realize you got burned,” M’gann notes, her tone full of concern. 

“It’s alright. You were looking pretty rough yourself,” you muse tiredly. 

“You feel any better?” Artemis asks, looking back at the Martian.

“Lots, but I’m still pretty drained,” she admits, walking over to sit beside the two of you on the floor. “Why don’t you wash up, Artemis? I can take over,” she offers. 

“You sure?” Artemis asks hesitantly. 

“Go,” you affirm. “It’s not like I can shower until this is properly bandaged up anyways,” you shrug,

“Alright,” she nods, standing up and grabbing her stuff before disappearing behind the doors and down the walkway to the shower.

“Big step,” M’gann notes as she picks up where Artemis left off, though her eyes glance up to make uninhibited eye contact with you. 

“Maybe I’m just high on the pain killers,” you lament. 

M’gann giggles, “No, but whatever the reason, I’m glad. I know you know I caught glimpses back in Biyaliya, but I’ve done my best to respect your privacy and the things I learned during that mission,” M’gann admits. 

“Yeah, we’ve all come a long way since Biyaliya, haven’t we?” you muse. 

“Very,” she affirms. “How goes the empath development? My uncle mentioned he and Canary have been corresponding regarding your training,” she inquires. 

“Did he tell you he thinks I may be able to manifest as a telepath? If my empathic abilities continue to develop the way they have been, I mean,” you tell her lazily, the pain killer defiantly helping in your unusual calmness.

“No, he hadn’t,” she admits. “How do you feel about that?”

“Honestly? I’m not sure yet, I just started understanding my empathic abilities, grasping how to read others, how to interpret the feelings, and it’s still so easy to get overwhelmed, when everyone else’s feeling are just too loud, and I can’t manage it all flooding at me… but Canary said I’ve always been an empathetic person, that I find it in myself to forgive and understand quicker than most, we just never realized it had to do with my latent abilities more than my experiences.”

“It’s both,” M’gann assured you. “You might be an empath, NG, but that just means you can read other people’s emotions, empathizing with them has more to do with your character than it does with your powers. It’s both, not one or the other, you’re more than your powers, don’t let their inherently emotional core make you think any different,” she says seriously, picking up the tub of burn cream. 

“Thanks,” you manage to croak out, staring at M’gann. You hadn’t realized just how much of a toll the overpowering nature of your powers had been taking lately.

“Anytime, Birdy,” she smiles warmly once more before wrapping your arm up. She added an additional layer of waterproof bandaging to help protect your arm while you showered. “We can check it in the morning, but the bandage should you last you through the day, and we can clean it again tomorrow night,” she adds as she finishes.

Artemis returned a moment later and smiled at your now cleaned and bandaged arm, “You’re up, Birdy,” she mused, tossing her towel over one of the hooks in the compartment. 

You smiled at the two girls, grabbing your towel and shower things before exiting the compartment yourself. 

BRUGES December 23rd, 08:13 CET

When you got up the next morning, M’gann and Artemis unwound your bandage, inspected it, and added more of the burn cream before rewrapping it. The three of you exited the compartment and met with the boys for breakfast. You had just finished when you spotted the return of Interpol Agent Faraday. 

“Another weapons plant is hit, and once again, the circus is in town. I don't believe in coincidences,” Faraday warned.

“I don't care what you believe! My people are not responsible! I did a bed check last night. Every single member of my troupe was asleep in their bunks!” Haly defended, and your brow quirked as you looked over to your team. Everyone was dressed in their performance outfits, but given that your arms were usually on display with the leotard, you had opted to slide a compression long sleeve on underneath, perfectly reasonable given the snowy weather outside, the sleeves covering your bandaged arm perfectly. 

“Well, we sure weren’t,” M’gann notes in response to Haly’s defense.

“And if he's lying about us…” Artemis trailed off as everyone settled with the idea. Your gaze flickered to Dick, caught as his eyes narrowed on Haly and then dropped to the floor. 

“Let’s go, I think it’s time to debrief,” you decide, urging your teammates to move and catching Dick’s gaze once more before you all moved back into the boys’ compartment on the train, closing the door behind you. 

Everyone took up varying spots in the compartment, Artemis and Dick seated on one side, M’gann and you seated on the other, while Roy and Conner stood on each end. 

“S, two thieves, right? The fire breather and one of the acrobats,” Artemis offered, starting the debrief. 

“Dressed in identical clothes,” M’gann offered. 

“Maybe not just two,” Dick decided, pulling something up on his holo-screen. “Here's the Madrid security footage.” you all watched silently as a hooded figure bent the bars. “And now, Paris,” confusion spread as you watched another figure walk on some cables, just like a tightrope. 

“So the strong man and the clown too,” Roy supplied. “If the entire circus is involved, Haly himself may be the mastermind,” he voiced, and you cringed internally, fighting to keep your face straight, knowing exactly where this was headed next. 

“You don't know that!” Dick argued, standing up to get in Roy’s space.

“It would explain his lies,” M’gann offered, though her tone was soft, as she tried to de-escalate the tension between Dick and Roy.

“I told you to keep an open mind!” Dick huffed before storming out. Your lips pursed, you wanted to run after him, but you also wanted to ensure that everyone was at least somewhat on the same page. 

“Hello, Megan! I'll read Haly's mind!” M’gann offered, but before anyone else could comment on it, Roy took a step forward with crossed arms.

“I’m not sure we can trust you to do that without tipping him off,” Roy decided, and your eye twitched; you were getting really sick of questioning everyone’s trust.

“Or maybe you don't trust her, period!” Conner roared, stepping forward, voicing your thoughts. “I heard you talking to Robin back at the Cave. I know you're only here to spy on the three of us!”

“There's a mole on this Team,” Roy said so seriously you could see his sureness, but it did little to change your opinion. “And there’s good reasons to suspect all three of you. Both Artemis and Miss Martian have already been caught in lies,” both of their heads dipped a bit, “And you could be programmed by Cadmus without even knowing.”

“Or maybe I take your head off without even trying!” you’re once again struck by Conner’s aggressiveness. You’d thought he’d sorted through most of it with Canary. He’d been doing better, but suddenly it seemed like it was all coming back, and you couldn’t place why.

“Okay, let's all take a time out,” M’gann decided, placing a gentle hand on Conner’s shoulder and tugging him back a bit. “Before we do something we'll regret.”

“Speak for yourself,” he grumbled, allowing her to lead him out of the compartment to cool off. 

Artemis waited until the compartment door shut again, “None of us are perfect. But each of us would give our lives for this Team. So try and keep an open mind,” Artemis reminds him, and it’s reassuring to hear your words echoed by another, but also to see the calm, collectedness she managed to keep about her this time. You were proud of her and offered her a smile of your own as she left too. 

“She’s not wrong, and it’s exactly what I’ve been saying for months, Roy,” you huff. 

“Just because you’ve gone all kumbaya on me-“

“Don’t,” you snap. “Just don’t. I don’t know why my empath abilities seem to be such a focus for you lately, but it doesn’t make me any different than I have ever been. And this.. This being on edge, being angry, whatever it is, you need to knock it off because I can only take so much.” 

“Birdy…” He says it softly, and you frown. 

“I’m gonna go find Rob,” you decide, pulling a jacket from Robin's bag. “Figure your shit out, Roy.”

You make a quick stop to grab one for yourself before running out after Dick. You find him while he’s stopped in front of an old poster on a tent. When you get closer, you know why. You stare at it a second longer, The Flying Graysons, and you take a deep breath before walking up next to him. 

He’s quiet as you saddle up beside him, and your fingers fidget for a second, trying to think of what to say. “They don’t know, and so they don’t understand, they can’t understand why this is so important to you, or why you’re being evasive and defensive… But I do. I know, I understand, and I’m with you all the way. If you truly think that Haly’s not involved, then he’s not, but I’m begging you Dick, please don’t block me out,” you say softly, voice barely louder than a whisper, as you drape his jacket over his shoulders and tentatively grab his hand. 

He doesn’t answer, but his fingers tighten around yours, and you release the breath you’d been holding. Only a few moments later, his com rings, a quick glance lets you know it’s Wally, and Dick answers, linking you in while you both stand out in the snow.

“Uh yeah?” he answers lamely, gaining an eye roll from you, though you can hear how bothered he still is in his voice.

“Dude, where are you?” Wally asks; there’s a slight note of concern in his tone.

“Confidential mission,” Dick covers, shooting you a pleading look, “from Batman,” he adds, and your eyebrows raise.

“Wow!” Wally exclaims. “You know what I'm doing? Making a baloney sandwich, kinda like you just did,” he laments, and you can’t help but snort. “Hey there, Pretty Bird, I was hoping you’d be around,” Wally greets, and you smile playfully at your best friend’s tone.

“Hey, Wall,” you muse with a light smile as you and Dick turn to start walking, your fingers still laced together with his. 

“Anyways, I talked to Tornado. You guys are NOT on a mission. Not an official one, anyway,” Wally continues, and you make eye contact with Dick. 

“A friend, Jack Haly,” Dick sighs.

“The circus guy? From your old Flying Graysons days?” Wally asks, tone suddenly soft.

“Yeah. He's implicated in this global crime spree. Someone in the show's dirty, but I need to prove old Jack's clean or he might lose the circus,” Dick admits, and you squeeze his hand.

“Then why not bring me along?” Wally asks. “I know your back story, I know what that circus means to you. It's where you grew up, it's where you lost your-“ 

“I left you behind because you know my back story,” Dick says quickly, effectively cutting Wally off, and he squeezes your fingers back again. “I didn't want my best pal questioning my objectivity.”

“Dude, that's what a best pal's for. Plus, Birdy got to go!” Wally shoots back, though you know Dick understands the immense support and emotion behind Wally’s words. 

Dick’s lip twitches up slightly as he looks at you, “Birdy didn’t give me an option,” he huffs. 

You smile back at him, “I really didn’t,” you affirm into the coms, and it’s true. Dick had tried to convince you that you weren’t needed on this mission, but you didn’t relent until he gave in.

BRUGES December 23rd, 22:34 CET

“And that's our show! Farewell, good people of Bruges!” Haly announced, gaining massive applause in response before exiting the ring and joining everyone else in the backstage tent. “Pack it u! The train leaves for Geneva in two hours!” he reminds everyone as we all load our gear. 

It’s nearing that two hour mark when everyone’s out by the train. You’d been helping Conner with the boxes that housed all our gear, both for the show and for our suits, when you heard Ray come up to M’gann. 

“Need a hand?” he asks, and you watch him reach out to grab the box in M’gann’s grip, tensing slightly because you know the box she’s got right now has Artemis’ suit inside. 

“I-I'm good, thanks,” she deflects gently, plastering on a small smile.

“Maybe one of the others could use some help?” you offer instead, with a fake smile of your own. “A lot of them seem to have that flu,” you note, seemingly offhandedly.

Ray nods, “Yeah, it's going around,” he affirms before offering one last smile and walking to the aforementioned performers sitting, trying to catch their breath. 

All aboard, everyone, now!” Haly’s shout comes minutes later, and you frown as you make eye contact with Roy. 

“Someone's in a hurry,” Roy notes, tone laced with suspicion, and you can’t help but search for Dick in response.

The train had been going, and you were on your way to Geneva. You were all in your compartment looking at M’gann, who wasn’t feeling well.

“You look better,” Artemis notes as she looks at Dick, “you too,” as she nods down to your arm, which still hurts, but not as bad. 

“It’s getting there,” you nod.

“I feel better,” he nods, “I'm sorry, M-Dawn,” he frowns, turning to M’gann where she was lying in her cot. “I hope you didn't catch it from me.”

“I feel so silly. Who knew a Martian could be vulnerable to a human virus?” she hums, clearly tired.

“H. G. Wells?” you offer with a slight smirk, eyes twinkling when you catch Dick’s lip twitching up.

“Look, when did you first feel sick?” He asks, cutting you off before you can try for another joke.

“Just after boarding the train,” she admits, and you can remember how she had been loading up gear before, seeming fine, “it came on suddenly.”

Dick frowns, “Same with me, the other night. I remember Ray rubbed my head for good luck right before we went on,” he explains.

“Ray? That roustabout?” Conner interrupts, “He touched her before we boarded. That guy must be a walking Petri dish,” he scoffs, shaking his head.

You’re struck with a thought, the seed of one which you didn’t like. As if sensing your sudden idea, Dick’s blue eyes focus on you. You freeze for a moment. You’re used to the whiteouts of his domino, so being able to see his eyes like this makes you pause just for a moment because you realize this is the look he must always give you on missions, the one where you both just seem to know the answers together, without ever saying a word.

“Yeah, yeah, maybe,” he mutters, nodding to the door. 

You quickly turn, and he follows you out of the train compartment. You look left as he looks right, and then he’s pulling your wrist, heading to the right, and you follow after him at the sight of a white button-up.

“Dana, Dan! You look refreshed!” Haly cheers, staring at you and then at Dick.

Dick’s still holding your wrist, and you can feel the tension coming from him. The nostalgia and longing that he automatically associates with Jack Haly and his past, and you have to bite back the innate need to comfort him because you would’ve hated it if someone tried to pity you, so instead, you shift your hand subtly from where it’s hidden behind his body and in front of yours, so that you can hold his hand, lacing your fingers together and offering a small squeeze.

“Thanks. Uh… Jack, how long has Ray worked for you?” he asks, squeezing your hand back once more.

“A bit about the start of the European tour,” Haly says after a moment of silence. “Poor lad's down with the same flu as the rest of them,” he adds, and you feel the team's presence appear behind you.

“We'll check on him, it’s the least we can do,” Artemis offers with a false tone of empathy.

“If you insist,” Haly smiles, and the team starts making their way toward the back of the train. 

You smile at Haly as he continues on with what he was doing before, while M’gann forces herself up to join you.

“You should stay in bed,” Dick tells her. 

She offers a coy smile, “As a friend of mine once said, I'll manage,” she teases, and you nod at both of them before following after the other three.

You manage to make it all the way to the back of the train, and when you get there, you’re honestly not that surprised to find the compartment empty. 

“I guess he wasn't that sick,” you drawl, sarcasm laced into your voice.

“Does this circus have an elephant I don't know about?” Roy asks with a furrowed brow.

“Not on foreign tours,” Dick answers, the words tumbling out quicker than he probably should’ve let them. 

Roy spares you another glance before opening the box, “empty,” he notes, and you lean over his shoulder to take a look.

He’s about to shut the box when you notice something off, “no, wait!” and he freezes as your hand reaches out and brushes up against the side of the box. “Ash,” you note, throat a bit dry as it begins to fit into place.

“From the warehouse fire in Bruges,” Dick notes, and he seems to come to a similar conclusion.

“Uh… guys?” Artemis calls, “I found Ray,” she says, holding up a face mask of who you all had assumed to be the Circus’ roustabout.

“Split up!” you decide, voice urgent. “Search the whole train!” you add, and everyone files out, heading to different carts. 

You and Dick split off toward the front compartments, and he’s a few feet ahead of you before he stops and looks back at you with wide eyes. The space is silent except for the sounds of the train moving and that’s when you hear it, the muffled shouts coming from one of the compartments. 

“Top?” you offer, trying to trace the sound. 

“No. Haly’s office,” Dick answers with a grimace before kicking the door open. 

Your lips part when you spot Haly, stripped down to his undershirt and pants tied up on the floor in his office. 

“Shit,” you mumble. 

“Who did this to you?” Dick asks, tone urgent as he pulls Haly’s gag down. Though you bite back a sarcastic, who do you think dickie?

“Ray,” Haly gasps, “Ray, the roustabout! Right after the train left Bruges!” he tells you, and Dick freezes to look back at you. You offer him a roll of your eyes and your best duh expression. “Hey, I'm not Houdini here!” Haly shouts, gaining Dick’s attention once more, and you grab one of your ring daggers, tossing it, hilt first, to Dick to cut through the ropes.

“Tell Dawn!” He shouts to you, and you step out into the hallway, clearing Haly’s sight before taking off. 

“Dawn, come in!” you call out over the comms. 

“Uh… Dana?” she answers.

“Dan tried to reach you, the other way,” you hint.

“I think the flu's knocked out my other way,” she admits and you stop running just in time for Dick to catch up to you.

“That clinches it,” he decides, and you nod. 

Clicking your comm again, you call, “Dane, Dean, Diane, come in!” you call and hear the beep from Dick’s comm as it’s linked to the call. “We're chasing someone who's stolen Dawn’s act. Her whole shtick, if you catch my drift,” you hint.

“I got him! But he's on to me,” Conner calls through, “Exiting the dining car now,” he adds, and you both take off towards the cart. “He's gone top side!” Conner corrects, and you skid to a stop, tossing a door open and climbing up to the top of the train, Dick right behind you.

“That won't work on me, clown!” Conner shouts.

“That's no clown,” you argue, theory confirmed.

“He's the Parasite! The guy who once stole Superman's powers,” Dick supplies, as you both stop across from Conner.

“As if you, kids, are who you claim to be!” Parasite argues, “please,” he scoffs, willing his disguise to melt away, leaving us staring at the alien. 

“Stay out of his reach!” you order, “there's no flu going around, the weakness comes when he makes physical contact and feeds on the powers and abilities of others,” you explain, pulling out a few more daggers. 

“I happen to be a bit of a glutton today. Chowed down on the skills of nearly every loser in this troupe. But, oh, my! But the pièce de résistance was Dawn Danger,” he drawled, and you saw as the rest of the team started appearing on the train roof as well. “Or whatever her real name is. Thought I'd pouch on her trapeze skills imagine my surprise when she tasted like Martian Manhunter, instead,” he grins. “She made a lovely appetizer. But guess who I want for my entrée,” he teases, and your eyes blow wide.

“SB!” you shout, trying to warn him, but it’s too late.

Using M’ganns telekinesis, Parasite pulls Conner to himself, hand wrapping around his neck while he drains him. “M-hmm, now that's the full body Kryptonian flavor I love!” Parasite taunts.

“Everyone, stay whelmed!” Robin orders, “Subdue, but keep your distance!”

Both Roy and Artemis pull out their bows, but before they can get a shot off, Parasite uses heat vision to burn them to ash in their hands, and your lips part in surprise.

“You know, I almost never say this, but I'm sated,” Parasite decides, dropping Conner's body, which falls at his feet. You catch as Parasite shifts his weight and adjust accordingly, to leap up as he takes off, “Hate to eat and run!” he calls back, but you timed it right, managing to catch onto the box he’s touting with him, but miss it as he hits Rob, nearly knocking him off the train. 

You get a sound footing and climb up the box until you can launch yourself at him. There’s a distant shout of “NG!” but you’re unable to progress any further before Parasite stops you. You managed to get a hold of him in time to find something of interest, but before you could continue, he’s turning to face you.

“Sorry, no hitchhikers,” he huffs, hitting you in the chest with his Kryptonian strength and knocking you back down to the train. 

You land harshly on your back, groaning when your head hits the train’s top before your body bounces off, and suddenly you’re falling. There’s a split second of panic when your hand ghosts your hip, the action trained into you by Dinah and Ollie, but there’s no grapple. There’s no pressure from your belt, no sting of a bow slung over your shoulder. For a moment you’re just falling. You think of Dinah and Ollie and how crushed they’d be, of Roy and how angry he already is, and how much worse it’s bound to get if you were to die in front of him.

Vaguely you hear shouts of “NG!” and “Birdy!” but it’s not until a hand wraps around your wrist that everything comes back to sharp focus, the sound of the train, the cold of the air, and as your eyes snap back open you’re staring straight into blue. Dick’s got a stern look on his face as he grips your wrist tight. straining as he tries to pull you up, but you know it must be taking all of his energy because there’s no leverage for either of you to grip onto. A second passes as you hang there, eyes sweeping out to the mountainside under you, “Birdy,” he grunts. You reach up and tuck a thumb drive into Robin’s wrist.

Your eyes meet his again, his eyes are wide, but you offer a wry smile. Before you can say anything, Roy is sliding down next to Dick, throwing a hand out to help grab onto you, grip bruisingly tight. Artemis and M’gann quickly drop down and help the boys pull you up, tugging until you’re back on the train with everyone else.

“Birdy? Birdy, are you okay?” your eyes had locked with Dick’s for a second, but it was Roy’s frantic tone that was addressing you. 

“‘M fine,” you say, pushing yourself to a sitting position.

“Conner!” M’gann’s shout has you turning your head to look at what’s happening. 

“C’mon, let’s get you up,” Roy’s voice is soft as he offers his hands to help pull you back to your feet, Artemis and Dick standing on either side of you as they maneuver you back toward the other two. 

“You alright?” M’gann’s voice is soft as she checks Conner over.

“Fine, fine!” he huffs, the anger and annoyance evident.

“You're drained!” Dick corrects. “Parasite took more power than you even have!” he argues, “Heat vision?”

“I have the genetic potential for it!” Conner reminds him, “Must've been enough for him.”

Dick lets out an irritated groan pushing forward, and you make hesitant eye contact with the two archers on either side of you. 

“Go! I'll manage,” Conner says, and the rest of you follow after Dick.

“Are you okay?” Roy’s the one to ask after you’ve climbed back down.

“I’m good,” you dismiss. 

“You hit your head pretty hard,” Artemis adds, concern evident. “Plus the arm Rob grabbed you by was the burned one…”

You look down and see specks of blood coming through the bandage and bite back a sigh. You hadn’t even realized that the arm Dick caught you by was your injured one; you probably pulled the skin off the burn, aggravating the injury more. 

“It’ll be okay, I’ll re-wrap it before I change,” you swallow, looking at both archers. 

“And your head?” Roy’s tone conveys his obvious big brothering. It’d be sweet to know it still exists if you weren’t in the middle of an emotionally charged mission. 

“Still smaller and smarter than yours, so I think I’ll manage,” you joke.

He scowls at you and at the slight snort that escapes Artemis, “Not what I meant, and you know it,” he grunts.

“No concusion, but I’ll probably have a nasty bump,” you relent.

“Good, and let’s not tell D and O that you almost died? I don’t think they’d be very happy with me,” he adds.

“My lips are sealed,” you assure him. 

Artemis scoffs again, “mine aren’t,” she smirks viciously at the way Roy pales a bit. 

You chuckle as you pull her into your compartment, so you both can get changed. 

You find yourself seated with the rest of the team shortly after, dressed in your suits, a new wrapping on your arm. Artemis had spare arm braces from her stealth suit, black in color, that she lent to you so you could use them to cover and secure the wrappings, which you did. 

“It's not a complete debacle,” Robin announces as we all settle. “Birdy picked Parasite's pocket, and got this flash drive,” he announced, and you feel some eyes slide to you questioningly.

“Did she?” Roy’s tone has an edge, probably because you didn’t tell him

“Looks like Parasite's working for Intergang. Everything he's stolen, they're all pieces of something!” Dick explains as data starts filtering through the holo-screen. 

“It looks like they’re putting together a weapon that generates…. Black holes?” you read over his shoulder, eyes blowing wide at the revelation.

“Oh, come on! To build that, you need a particle accelerator!” Roy argues.

“Like the Large Boson Collider in Geneva?” Robin offers, tone flattened, as he glances over at Roy.

“The circus's next stop!” Roy realizes. “But now that Parasite can fly, he's got a big head start on us!” he tacks on, gaze zeroing in on M’gann and Conner.

“Sorry,” her mumbled response comes out. 

“Not your fault,” you assure her with a glare at Roy.

“But this thing could wipe out entire cities,” Dick explains. “We need to hurry.”

“You, me, and Birdy need to hurry,” Roy corrects. “Without powers, the others would hold us back.”

Your eye twitches in response, but Artemis quickly counters, “Hey, you're not the only one with a backup bow,” she challenges, holding up a compact crossbow. 

Before anyone else can say anything, there’s a loud thud as Conner slams his fist into the wall of the train compartment, leaving a massive dent, “my powers are back!”

Dick stepped forward, lips tugging down, “how?”

Even M’gann looks a bit shocked, “I'm still-“

“I guess Kryptonians recover faster than humans or Martians,” he shrugs and eyes shift to M’gann, but you note the way Conner rubs at his arm subconsciously, and your eyes narrow.

“Don't even think about leaving me behind,” M’gann laments.

Roy turns to you, “Well, that settles that,” you shrug.

GENEVADecember 24th, 00:37 GET

Rocking up to the particle accelerator, you spot the body and crouch to run a quick diagnostic on the man. 

“Happy Christmas Eve, everyone,” you mumble while ensuring that the man would be okay until the proper authorities and medics could arrive.

“Trail of destruction, this way,” Robin tags on and you nod as you stand back up, all of you running back into the building, nearly silent as you go.

You can hear it when the accelerator starts up, and Rob’s quick to pull up his holo-screen, “We need to take him down, or at least lure him away so we can safely disengage the-“

“SB!” you whisper shout when he shouts out and starts charging at Parasite.

“No, wait!” Robin tags on, but it’s too late. Conner’s charging straight at him, revealing your location as well. 

“Seconds? No, I couldn’t,” Parasite teases, eyes lighting up green.

You cringe as you watch Parasite pull Conner forward with M’gann’s telekinesis and then let out a breath as SB decks him, but another wince quickly follows when Parasite pulls him back and launches him out. 

You suck in a breath as Parasite begins flinging Conner around the lab. Even Roy seems to be getting antsy when he raises his bow, “What's wrong with-“

Before he can finish, M’gann lays a hand on his shoulder, “wait,” she commands. He hesitates but does, “I might have an idea…”

We watch as Parasite pulls Conner to him a third time, grabbing onto him and feeding on his power again, “Ah, what a rush!” he goads. “How do you do it, kid? Even Superman never recharged this fast,” he says, waiting until Conner was drained before tossing his body to the side. Your eyes slide to Conner, trying to ensure he is still breathing while M’gann explains her plan.

Parasite quickly clicks something on the panel before him, “Alright, Dangers, come on out! Only a couple of minutes before this baby's done warming up and eats Geneva.

“What do you think?” she asks, and your eyes dart to the Martian.

“Big risk to take on a theory,” Roy bites, but Dick’s gaze settles on you.

He offers a slight quirk of his lip and a barely noticeable shrug; it could work.

You nod, “Do it. Go!” you order, and everyone splits up.

M’gann steps out, making her entrance obvious to the target as she all but waltzes up to him, “what do you have against Geneva, anyway?” she asks. 

“Never liked the food, but the menu keeps improving,” Parasite chuckles, rubbing his hands together, before summoning M’gann to him. 

“I'm just the appetizer, remember?” she huffs, managing to duck out of the way. “Here's the main course!” she shouts, knocking his feet out from under him. 

Everyone springs into action. Roy shoots off an arrow that covers Parasite in a foam-like substance that traps him where he is as it hardens. 

Parasite is quick to react; using his pilfered Martian telekinesis, he pulls Roy’s bow, and then Roy himself into the air, “Foam? You think foam can hold me? Or stop me from crushing you with a thought?” he demands. “Combined Martian and Kryptonian powers here!” he scoffs, using his strength to start crumbling the material.

“But do any of those powers free you before I sabotage your death thingy?” Robin asks from his spot beside the keyboard.

“This one does,” he groans, finally freeing his arms and aiming his heat vision at Rob, who ducked down in time.

Artemis drops down next, shooting an arrow that emits gas, and you roll a few marble bombs quietly into the gas’s bounds. When Parasite turns his heat vision on Artemis, it sets off the gas, and the explosion sets off your marble bombs, adding to the flames.

Roy drops to the ground with a groan, and you quickly run up to check on him. Dropping down on a knee, you roll him onto his back, and when he groans again, you breathe. Your hand checks his pulse to ensure it’s not too elevated.

“Birdy-“ he groans, trying to sit up.

You push him down, “No. Stay down, Red Arrow,” you hiss, forcing him to catch his breath and slow his heart. 

When Parasite stands up and starts goading, you pop back up and move closer to Artemis. “So clever… trick me into igniting inflammable gas… but you forgot… doofuses double dose of invulnerability… Fire can’t… touch me,” he argues, but you can hear the strain the flames are starting to take, and a small smirk graces your lips. 

“Unless you make a meal of my powers and get my weaknesses as a side dish!” M’gann all but hisses at the villain. 

Realization falls upon Parasite quickly, “No, No!” he shouts before finally succumbing and passing out.

“Aw, poor baby, something you ate?” M’gann teases.

Robin quickly gets back to the keypad, and in seconds he has shut the system down. 

You let out a sigh as you hear the doors bang open. Agent Faraday and his squad of Interpol agents run in with trained precision. “We'll take it from here,” he states as his team puts out the fire. 

“All yours,” you smirk lazily as Robin walks over to Stand beside you.

“Thanks for the tip, by the way,” he adds, smiling at you both. “Definitely helps to prep the inhibitor collar in advance.”

“Glad to be of service!,” Robin nods, and you bump his shoulder promisingly.

While Faraday turns to coordinate with his team, you and Rob turn back to yours. You turn in time to catch Roy taking Artemis’ proffered hand, pulling him back to his feet. 

“Wow… He deigns to touch the hand of a suspected traitor,” Artemis drawls sarcastically, and you can’t help but snort.

“Mind open,” Roy replies, repeating your request from earlier. “I guess I never really saw you three in the thick of it before,” he admits. “Superboy's a hot-head,” he adds on, turning to the boy in question who had just wandered over with M’gann, and you can’t help but let out an even louder snort, one Roys glares at before adding, “but I know I'm not one to talk.” You smirk victoriously and he shakes his head before continuing. “You could each have betrayed us here, you didn’t. I’m sorry I doubted any of you. There is no mole.”

Roy’s admission immediately affects the general comfort level around you. Conner, M’gann, and Artemis all seem a bit lighter, Dick’s shoulders relax the slightest bit, but your eyes are focused on Roy. You want to believe him, want to think that the mission genuinely changed his mind, but you know him, and more than that, you can sense his emotions, and yet you can’t see a change.

GENEVADecember 24, 10:06 GET

The train made it to the Port of Geneva train station, the rest of the team was getting all their bags and gear together for exfil, but you had decided to go with Dick as he said his goodbye.

“So,” Haly drawled, “The show will go on. And I have the feeling I have you, Dangers, to thank,” he decides, staring at Dick, though his eyes flick to you quickly before returning to Dick. 

“Don't know what you mean,” he shrugs.

“No, of course not,” Haly agrees, a kind knowing smile on his face. “But I'm guessing

you'll be leaving now.”

“Time to move on,” Dick tells him, shaking his hand, and you can’t help but smile softly.

“Well, Dick, I'll miss you,” Haly tells him, and you can feel the swell of emotion in the room, and you don’t need to look in his eyes to know that this moment is so much more than Dick could have ever asked for when he decided to come back. 

He’s still quick to disagree. After all, he had covers to protect, “It's Dan! Dan Danger!”

Haly chuckles, placing a hand on Dick’s shoulder, “Son, you've grown, but some things never change. Like the sight of a Grayson on the trapeze. You can't fake that. Can't hide it,” Haly tells him, and you can’t help how your breath catches in your throat. “So, doing old ring master one last favor?” he asks softly. 

Haly’s standing in the center of the ring, spotlights focused, “Ladies and gentlemen, the farewell performance of the Daring Dangers! Introducing Dan Danger!” he announces, and the lights switch to Dick, who waves at the audience. 

You smile as you stand next to Conner in the wings, waiting for each of your queues. Dick looked so graceful as he launched from the trapeze platform, he always seemed at ease when he was in the air, and you were glad to see it again. You knew he needed this, this opportunity, for closure at the Circus in a way he’d never had before. You only hoped it’d finally help relieve some of the guilt you knew he still carried, despite how misplaced it was. 

everything tags: @butterfly-skinnylegend

dc tags: @grey-water-colors @batarella @loninctzencarat @escapenightmare

cnng tags:

@babymango-writes @smile-more19 @bruiscdlikeviolets @truly-dionysus @farfromjustordinary

@sometimeseverythingsucks @dweeb-central @casedoina @cipheress-to-k-pop @currentresidentinhell

@anonomano @seninjakitey @wherethesidewalkens @whelmedparker @meigalaxy

@officiallydarkgeek @midnxghtblue @unini @blackwhiteandshadesofgradient @dontmesswithbeebo

@raggedyoldwitch @tinybeantm @unicorn-mya @bouqet-of-gay @duckmylife18

@kendallambrosio @haniscrying @torchbearerkyle @cynthiarose07 @lolsnacks

@mono--moonchild @emo-space-tea @notsostraightweeb @cryingnotcrying @sassyspanishartist

@we-flower-fan @aces-tattooartist @awkward-youtube-trash @laurcad123

@so0bercore @sanovr @feverish-dove @raginghellfire @mischiefmanaged71 @evermoore580

[ouroborealis-charnivore]

Crowley dying in s3

I wasn't sure how to start this meta. I've had this theory with possible (big possible) evidence sitting around for ages and I just didn't know what to do with the information.

After I'd already had this information, I only seen a hand full of others talk about it, but none have touched on it in the same way as the things I've found in my research.

So let's get on with it. For reference I'm going to tag @nightingalecottage and their lovely post here. I really recommend reading it. This theory only saw the light of day because of their post and I told them I would tag them with my meta since it lends a lot to it. And I promised myself that I would finish this for them.

Now for the meat and potatoes. I'll break it all down about how I found this information and how it might lend some theory about possible plot to s3.

This got really long so I put a cut.

-Silly narrator voice-

The facts were these.

To start I was doing research for a fic I'm working on and the details don't matter much but I'd planned to make my 'human' crowley a barrister. I was googling famous barristers for inspiration.

This lead me to wikipedia naturally as you do. And as I was looking over the list I saw this.

After seeing this name on the list of barristers in popular culture I had a mini freakout. Mainly because two things NG is a huge fan of Charles Dickens and A Tale of Two Cities is on the bookclub reading list. And I kept thinking why did this seem familiar and this is why.

A Tale of Two Cities is on the list of books that they recommend we read or were found in s2. So after I stopped freaking out I immediately went to the wiki page for this character. I wasn't too familiar with this book so I wanted to know more. As I was now super invested and intrigued. And found this.

Sydney Carton

I couldn't help be blown away by the similarities here between Sydney Carton and a certain depressed snake demon from s2. Morosely asking Shax on a bench in the first episode "What's the point of it all?"

For some context, in the novel Sydney Carton and his later best friend Charles Darnay share a striking semblance and are easily mistaken for each other. This is how Sydney is then able to make the switch with Darnay in the end saving his life.

This brings to mind of the lore that we know that Crowley and Aziraphale were once long ago one character and split into two. Also with the ideal casting choice that Terry Pratchett wanted one actor to play both roles. That would have been really interesting and funny. Also this plays into our favorite duo MS and DT having not worked together before because they were up for the same roles.

Let's move on to

Charles Darnay

Darnay resents his uncle's views much how Aziraphale resents certain aspects of heaven, but is never able to act on very much.

The note about Darnay being tutor of French made me chuckle considering what we know about Aziraphale being terrible at French. With that whole scene centered around it in s2.

Ok so we all are well versed and familiar with the famous Bastille scene. We all know the one and its clear the inspiration here for it comes from A Tale of Two Cities possibly.

Side note Darnay and Carton are both in love with Lucie here, but I posit that in the case of Good omens, Aziraphale is possibly both Darnay and Lucie. Making him the best friend and love intrest.

Lucie Manette

And finally why does any of this matter and what does this have to do with Crowley maybe dying in s3 you ask?

The one important detail in all of this is that at the end of the novel Carton heroically sacrificed himself to save his best friend and for the women he loves. He feels it gave him purpose and felt as if his life finally had meaning.

Two things here. The scene in which Carton swaps places with Darnay being able to pass as him well enough to save his life. Is very reminiscent of our Body Swap from s1. As well as the idea that in s3 this could also happen, but in the sense that Crowley does it to save Aziraphale's life. I clearly have no idea how s3 will play out.

Now I'm not saying that s3 will be as dramatic as all of this. It is still a comedy at its core. As others have touched on in meta and in nightingalecottage's post there are many little hints that point to the similarities and the idea that Crowley maybe doomed by the narrative. In a way, I personally don't think that Crowley's hypothetical death will be permanent. I just do not see that happening at all. A temporary death I could definitely see and it could also serve to show how much Crowley truly means to Aziraphale. The shock of it would maybe be similar to how Crowley thought he lost Aziraphale in s1 and could be a parallel.

In the end this is all speculation and theory. Either way the idea of it all makes me vibrate and I needed to finally share this with someone else. They wouldn't have recommended this book if there wasn't some sort of meaning here right? And its entirely possible I'm looking in the wrong direction.

Overall there are many parallels and similarities here between A Tale of Two Cities and certain parts of Good Omens, I'm sure I may have missed some and I just wanted to end this now before it gets too long. If you made it this far and have any other theories or something you want to add on to this please feel free to tag me. I release this into the void.

[princeasimdiya12]

What do you think will be the happy outcome for the teacher at the cat cafe? Doesn't seem like he's okay this episode what with how he's become obsessed with Jasmine-chan, unwilling to let anyone have her.

In all honesty anon, I'm not really sure what the outcome will be anymore. Episode 9 teased us with a happy reconciliation only for Episode 10 to provide some conflict with Jasmine being too busy to see the Teacher. And with the twisted development of the Teacher wanting to keep Jasmine all to himself makes this feel like the outcome won't be a happy one. Worse case scenario is that the Teacher will cut ties with Jasmine.

And while we're on the subject, I might as well analyze what's going on in the crazy world of Nyan Nyaight Love.

Episode 11: The Outstanding Darkness of Night

Part 1: Someone Get the Manager

So the Customer aka the Teacher is back at NNL. But the biggest and most concerning of changes, is his lack of comedic reactions. In all previous segments, the Teacher was always a jittery mess who struggled to go into the place and only went in because a passing character scared him in. But this time, he goes in without a reaction regardless of the Siguma Squad boys passing by. He's not even phased or freaks out when the Receptionist welcomes him in.

Something to note is how the Receptionist has turned back to his usual chipper self when welcoming the Teacher. He does the same song and dance he's done since the first Episode like nothing's changed.

Relating to my previous interpretations, this comes off as a defying the parallel of the delinquents the Receptionist normally represents. He's back to his welcoming self while the bad boys are experiencing their Darkest Hour. If only he was there when the red flags popped out.

The downward spiral, the grim tone of the Teacher, the dark lighting of the establishment sign. All of it fits well with the new dark tone of the Episode as it lacks the usual comedy or light-hearted moments to focus more on the intense drama of Matakara's corruption.

The downward spiral of the sign gives the impression that everything is going out of control and the world is falling over it's head. This could parallel the current status of the three gangs that were featured in the story. All three were introduced as powerful, influential and fully of life and debauchery. But after everything that's happened, the once prosperous gangs have started to lose their power and came crashing down.

The NG Boys are no longer a functioning gang after the Gang War mixed with the Emperor losing his status among them. They're not even shown doing anything to keep their gang alive despite some casual hang outs.

Siguma Squad was gravely shaken by the loss of their leader Marito with several flunkies even worrying if the gang can still function without him.

And Minato Kai is at an absolute loss not only for Kenichirou losing to Matakara but by the fact that one of their own would turn rogue and brutalize everyone. And just like SS, there's no doubt going to be a power struggle over Kenichirou losing to one of his disciples.

All in all, the established order of the gangs is losing control and changing for the worst. While some of the bad boys are willing to endure the change (like Outa promising to keep SS afloat) there are some who aren't taking it very well (everyone else).

Part 2: Don't Lose Your Waaaay!

As for the Teacher's grim and creepy demeanor to Jasmine, it's the most puzzling to figure out and what it's supposed to represent/foreshadow. But in this case, I think he's supposed to parallel both Arajin and Matakara.

In regards to Arajin, it could be him showing concern over Matakara fighting the other banchos in the recent episodes. Though he isn't losing his mind over it, it is something that's worrying him and driving him to intervene to keep Matakara from losing his body to Ichiya. He doesn't even think about Mahoro or how badly he'll get hurt if he tries to intervene.

But the losing his mind could be a possible reference to him accepting the consequences of merging with Senya. While Senya did promise to give his body back to him, there's a high probability of death with Arajin using his full power to save Matakara from a similar fate only for it to happen to him at the battle's end. Something about giving up his body and soul for someone he loves and what not.

And for the Teacher is paralleling Matakara, the creepy and unsettling demeanor could fit with Matakara . While the Teacher was always seen as a sad, strange little man, he was ultimately a harmless guy with a kink for cats. But now he's become an obsessive creep who longs to make Jasmine his and his only. The same fits with Matakara once being a friendly sunshine puppy boy who only fought when provokes only to become a ruthless Punchy McFisticuffs who's driven to be as strong as possible in order to beat his former friend Arajin. Making Arajin "all to himself" fits with Matakara being driven by defeating his old friend once he finishes beating every delinquent in the area. And thanks to Ichiya's influence, he's equated Arajin as the source of his weakness that he must destroy to defeat the darkness.

He can't get him out of his mind/

Part 3: Together Forever Theory

As for you and me forever line, this actually feeds into a personal theory I have on how the story will end. Basically, Arajin and Matakara will become Honki People themselves. I say this for the following reasons:

Both boys shared a childhood dream training to become Honki People together. And with the series having such a tragic undertone, their original wish will be granted with them becoming Honki People being allowed to live for eternity and work on their respective issues. Paralleling Senya and Ichiya who've existed for thousands of years and still pursue each other (albeit for reconciliation and revenge). And while it's a stretch to say how two ordinary boys can become genies, it's worth mentioning that the series itself doesn't go into specifics with how they're made so it's always a possibility.

They have nothing to lose by becoming Honki People. There really isn't anything tying them to Honki City or having them want to continue being average high school boys. Arajin hasn't made any serious friendships with anyone on the show, he finds his mother to be a nuisance, and he has no dreams or aspirations apart from losing his virginity. While he would be saddened by leaving Mahoro, he'd be able to deal with it down the line. (Also remember that line in Episode 8 on how he expects Matakara to take responsibility for driving Mahoro away). As for Matakara, he doesn't have his older brother anymore, his adopted relatives don't really watch over him, he burned his bridges with Minato Kai and also has no long-term dreams past high school life. There isn't anything tethering them to the normal world so they'll eventually leave it to be "together" or have the time to find each other again. Kinda like that one fairy tale show with the gay leads.

If they do ascend to become Honki People, not many people would care about their disappearances or look into it. Siguma Squad viewed them as worthy adversaries and acquaintances at best. But they wouldn't be emotionally distraught if they were to disappear one day. While Zabu and Minato Kai would be saddened by Matakara's disappearance, he and the others would still move on and try to reconstruct MK. Especially since it's brought up that Matakara wouldn't have a place with them afterwards. They'd remember him fondly but would carry that heartbreak within them. And I'm sure Arajin's mom would just roll with her son leaving since he's giving his life for someone he loves/cares about. Plus she can always adopt the other Minato Kai boys as her children. She wouldn't mind the company and they'd definitely appreciate her more compared to Arajin. Another thing to bring up is how none of them know about Senya or Ichiya or what truly became of the boys after their final battle. They'll just think they were once old friends who had a fight and left as a result. Though Akutaro knows about the genie lore, I doubt anyone will care what he says nor will he make an effort to reach out to them or the original Honki People.

I'm reminded of Banana Fish, another BL anime that Hiroko Ustumi directed, and how it ended on a tragic note. No spoilers but many did not call it a happy ending. So it wouldn't be farfetched for Utsumi to create another tragic ending for the two leads that defies the status quo.

As for what will happen to the Teacher himself, the only thing I can think of for the last NNL segment is him deciding to call it quits and leave Jasmine for good. If my Honki People Theory turns out right, then it'll parallel the Teacher saying goodbye to Jasmine and moving on with his life. Though it could be argued that this can reference Arajin and Matakara ending their friendship, it can end on a hopeful note that they'll find a way to reconcile during their eternal lifetimes. I just can't imagine that the Teacher would still be wanting to come despite openly declaring that he doesn't want Jasmine to see any other man. Either he'll recognize it and make himself leave or the Receptionist will call security on him and regrettably ban him for being a threat to NNL's top workers.

And those are my thoughts on this segment and what I think can happen in the final episode. I hope it's to your liking anon. And what did you think of this? If you agree or disagree with anything I've said, please feel free to reblog this with your comments on the subject. Especially when it comes to how you think Arajin and Matakara's fairy tale will end and what will become of that wacky teacher and his love for Jasmine.

“Do you know? Do you know? Do you know how this ends?”

[toadeyes-miqote]

Miqo'te are and Miqo'te do

Would Hrothgals come and fantasia over you? Or wiggle your ears and tail, a Miqo’te stay? When you’re Gridanian, Archer and Adder There are more females, fuzzy memory this be based Same thing with MenMiq, some are post-EW interactions When this become a Jellicle song?

Looking back before Dawntrail hits. Is long with a mix of timeline, post-EW and NG+ pics. If you don’t see them, either I don’t have pics or hadn’t met/unlock them or forgot.

Event Miqo'te and the four/five(?) Miq'ttens are left out of this. Miq'tten would get their own piece for lols.

ARR

Most if not all the Miqo'te women are belong to ARR and are in Gridania and Limsa. Does Ul'Dah see them as being closer to beasts? What about Hrothgar?

A Realm Reborn

Leih Aliapoh was Hylnyan’s mentor and everything was Moon Miqo’te from here. There’s at least two more Miqo’te hanging around the guild. Her Archer quest is linked to Pawah Mujuuk of the Coeurlclaws

Miah Molkot, Took a bit of her lore for Hylnyan since they both from North Shrouds. Skirmishes with the birdmen and all. Do her quest line(Hostages of Fortune), she’s a birding cat like Hylnyan.

Do Delivery Moogle quest, The Past Is a Story We Never Tell is about the Lizeh sisters and Coeurl Claw women and the way they are treated. It triggers a Coeurl King fight (FATE not FATE?). I don’t have the Coeurlclaw women pics. Was still new and the notion of timelines diversion from Meteor (aka follow cinematic jobs) and duty trust addon accidental gaslighting hadn’t hit me yet.

Una Tayuun and here I was thinking we might have a quest to get her memories back. Cat distribution system is active in the Scions company(technically two males and three female excluding Miqo'te WoL ).

Forgotten spring Miqo’te women and their skirmishes with the Amalj’aa and tied into Amalj’aa tribal with Loonh Gar.

I remember J’moldva from the Blacksmith questline (her of the groovy red shades). And then to see her pop up with Arevnvald and V’mah Tia, it be like squee after how J Tribe were name dropping her the whole time Hylnyan was questing around Ala Ghiri. Totally fine with Hellfire Phoenix senpai being DPS trust in Skallac trust run as she has Ala Mhigan ties as well.

If its not obvious enough I adore Commander Rhiki for no reason other than her design. And that she’s a Triple Triad buddy

Heavensward

In another life Hylnyan could had been Renda-Rae. I kinda end up thinking that she could Jehantel’s shard since her early glory days of the hunt mark seeking and losing her team sounded like him.

It will always be funny that Widargelt’s three main disciples and one antagonist are Miqo’te. The cat distribution system favours this man.

Mujih Mewrilah, Botany quest journalist despawned while her Ivalice sister remained in Kugane. The Raven journalists do be wearing uniforms like Events Miqo'te Kipih Jakkya. All Saints' Wake 2024 edition.

Q'yantaa of Tailfeathers questline I did because Hylnyan was suppose to eventually go to Idyllshire with her mate to start a new life pre ARR. And treating Tailfeathers as a rest stop to learn about their surroundings and offer their skills is a thing they would do.

Zhloe and the Custom Delivery crew are all in Metian Gear until further notice

Stormblood

M’naago and the M tribe folks/related FATEs. Something about how Hylnyan’s footprint in the Ala Mhigo regions was rather small and that most Miqo’te tribes and resistance folks are more aware of her military involvement than her WoLness (much notes about Hylnyan’s area of influence being region based later). While common folks sees her as just another hunting Miqo’te.

J'olhmym, J'olhmym, J'olhmym. M'zhet thinks you're the one for him~~~ Of tribal quest. Vaguely recall J tribe in FATEs / side quests and there were various NPCs namedropping J’moldva in the Ala Ghiri region. That one questline in MSQ involving an Garlean mayor/captain(Baut) of Ala Ghiri

Shadowbringers

Qeshi-Rae aka Hylnyan’s “twin”(looks and personality) was already wearing this hairstyle before Claudien. Facet of Gathering was a post EW followup quest series for me.

It felt like there were more male Mystel roles in ShB and I’m very likely forgetting Crystarium staff and Kholusians somehow

I have not unlock Dancer

Endwalker

Very likely forgetting Sharlayan folks in Labyrinthos (sorry Hamlet and Ragnarok crew) for not standing out somehow. Non Miqo’te NPCs seems to ping my radar more this expac

Bonus

Fray when you’re a Miqo’te too.

The nameless young lady in Haurchefant’s office seems to be one of the rare Miqo’te in snowy place. Unless there are more and I can’t find them

What do you mean Alliance Grand Melee Adder isn’t Tyoh Moui?

Only doing Miqo'te since Hylnyan Miqo'te.

[chatlote]

Details / Explanation of my NG+ Au

Notes from the art I just posted a few hours ago!

It's about 700 words long but I hope it's an enjoyable read!

The last time before New Game+ they had an honest conversation was 2/2, aka: Akechi telling Joker to accept that Akechi's life is a small sacrifice to pay for making things back to normal.

So their relationship is really confusing, at least from Akechis perspective. Rivals for most of the year, and then teaming up for the third semester because of a common goal. Even though Joker clearly cares, Akechi probably doesn’t even see that as honest and just something more like pity.

Akechi never sees himself as part of the phantom thieves during the entire 'first' run so now that he is back to the 'start' it's been a very stressful situation, he knows Shido wants to kill him within a year, but he still wants to get revenge, he is more lonely than ever before because he actually had teammates for a bit, and the phantom thieves might show up at any point and he has to face them again but he doesn’t know how to. All this on top of the fact that it's weird to have suddenly been sent back in time.

He is a great actor, his entire life for 2 years has been lies, but this level of pretending is a bit much. And I think a lot about when he just opens up to Futaba and Joker in Leblanc while he is being shunned by society for not agreeing with the PT might have been one of the few times that pretending didn’t come as easy because he was genuinely stressed/having a bad one.

So, has been sent back, and has been spending a few days unsure of what to do, or even if this is real, because he did just supposedly ‘break out of a fake reality’ but maybe that went wrong? Maybe this is once again being controlled by someone else.

And then he stumbles upon Joker in Shibuya, and that moment really breaks him, reality is catching up. He has to relive this year again. Because one of the future phantom thieves, the leader himself, just showed up.

He is not alone in feeling terrified about this whole ‘sent back in time’ thing, obviously, Joker is finding all this overwhelming too, which is why when he sees something akin to recognition in Akechis expression, he immediately has to reach out, grab him and hope, hope that he isn't wrong and he won’t have to go through all this again, alone.

This is happening in the first week of the loop, so there’s just, Joker has been to the metaverse once, Morgana hasn’t joined the team yet. Joker hasn’t told anyone about it because he isn't even sure how to go about it. Or who would believe him, or once again if he believes it himself, Maruki reality really making them question themselves.

Some stuff from after this meeting (might make some comics about this too but I have other shuake plans rn so might be a bit) From this encounter I imagine it goes into an apprehensive team-up, apprehensive from Akechi’s side. Joker will want to spend a lot of time together where they get to finally be honest with each other, and make use of all the time we lost, while Akechi tries to keep the relationship more business-like (and fails at it). They do need to figure out some lies and plans of what to do about the targets pilling up from Shido, which Akechi isn’t quite in the mood to deal with. (Metaverse having some issues Shido trust me on this)

They also use each other as anchors for their sanity a bit. Still a very disorienting situation, and sometimes it's waking up and not being sure if they are alone in remembering and sending the other a 3 a.m. message, other times is just being able to sit at Jazz Jin and having a conversation they have not had before, since at some point hearing a friend and acquientence have the same conversation you have had once before for the first time can get…upsetting? or I suppose uncomfortable.

At some point, they would tell the thieves everything, it’s hard not to. And Akechi joins them very early on through Joker's recommendation and insistence, revealing the black mask bit stuff would come more mid-way through the year.

To not make this post longer I will leave it at this for now!

[pransesdp]

since i recall dani/valerie was mentioned as an otp in that ship meme u filled out, how come its not part of your current ng-verse?

Weeeell, unfortunately as much as I adore Dani/Val & all the potential they'd have together... the ship itself kiiiiinda came a bit late for me by the time I've grown attached to Darryl's concept (the non-powered, studious jock bff to Lilith & co.), that I feel like changing his parents now just wouldn't really work with what I had in-mind tbh .w.; Compared to say, Arthur (formally an OC/Canon fan-kid) who's change of father (aka Fright Knight) didn't alter him too much in the long haul (save for colors/design details)... idk, it was just kind of a mix of nostalgic attachment & other factors that ultimately made me stick with Darryl being a Tucker/Val kid (+Dani vibing the single life atm) .3.

Buuuuut ye, hope that makes sense lol Could def see Dani/Val working out in a "Universe B" scenario, however (along with my other DP side-ships like Kwan/Sam, Desiree/Dorathea, etc.)! Still wanna try to get more of the current NG cast refs (+other art ideas) out first before I tackle that potential AU though (*less my art brain gets jumbled- TwT lmao*).

[doggiedrawings]

Kitty Language book, winning awards, and other news

BUY MY NEW BOOK

Kitty Language: An Illustrated Guide to Understanding Your Cat (published by Ten Speed Press, June 2023) is now available from all your local booksellers and major bookstores. This is gift book full of cat illustrations and a fun introduction to learning cat body language. 

Website: www.kittylanguagebook.com 

Order on Bookshop.org

Order on Amazon

Support some of my favorite independent bookstores by ordering from:

Dogwise (yes, this treasure trove of dog-related books sells my cat book!)

Stuart Ng Books (most amazing collection of illustration & animation books)

Endorsements by Jackson Galaxy and Hannah Shaw aka The Kitten Lady.

Please do me a favor and share your review on Amazon or by tagging @kittylanguagebook or #kittylanguagebook on instagram/social media!

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

DOGGIE LANGUAGE WINS TWO AWARDS

The Dog Writers’ Association of America competition results for 2020-2022 are out!

I am very grateful and humbled that my first book - Doggie Language: A Dog Lover’s Guide to Understanding Your Best Friend (Summersdale Publishers, 2020) has won two awards: Best Series of Illustrations and Best Book in Behavior, Health, and Care. 

The other books in the same category are by dog advocates and authors I really  respect so to be honest, I received this news with some mixed feelings. The fact that a small illustrated book that is relatively light on text has won a Best Book award next to these amazing other nominees tells me that pictures can communicate very important information. Art can be useful and effective in helping people connect with their animals. 

Thank you to everyone who has supported my through the years! I am by no means an expert on anything and am always passionate about sharing what I am learning through my art. The learning doesn’t end!

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

TWO NEW INFOGRAPHICS  

Illustrated by me.

1. What Is Pet Enrichment? - by Pet Harmony Training 

DOWNLOAD HERE

2. LIFE Approach to Animal Training - by Dr. Eduardo Fernandez

WATCH THE WEBINAR and DOWNLOAD these posters here.

You can also find the links to these downloads on my website at doggiedrawings.net/freeposters

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

LAST BY NOT LEAST.... Pet Portrait Commissions

I have been receiving numerous emails asking me when I will be doing pet portraits again. This is a tough question to answer.   

My work schedule has changed radically in the past 2 years, and I am still figuring out how to juggle being a new author (all the time needed for research, drawing, writing, and deadlines!) with managing online retail & wholesale shops, AND doing commissioned work. There is also the matter of work-life balance. What this means is that I have less time that I used to. 

It is likely that I won’t be doing portraits again until 2024 when my next book - Dogs of the World - has been submitted to my publisher.

Thank you for understanding,

Lili x 

[dany36]

just finished dragon's dogma dark arisen....wow....what is it about these games where their endings always manage to screw with my mind despite the main story not being anywhere near as polished as other games that i've played 😦😦😦😦❤️❤️❤️❤️

i have many a thoughts about this beautifully flawed game but i will have to do a junk thoughts post later. i....actually never watched the TRUE true ending in dragon's dogma 2 (aka the one where your pawn actually likes you lol) because ugh i'm not ready to say goodbye to these games yet 😭 the pawn system is unlike anything else i've ever played in a game and it's just so damn good!!

i've heard so many good things about brittleback isle in DA but i won't play it any time soon. i just got the ending where your pawn LIVES ON as you (holy shit like selene???) which means i'd have to do a new game plus and get up to a decent level since i've heard lv 80 is where you at least need to be for that dungeon to be uhhh bearable. i DEFINITELY want to do a ng+ run of ddda though, and i'm even thinking of getting the platinum trophy for it, but i think i'm going to rest from dragon's dogma games for a while. it's no joke but these games literally suck up my life like no other games have been able to do since i think horizon zero dawn--they're dangerous and too addicting for me to pick up and play lol. so i think i'm just gonna boot up dd2 this weekend, watch the true true ending, cry like a baby about it, and then move on to another game :(

so yeah, will have to settle my thoughts about DDDA in another post once i've had some time to think about them and how i think it compared to DD2, but definitely i'm so glad i picked it up and decided to play it. huge fan of this series now for sure. <3

[shadowsndaisies]

robin catching feelings

so someone sent me an ask but tumblr glitched and I can't find it but here's a little headcannon/my thought process on it:

ok so when does our birdboy realize??

already set that birdy had a small crush in ep 1 so what if robin did too? 

but what if he’s not fully aware until later, developing his feelings throughout all the things that are happening

but like more to come on the kernel of his crush from when they first met...

HERE'S WHY

chapter 6 (infiltrated)

Robin had some interesting feelings about wally and birdy’s kiss

Maybe he's not exactly sure why— just that it bothered him, and he kind of leaves the emoting alone for a bit. bc he does like her but mb he doesnt realize how much he likes her…. yet.

wally on the other hand notices the slightest hints of jealousy and will be supporting the information away for later

chapters 9 (bereft) and 11 (terrors)

so, in episode 9, they had the brain blast amnesia, and Kaldur got super sick. 

Robin was all jealous. Which is something he had to come to terms with it, especially because ain't no way Wally would let him go. 

So maybe wally presses on it a little bit and Robin gets defensive, so he decides to let it go… for now…

But after 11, when Robin and Birdy had their little moment on the sofa, he brings it up again because now he knows some things. 

That was when birdy did her reveal to him, so maybe he's like maybe… I…. am… into…. her...

also he called her beautiful… sooooo

so at this point homeboy knows he has a crush, but he's not exactly down bad

chapters 14 (revelations) & 15 (humanity)

so based off what was said just before, this is why 14 and 15 have such a big role. 14 gives us birdy’s big chance with Dr. fate. 

I mean the boys almost lost her, and that drives home for him because holy shit I could've lost her. 

so now he’s thinking about it…

he does not like the feeling he gets because he's lost plenty of people in his life already. 

And then in 15, right? Enter Z? It's common knowledge that zatanna’s pretty and she seems to have a little minor crush on him too 

because she's flirting with him, but maybe this is the distraction he needs because he doesn't want to fall for birdy. i mean look at B right? he doesn't have attachments bc they only end up in pain, and with all rob’s already lost he's not trying to make new ones.

which is why he's so dumb and flirts w zatanna— to keep his mind of birdy

which puts us at chapter 16 (failsafe) - when birdy reveals how she feels, outright and clearly

and his distraction tactic goes out the window bc fuck birdy is pretty and smart and tough and oh fuck. oh shit. this is more than just a crush

chapter 17 (disordered) 

his admission of being into her following therapy w dinah and his realization of not wanting to be batman. 

of wanting to be in her life, wanting to be a part of her life, actively.

of being there for her, there to catch her, whatever she needs

not wanting to be bruce- especially the isolation of it all

aka when we see birdboy is, in fact, down bad

from that point on we see his feelings grow

18 (secrets)

homeboy's got heart eyes watching ng stand up to the bat

19 (misplaced)

HUGE for their development bc birdy meets dick grayson for the first time

and he's out here showing the most secretive part of himself to her

21 (agendas)

our love birds go on a date (kinda) and they get to be yn and dick, and see how they do with each other over ng and robin, and it just reaffirms the feelings for both of them

everything tags: 

@butterfly-skinnylegend​​ 

dc taglist: 

@grey-water-colors​ @batarella​ @loninctzencarat​ ​​@escapenightmare

cnng taglist: 

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[navree]

About the Targaryens again… So George said that Rhaenys was a “flirt” (and we know it for sure because she obviously loved the company of males and it was a part of her extroverted personality) and Visenya was a “seductress”, but ASOIAF doesn’t portray her as a seductress at all, nor is it clear who she would be seducing. It doesn’t seem to have been Aegon, or she obviously didn’t succeed in seducing him, nor it seem to be anyone else at all. All we know is that she was cold, dark, serious and had a little sense of humour (like torturing a monkey for fun could count ok). What do you think about that?

"About the Targaryens again" I mean, do I ever really get questions about anything else, lol?

So, I think the "So Spake Martin" stuff tends to fall into the lines of "semi-canonical" rather than out and out canon from the official texts we have, which would be ASOIAF (which Visenya and Rhaenys aren't in due to having been dead for three hundred years) and Fire&Blood, where they're really only referred to because it's a historical text covering past events, not a contemporaneous narrative. But it does seem like the "So Spake Martin" description of Visenya ("Visenya is both stern and sensual, more voluptuous than her sister, more passionate, but with a dark and unforgiving side") is still meant to be taken in conjunction with her F&B official description ("Even those who loved her best found Visenya stern, serious, and unforgiving") since Rhaenys's "So Spake Martin" description ("Rhaenys, the younest of the three, is slender and graceful, playful, with a mischievous aspect to her personality than Visenya lacks") follows pretty closely with her F&B description ("Rhaenys, youngest of the three Targaryens, was all her sister was not, playful, curious, impulsive, given to flights of fancy"). So the idea that Visenya might have had a seductive aspect to her personality that she wielded when it suited her doesn't seem to be entirely out of bounds.

As to who she was seducing, that's more unclear. If you follow the conventional wisdom surrounding Aegon's relationships with his sister-wives, then she might have tried to be "seductive" towards him to try and sway him into being more attracted to her, as opposed to Rhaenys, and it simply didn't work. Or maybe it did at least once, we have no idea what the circumstances of Maegor's conception were beyond the fact that it happened at an opportune time for his parents. If you have my specific set of brain worms, then she might have tried to seduce Rhaenys somehow and whether or not she succeeded depends on how sad I want to make myself on any given day. And while there were never any rumors about her going after anyone while married (though she very well could have, just kept it incredibly on the down low), Visenya did spend a significant amount of time widowed. And while some might say "OK, but she was in her sixties and seventies when widowed so who was she seducing" I will respond with a) GILF rights and b) Visenya was said to dabble in dark sorceries and blood magic, she could have easily used some of that to make her look more youthful than her years, potentially even explaining why she suddenly had such a steep drop-off health and looks wise in the last year of her life (something something magic always has a cost something something). So it's entirely possible that, now that she was unencumbered by marriage, and powerful enough in her own right (even more so after Maegor became king) that no one would brook any argument against her for doing it, that she took some lovers in the last decade of her life, and probably seduced them into bed with her. There's also this quote that "To most of the world, she presented the grim face of a warrior, stern and unforgiving", which could easily mean that Visenya had a more sensual side to her that she didn't show in battle or on progresses or to much of open court, aka most of the world, but was present enough to be accounted for by other people, including whoever was in the inner sanctum of the Conquerors time as rulers.

Of course, just because she's described as a "seductress" doesn't necessarily mean she went around enticing everyone she met 24/7. It could easily be a description of her personality as much as it is about her actions. People generally contain multitudes, Visenya can absolutely be both stern and serious as well as using wiles to try and get people to do what she wanted. It's an element of her personality that we can actually see in how she took the Vale, tempting Ronnel with Vhagar and the promise of flying around on her, and using just that to get Sharra to realize that she needed to submit and surrender to the Targaryens. Visenya could have been a seductress in more ways than just sexual, and had her own purposes behind it, just like Rhaenys's flirty patronage of singers also served as masterful propaganda to prop up Aegon and their dynasty.

As for the monkey thing, I don't think there's any suggestion that she tortured the ape she took as the second Lord Monkeyface (even though we as modern Earth humans now know better than to try and dress animals up in little outfits that they don't want), just that she had a fool named Monkeyface and then replaced him with an actual monkey that she thought was funnier.

[bittersweetprimadonna]

I finished making my Creepypasta OC…this is her…no, we are not going to talk about how I made her look like Toby on accident.

Trigger warning (all uncensored under the cut : mentions of mvrd£r, mentions of @rs°n, mentions of st@lk!ng, mentions of kn!v£s, mentions of gvns, uncensored profanities

Name: Marie Larkk

Alias: Whist

Catchphrase: hush, all will be silent soon.

Age: 16

Height: 5'3

Crimes:

murder (she literally kills people)

arson (she'll occasionally start fires in order to either dispose of bodies or just blow off some steam because she's stressed)

stalking (she stalks her victims to see if she deems them worthy of having their life taken (aka, if you're an absolute asshole))

Preferred victims: rapists, abusers, alcoholics (especially ones who have no desire to change), other miscellaneous criminals

Weapons of choice: pocket knife, pistol

Miscellaneous facts:

she chose the name Whist due to the word meaning "to hush or silence" or "to become silent" since she is making people silent by killing them

she wouldn't have chosen the red and yellow striped stalks on intuition, she chose them due to her childhood obsession with the television series Ruby Gloom and wanted to show a person more like Ruby to abuse victims and trauma survivors (yes, I only did that to promote one of the best children's TV shows I've ever watched :))

she does stutter a bit at times when talking and generally has trouble expressing her thoughts but once she gets started on ranting or telling someone off she can go for a while nonstop and get her point across surprisingly clearly despite how many times she might loose track of what she's saying or going over something more than once on accident

she occasionally has anxiety induced hallucinations, doesn't happen often but she does see creepy forms and faces

She lived in a house haunted with demons until her parents were able to move her out with her younger sister at ages 10 and 8

She's a bit clumsy and so she always keeps medical supplies on her

She has a bit of issues trusting people due to loosing her grandmother after months of being told that her grandmother would be able to come home, not being able to keep friends for more than a few months other than two which she had for longer but has trouble keeping contact even before she started killing people, not being able to tell her parents that she's not straight after being told that "they don't dislike gays, they just think that their views are skewed", and not being taken seriously as a child

She has a small undercut that's only noticable when she puts her hair into a ponytail (yes, like Jaiden Animations, she went through a time where Jaiden Animations was her favorite YouTuber but was no longer able to watch her after the video where she mentioned that she wasn't straight, go check her videos out please, she's cool :)) which she does frequently with her hood down (aka, when she's not on missions)

She died her hair so that it's an almost blackish red-brown (think the color of dried blood) with small streaks of dark red and black (ribbon highlights and ribbon low-lights)

She has almost random times when she switches from being practically emotionless to almost overly emotional, these are normally triggered by things that would shift your emotions very quickly

She doesn't tan easily, she gets a shit tun of freckles though

She doesn't like car rides, they make her nauseous and dizzy and especially if the cars are warm, so she tries her best to avoid using cars unless traveling a long distance

She can look flustered surprisingly easily, she gets to nervous, angry, or embarrassed and then her ears, nose, neck, and cheeks can turn vivid pink if her emotions run too high…she doesn't like how easily readable this makes her though since she prefers to keep to herself

She likes to stay silent, especially as Whist where she almost never talks about a whisper, outside missions she just keeps quiet and speaks normally when needed to speak though

She's incredibly awkward and decides that's another reason for her to stay silent

She's loyal to a fault and will do literally everything to make sure that you stay safe of you get in her good books and don't betray her

She has an interest in fashion and styles in general, quite liking messing with different makeup styles whenever alone in her room

She actually really likes giving and receiving physical affection whenever she considers herself close to someone and is know to accept "smothering" and smother people slightly with attention if she likes you…if she doesn't consider herself close to you she is very strongly against being touched though

Doesn't mind her height and is fairly resilient to all teasing, unless you're teasing someone she cares about, then she'll want to harm you, a lot…would probably just smack you upside the head and glare if you're someone she cares about though

Actually quite girly, especially with style, and mostly chose this because it looked good, suited her style a surprising amount, and it's more practical to kill and stalk people in shorts than in skirts…otherwise it looks surprisingly similar to her normal style

Is actually a bit of a romantic at heart…not that she normally shows it

Powers/defects:

Powers:

none (unless she becomes a proxy, I'm on the fence about that)

Defects:

slightly clumsy

acrophobic

slightly claustrophobic (not a lot but she definitely starts to panic when in an adequately small space for too long)

bad eyesight (can effect aim at times)

mood jumps (makes it so that she's completely ready to pull the trigger on you at one point and then takes pity on you the next, doesn't happen often but it does happen)

reckless (like, she has no fear of death at this point reckless)

stubborn

Stats:

speed: 7.5/10 (adequately fast)

strength: 6.5/10 (not the strongest but above average…slightly)

smarts: 7.5/10 (adequate with street smarts and intelligence)

cruelty: 5/10 (not very cruel but she can torture people if she wants)

predictability: 7/10 (adequately predictable but can be unpredictable at times)

overall danger level: 7/10 (could survive an encounter but less gentle than normal people)

If someone wants I'd be more than willing to write out her backstory and I'd also be very grateful if someone gave me constructive criticism on how to make her better ^u^

[nota1eks]

masterlist of all my fics!

im notaleks on ao3. but here's all my fics in goddamned order (best to worst in my opinion)! also with so, so many links so you can get to the places :))

WHUMPTOBERS

Aleks' 2024 Whumptober !! -- 8 PHM, 2 Threshold

PROJECT HAIL MARY (23 fics)

SERIES: 434,000 hours

The Elimination Project -- Rocky's POV of the trip to Tau Ceti (then his arrival back on Erid)

and if i make it through, it's all because of you -- (AKA "AIIMIT") sequel to TEP / Rocky and Grace's return and settling on Erid; Adrian POV

OTHER

5 times people thought Grace and Stratt were "engaged in sexual congress" + 1 time they didn't! -- 5x fic, just what it sound slik e(but really 4x bc we saw one in the book

and so on -- the days following the explosion at baikonur, all the way up to coma time; Ilyukhina POV

off-brand trolley problem -- the unseen meeting wherein The Scientists have to decide whether or not to kill grace

everybody's got a plan until you're punched in the face -- (by Sherbet42 and myself!) (AU wherein Yao & Ilyukhina survive) the hail mary crew argue over whether or not to go save rocky. someone gets punched

untitled stratt fic (or, stratt slaying) -- after grace has been kidnapped off to launch, stratt goes through some of grace's items

fanfic of fanfic: Damage Control [podfic] -- "After the Adrian Adventure™ Ryland ... needs to get it together for himself, his planet, and his friend...but maybe some good company and rest will help." (MWL)

You shut your mouth, how can you say I go about things the wrong way? -- good ol ryland grace has a mental breakdown after having had published his paper on water & life (and getting fired)

EPIC RAP BATTLES OF HISTORY: 1 ng of astrophage VS 1 mg of astrophage!!! -- dubois and shapiro do a bit of science before launch. it’s an edge case they’re testing, but it’s better safe and tested than sorry later…right? right?? / or: the test that gets dubois and shapiro killed.

Just The Two of Us: You and I -- one-shot collection of grace & rocky being The Best Duo

Eva Stratt, Praetor Maximus -- scientists and stratt being a little silly. really just self-indulgent because i wanted to write about the earth crew :)

a dream of water -- grace has a lil breakdown on erid 'cause he's lonely and sad and has scurvy

Get Back to Where You Once Belonged -- AU wherein grace was able to ge tback to earth. i wrote this a LONG time ago so it's not very good.

all-nighting -- grace works too much, for his lack of having a life. stratt, concerned for the safety of everyone on stratt's vat (and grace's, tbh), intervenes

alone no longer -- grace and rocky discuss romantic, sexual, & platonic attraction. grace is sure something is wrong with him -- he has never felt romantic nor sexual attraction. rocky thinks otherwise.

pandaemonium: a discord chatfic -- THE CREW GET A DISCORD? IT GETS GOT? / *I DONT EVEN KNOW HOW TO DESCRIBE THIS. / **wanting to try a new type of CSS 🤝 the 3am flavour of phm brainrot

it's hot and we rot in this oven... -- a day in the life of a worker on the sahara, assembling/laying down blackpanels

Rocky T. Cowboy (I AM SO SORRY) -- (deep breath...) rocky as a cowboy. i'm not sure either. it's crack, ok?

Whumptober day 7: Radio Silence -- After the launch of the Hail Mary, Stratt gets got and, while her imprisoner-state is being decided, a solo faction keeps her in a box

happy new years! -- a little baby new year's fic about grace, stratt, and dubois hanging out :)

settle down, class. -- abby et al's perspective of grace booking the hell out of class. written simply to get me out of a writing slump.

THRESHOLD UNIVERSE (3 fics)

Are We Even? (Paradox Bound fic) -- Harry and Eli thought that their journeying would be easy. fun, even. That is, until a man shows up, robs Harry, and threatens Eli. Then thee two travellers must come to a consensus in their argument -- however one-sided it may be.

bad things happen to the people you love (Koturoverse AKA Threshold Universe fic) -- post-terminus shits and giggles. also AU where aleks (not me, i'm on about aleksander koturovic) lives bc he's great and so silly

praying or surrendering (neither will help anyway) (Koturoverse fic) -- koturovic does have the key to the cuffs and repays a debt by helping murdoch inside.

X-MEN (1 fic)

first impressions -- Erik set out, this morning, certain that today would be the day he'd kill Schmidt. ... But in the evening he finds himself on a foreign boat, ... and he feels...hopeful.

BODIES (NETFLIX SHOW) (1 fic)

haunted by longing -- Alfred is sooo gay but he has sooo much internalized homophobia but we love a good moral dilemma in this household

MISC (2 fics)

je te souris, tu me surprends (et j'aurais voulu te plaire encore) -- 2024 olympics fic

and if they're beside me, i know i need never care -- 2024 olympics fic

[questionablepastries]

Armored core 6 spoiler posting ! This time for the ng+ run and the ending I did, and my thoughts on ng3 thus far:

This time the ending I got for my second run was “the fires of raven”

Pretty hardcore name for recreating the apocalypse and simply leaving the planet, but I get why Walter and Carla wanted it done. They’re the kind of people where the ends justifies the means. Eliminating all life on this planet, for the sake of containing and destroying an organic energy fuel substance that was on its way of leaking out to the space, spreading to other planets, more corporate wars fought for this fuel, and in the end leading to more fires of ibis situations on other planets

Or would it?

The game intentionally never (or at least hasn’t) explained WHY the first fires of ibis happened, and I’m just gonna go ahead and guess allmind is behind this, the group that’s been the most IN GAME but with the least story impact, and my second guess is the group that the original raven is from, killed that lil bitch twice don’t show your face around me again unless u wanna talk >:|

I doubt it’s ravens group tho. A mission I did on the side made it sound like the original raven leaked the information about coral LEADING to the corporations even knowing about rubricon. And it’s giving government leak/Edward Snowden vibes which to ME is a good guy position, now ALLMIND…..

They got some scary descriptions for the allmind arena. Yeah, AllMind exists for mercenaries (aka me) but.. the descriptions include stuff talking about fusing mech with the human mind to make some sort of link, make the body of the mech feel like the body of the pilot? Weird stuff, Also the allmind lady called me a “humanoid”, what’s that about???? Rusty seems to know my true identity since the second he met me (Walter suggests this), and Ayre suggests we’ve met before? So I’m thinking 621 was involved in the fires of ibis situation somehowwww

Then there’s all the hidden notes about these 2 scientists? And their sons that pick up that their scientist dads are losing their minds? There’s a lot im not piecing together at the moment, but there’s a lot of things that haven’t been explained fully, not that they need to, but I can feel an “aha” moment coming. I’m taking a break from the game tho I speed ran the game to get the second ending over with for this upcoming ng+ 3 run that I started (😭 I’m tired)

Back to the ending tho

SO GLAD I GOT TO KILL AYRE LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ ayre fans im only slightly sorry

She was SOOOOO annoying the whole run. I’m so bugged by her doting girlfriend, yelling at me to survive WHILE all I’m doing IS surviving, her character is shoved on you, she hardly has offers any insight into coral other than coral is alive (you call them your brothers and sisters but can you get the mechs powered by coral to stop killing me????), ayre get a life!!! I hate mascot characters and I hate bitches (whiny girls) SHOVED ON YOU in any game, sorry!!! And u know what? she did actually get a life, I was so happy she fucked off, got in a robot herself, and started doing shit for herself even if it meant the first thing she did upon gaining autonomy was going in to kill me. Go girl!!!!! now what hurt was putting down rusty, but I killed him too fast, so fast that my monkey brain outsped the sad feeling I was supposed to associate with doing that, and I was glad they gave him two health bars.. because the first one I kinda mowed down and I felt semi bad about it and then when he got back up I (in full video game enjoying mode) went all chuuni and yelled “I LIKE THAT AMBITION OF YOURS RUSTY” and Then mowed him down again. So now I’ve gotta go to YouTube bc I didn’t save the fight to fully process what Rusty was yelling at me because when I’m under high stress I don’t hear anymore I just get the job done 😫

Gotta take a break tho, ng3 gave me a mission that wasn’t in my first 2 runs of the game and in that mission they shoved in those wheel skeletons from ds1 on me (😡😡😡) and THAT was the hardest mission I’d had in a while, so much so that it drained me of wanting to play after that (that and I had been doing nothing but play the game for the past 2 maybe 3 days) 💤