#not just the Holy Family

[tangentmusings]

Here's the return of the wonderful advent calendar hand-made by my mom, based off of one my dad's mom had, that until this year I had mistakenly believed my grandmother made but in fact she bought while they were living in the Philippines.

Anyway. Here's the completed advent for the year. I think it came together rather nicely. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!

[rosecolouredheart]

YEAH NO SHIT MY GUY.

[hailsatanacab]

Family Dinners - dpxdc

"Holy shit, you're Bruce Wayne!" Danny gaped, jabbing a finger at the man sitting at the head of the table.

The bustling dining room goes silent as everyone turns to look at him.

"Danny, who did you think was going to be here?" Tim asks, disbelief plain in his voice and Danny feels his face flush red.

"Sorry, I, uh, I guess I just never put it together. Tim Drake-Wayne. Wayne Manor. It, uh, makes sense now." He laughs sheepishly and scrubs at his neck before slumping back down into his chair.

"Well," Tim says with an indulgent sigh, "at least I know you're not just friends with me for my connections."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry, I just never thought about it, I guess."

Danny sinks lower as everyone around him laughs. Come to dinner, he said, the food is the best, he said, ignore the family, he said. Danny really wishes he'd listened to Tim and just ignored them—almost as much as he's regretting accepting the offer in the first place—but... he's having dinner with Batman.

Ancients, that's so weird!

The last time he saw Batman was in the future and, suffice it to say, it was not going well. There hadn't really been time for family dinners there.

Wait. Family dinners?

He peers around the table, openly gawking at everyone as it all clicks into place.

"Everything alright, Danny? Now realising who everyone else is?" Tim asks with a roll of his eyes.

"Uh... something like that..." Danny mumbles as everyone laughs again.

From further down the table, the smallest Wayne scoffs and clicks his tongue.

"I thought you said he was smart, Drake?"

"So, you all do it, too, then?" he asks, ignoring the jibe. Danny's only a little bit jealous as he thinks of how much easier they must have it, how much easier it'd be if his family had been on his side, too. "You all work together?"

"Nah," Dick says from across the table with a brilliant grin. "Tim's the only one that works with Bruce, we all have different jobs. I'm a police officer in Bludhaven."

"Disgusting." Danny blurts out without thinking—because seriously, what kind of self-respecting vigilante would also be a police officer?—before clapping a hand over his mouth. "Sorry."

The whole table laughs again, the loudest being the blonde girl a few spaces down from Dick. Look, Danny wasn't really paying attention to names when they were all paraded in front of him. Dick only gets remembered because his name is a joke.

Come on, Danny, recover!

"That's, uh, not what I meant, though."

"Oh?" Dick asks, cocking his head slightly to the side. Is it Danny's imagination or does his smile tense slightly?

"Yeah, I mean like, you know, in costume. It must make it so much easier to have everyone together like this."

"Costume? What do you mean?"

Yeah, Danny's not imagining it, everyone tenses up at that. It's really only now that he's realising that this probably isn't how he should bring up that he knows about their... night time activities. In fact, he probably shouldn't be bringing it up at all.

"Uuhhh..." Danny looks wildly around the table as he continues making his stupid noise. Think, think, think! There must be a way out of this!

"Danny?" Tim asks, looking concerned.

"Oh, Ancients, this isn't how I wanted it to go at all," he mutters, slipping even further into his chair. He's almost on the floor now and he so, so wishes it could just swallow him up.

His real first meeting with Batman was meant to be cool! He had planned to be Phantom, maybe save them from a tight spot, prove his worth as a mysterious and powerful ally as thanks for the help Batman gave him in the future.

"Danny, what are you talking about?" Tim starts tugging on his sleeve in an attempt to pull him back up from his pit of despair.

Eventually, Danny relents and sits up straighter, hiding his face in his hands and whining all the while.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't expect him to be here and it threw me off so now I look stupid and it's so embarrassing!" he wails, flailing his arms wide. "Why wouldn't you warn me that Batman was your adopted dad, Tim? Couldn't you have let me know?"

"I'm sorry, what? Danny are you alright? There's no way Bruce can be Batman, look at him!"

"Yeah," the blonde girl laughs from the bottom of the table, "look at him! That's a wet noodle of a man! Batman can actually do things, B is incapable of pretty much everything."

"Thank you, Stephanie," Bruce sighs, massaging his forehead.

It's... Those are the first words Danny's heard Batman say since everything went down and it's enough to knock him out of his embarrassment.

It's really good to hear his voice again. Especially now, when it's strong and healthy and full of personality—even if that personality is little more than a tired father right now—far better than how it had been, at the end.

Danny sits up, back straight, and grins. He's got this. He remembers it perfectly. Some people count sheep to fall asleep, Danny repeats his mantra to be certain that he'll never forget it.

"Gamma alpha upsilon tau iota mu epsilon, 42, 63, 28, 1 colon 65 dash 9."

Once again, the whole table falls into silence.

"Holy shit..." breathes the other D name (Duke? Danny's pretty sure he's Signal) from opposite Stephanie. "Isn't that...?"

"The time travelling code." The littlest Wayne says stiffly. "We have met in the future?"

"That's not just the time travelling code, Dami." Dick says, looking between Danny and Bruce. "That's the family time travelling code."

Danny's grin freezes in place.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"1 colon 65 dash 9." Dick explains, still flicking between him and Bruce. "It means you've been adopted into the family and we should all treat you as such, no questions asked."

"Tell you what, I'm about to ask a question." Danny says, dumbstruck. "You just told me it was a code to identify time travellers, not anything about being adopted! What the hell, B?"

Bruce looks about as shellshocked as Danny feels.

"We must have been close," he says finally, after opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water a few times.

"No! Not that close!" Danny reels back, taking a deep breath ready to refute it all, but... "Well, I mean, you found me when I first got stuck, and you helped me get better despite being... And then we fought together against the, uh, bad guy, before he, um, he... before you couldn't."

An uncomfortable beat passes while they all pick up on what Danny tried so hard not to say.

"So, you're not from the future, then, you travelled there and came back?" Tim asks, breaking the tension and leaning forward with a glint in his eye.

"Yeah, it was a whole end of the world thing, but don't worry about it," Danny says with a hand wave, "It's all kosher now, won't ever happen."

"What did happen?"

"Seriously, don't worry about it, we cool."

"How long in the future was it?"

"About ten years? You were pretty spry for an old man, B," Danny laughs, wishing they'd get off the topic of what happened and get back to the adoption bit.

Everyone shares degrees of a cautious smile as they relax out of the shock, and Dick—whose grin is the biggest—says, "No wonder you got the family code, you're already riffing on him like one of us. How long were you there for?"

"A week, before I managed to get back to my present and stop him then."

"A week? Jeez, B, that has to set some kind of record, seriously."

"Oh!" Danny says, sitting bolt upright and blinking in surprise before pointing at Dick and bouncing in his seat. "You're Nightwing!"

"What?"

"That's exactly what Nightwing said when Batman told me the code! Makes so much more sense now."

Dick laughs and claps his hands, delighted.

"You were not formally adopted?" The grumpy small one—Dami?—asks, his face pinched.

"I didn't even know I was informally adopted."

"And your parents? Are they alive or dead?"

"Damian, stop—"

"They were dead in the future, but they're alive now." Danny says, looking down. He fiddles with the tablecloth, twisting the fabric around his fingers as he fights down the pang of sadness that he always feels when he thinks of them now. He forces a bright smile on his face and hopes it doesn’t look too strained. "I just, uh, can't talk to them much, anymore."

"Damian," Dick warns, "1 colon 65 dash 9. Treat them as family, no questions asked."

"This is Damian treating him as family, the little turd has no manners." Tim scoffs, rolling his eyes, but he gently bumps shoulders with Danny to knock him out of his funk. Danny can't help but send him a watery smile.

"I have the most exemplary manners, Drake, unlike some people." Damian spits, crossing his arms with a pout. "I was merely ascertaining his status to see how he could possibly fit into the family."

"I know this is all a bit sudden, Danny," Bruce smiles, ignoring Damian and reaching out to lay a warm hand on his arm, "for all of us. But if I felt strongly enough to give you that code after spending a week with you in the future, then you are more than welcome in this family, if you so choose it. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we'd like to get to know you a bit more."

"I know a threat when I hear it, Bruce." Danny snorts. "But, yeah, I get it. I'm sorry this is all so weird, it really wasn't how I wanted to find you again, but... I'm glad I did."

"So are we, Danny." Dick says, with a warm smile. "And formally or not, 1 colon 65 dash 9 means you're family. Welcome to the fun house! No take backs or refunds, sorry. You're stuck with us."

[lovelylonelymoonlight]

Nothing funnier to me than dick going to therapy for like 3 months before going to Bruce and being like

“I don’t wanna be Batman”

And Bruce kinda just looks at him like “….okaaayy?? I didn’t want you to be Batman”

So dick has to go to therapy for ANOTHER three months so he can ask Bruce about That only for Bruce to be like, “who in their right mind would pick Batman over Nightwing??? When given the choice a world without Nightwing would be a nightmare”

And then dick goes home and cries because his dad is proud of him

[crowskullls]

I couldn’t be a minecraft creator because if I was doing freaky gay roleplay with my friends and then got called siblings I would just end it all

[riekesart]

Dem boys, having a good time!

[zoyalaisobachka]

Maybe that's just me because Claire is my favourite SPN character ever and because I'm such a sucker for Found Family, but it physically pains me that she's getting left out from 90% of fanwork where it's about the found family trope around the Winchesters. Like yes, she doesn't live with them, I understand that fully and I know it makes sense that she's not in the fanwork a lot, but just- she was part of their family too, in a way. She was there before Jack even existed, the trio (especially Cas and Dean) treat her like a daughter or little sister a lot of the time where she is part of the episodes (which are way too less, btw). But it seems like many people who create fanwork erase or forget her existence entirely or maybe they just don't like her, I don't know, but it makes me sad. Justice for Claire! ✊

[krysmcscience]

Don't mind me, just slacking on a big Billford comic by making other far more ridiculous Billford comics and also some AU art (please excuse my slapdash human!Bill thank you please, also before anyone asks the art style is messy and all over the place because idgaf LOL)

This started out as an excuse to design a Bill Cipher-inspired "wedding" dress, but then spiraled wildly out of control. Various rambles and a bunch more human!Bill arts under the cut, including another silly little comic at the end! (Feel free to skip the rambles, I won't be offended. I know I'm bad at shutting up. XD)

I may or may not write some comedy stuff for this AU, which I'm calling 'For Better Or Worse (But Mostly Worse)'. While Ford DOES remember getting sloshed enough for one thing to lead to making out with another after karaoke, neither he nor Bill remember this wedding, At All. The Love God did nothing to dissuade them from going hog wild on their marriage spending, either, so it got...uh. Exorbitantly Expensive. As in, the grand total could probably buy the entire fucking MOON sort of expensive. (It's fine, don't worry, Bill's good enough at crime to be able to afford it.) Also, because the logic of this AU is mostly dictated by Rule of Funny, the Love God's powers are close to unlimited when it comes to matters of romance, but ONLY when it comes to matters of romance. (Like weddings!)

Want an empty human vessel to smash the soul of a triangle into for date nights or when it's convenient, or perhaps even when it's NOT convenient? Easy peasy! Want the marriage to be recognized in every corner of the multiverse from now until the end of time, thus making any potential future divorce nigh-on impossible? Can do! Want to buy an entire beach for the ceremony and honeymoon and in general, and totally not at all because it would be Super Hilarious to prevent any specific movies from being made on that very same beach in the future? Fine, whatever, it's not his finances he's ruining!

Does the Love God also provide special rings that just so happen to turn incorporeal as long as the "happy couple" doesn't remember that they barged into his dreams to bully him into presiding over their marriage? ...No comment!

He spends the next thirty years trying and failing to get in touch with either of them for payment. This is why you should always demand half the money up front, my guy!

Also it's absolutely a traditional Jewish wedding, because I like the idea of Bill demanding all the keepsakes from the marriage that he paid for, and being completely confused when one of the things he's handed is a fancy container full of broken glass. He gets it later, but in the moment, he thinks the Love God is just fucking with him some more.

Ramble over! Here's the full dress that caused the comic to happen, along with what Ford wound up wearing at the wedding (and begrudgingly agreeing to put on again later for Reasons), aaaaand also a close-up of Bill's ring:

I may have forgotten to draw Bill's hair floofier when drawing the back of the dress, lmao

Since double ring ceremonies have been leaking over into Jewish wedding customs for a while now, Ford also has a ring, but his is the much more traditional plain gold band. There's definitely a message engraved on the inside - embarrassing, cringe, or incriminating somehow - but I haven't decided what it is yet, so use your imagination for now. XD Bill, on the other hand, saw the phrase 'traditional plain gold band' and said "No Thank You" before proceeding to embellish his ring to his liking. And because he's a secret sap who adores Ford's extra fingers, the triangle points add up to twelve, as do the engraved stars. Yes, they're stars, not dots, I just got lazy. There's also six lashes on the eye gem, and probably an eye engraving on the inside with another six lashes. (Bill's got it BAD, okay? We all know this.)

Here are the initial scribbles of Bill's custom vessel in more casual attire, please ignore the wonky anatomy and the fact that I flat out refuse to ever draw him with a proper top hat:

He does actually need a cane in this vessel; since Bill tends to possess men and especially Ford more often than not, he's used to having a higher center of gravity when in a human body, so his ability to balance is pretty garbage. (He may or may not topple over with concerning regularity.) As for his empty eye socket, his bangs don't do much to hide it since he's so high-energy (dude is constantly on the move), and he also refuses to wear a patch over it, because 1.) why bother, and 2.) it's more fun to freak people out.

To better align with Ford's attraction towards the strange, the vessel was designed with super minor shapeshifting ability - Bill can look like a perfectly normal human, but he can also make the teeth and fingers sharper whenever he likes (which is mostly just when he's angry or being more of a menace than usual), as well as slit down the pupils or outright ditch the irises altogether. He can also have whatever he wants in the downstairs department, just because I'm an indecisive bitch on that front, lmao. Maybe he can have boobs if he wants them, too, but I ain't drawin' tits on no triangle, nuh-uh, no sir. His powers are otherwise limited down to what humans can do, because for some reason, the Love God doesn't trust Bill to not snap into Immediate Apocalypse Mode if he's given a physical form that's actually all his and no one else's.

Due to the body being all his and no one else's, it's also not really a standard possession so much as it is just...Bill being temporarily human. He's a lot more aware of and in tune with his human body's senses than he ever was with his "puppets", which makes things like pain a lot more intense. (He is mostly fine with this, because he's a fukken masochist.)

A bit more fashion stuff, including beach and party attire~

The beach outfit was mostly me trying and failing to nail down his body shape, which is still not bottom-heavy enough. I then decided to slap a bikini on it, before making it supremely unsexy with a pair of fugly shorts, because Bill's fashion choices are not allowed to be conventionally attractive. Meanwhile, the party outfit was mostly me looking at the casual attire I designed, asking 'how would Bill make this Worse', and then drawing the result. The mismatched thigh-highs are killing me inside! :D

No, his vessel can't actually summon fire, I just drew it for funzies before I decided on said vessel's limitations. Yes, the gold brick tattoos are absolutely a reference to the fic 'Knowing Me, Knowing You' - I simply could not resist.

I also HAD to draw Bill in one of his canonical(?) shirts, just made tank-top'd:

He is absolutely about to over-correct and fall backwards after this. USE YOUR CANE, GOOFBALL!!! (I meant to draw Bill closer to this degree of bottom-heavy in the other images, but. Alas. I am bad at anatomy, LOL)

And, last but not least before More Comic Time, I attempted to draw him closer to Gravity Falls style:

Jury's out on whether or not I succeeded, but - hey. I tried. Now have some Handyman Bill AU, but with my goofy human design, instead:

Hey, it's a 'mystery snack', and the guy wanted A BITE to eat - the joke was right there, guys!!! (Based on this post, because it just screamed BILL CIPHER to me.)

whoops i forgor bills ring and cracks ahaha too late now

I WILL SHUT UP AND STOP RAMBLING NOW K THX BYYYYYE

[starry-bi-sky]

Clone^2 - Separation Strikes

"Why do I have to go?" Damian asks, surly and accent-thick, it sounds more like a demand and a whine at the same time. Sitting on the kitchen table with his arms crossed, in a green t-shirt that Danny bought him at a whim when he was at a thrift shop, and black shorts, he's never looked more like a kid. There's a little backpack leaning against the table leg, Damian begrudgingly picked it out when they went shopping.

His English has grown in leaps and bounds since Danny found him -- er, or more accurately; since Damian was spat out in front of him. -- and very little did they have to use the translator on Danny's phone these days.

Which meant one thing: Damian can start attending school comfortably now. And 'go' was the Amity Smiles Child Care Center. Danny and Jazz went as kids until they were twelve, and Mom and Dad actually managed to convince the center director to let Damian enroll for the summer.

And it was summer; Damian starts today.

"Because," Danny says, trying and failing to hide the smile pulling on his face, his heart warm and soft, and also laughing at Damian's expense; "being cooped up in the house all day isn't good for you, and you're starting school in the Fall. And, in Jazz's words: you need to have interactions with other kids your age for the benefit of your social development. And besides, it's only for the morning."

Damian's nose scrunches up, and his eyes roll so violently that for a moment, Danny thinks about joking that he'll get his eyes stuck like that. He holds his tongue; his little brother already looks like he's five seconds away from committing an act of violence.

"I don't need social interaction." Damian sneers, his cheek in his hand; a neverend pool of pride. "I am--"

"The Blood of the Demon Heir, better than everyone else." Danny cuts off, waving his hand in dismissive circles, his voice mockingly deep. Damian's brown skin darkens in embarrassment, and he scowls at Danny. "I know, bud. But Jazz is right, -- don't tell her I said that, -- you should be around kids your age."

Especially when he starts First Grade in the Fall. Honestly -- Danny was a little nervous to send him to the center. Damian's long since cut the habit of trying to kill or otherwise maim people, his palms ache-burn with gentle reminder, but his tongue was as sharp and as cutting as his sword. He still struggles with trying to quell it when he's upset. Vicious child-weapon that he once was, and will never be again.

Danny knows that it comes from a place of fear and defense, that Damian lashes out because that's what he's been taught. That at the end of the day, he doesn't really mean what he says, and he's learning to express himself better. But the other kids don't know that, and kids can be unforgiving and cruel.

Danny just...

His slow beating heart sighs, melancholy settles behind his lungs.

He doesn't want Damian to be outcasted. He doesn't want him to be alone.

Not like he was.

Damian sneers again, but says nothing, his shoulders crawling up to hide his ears like a turtle receding into his shell. Danny watches him silently, leaning against the kitchen counter with his own arms crossed. The clock hanging on the wall ticks in their ears -- it's almost time to go.

He watches Damian, careful, and so he sees it when his little brother's stone-shell pride and petulance shudders, and cracks. The darkened furrow of Damian's brows weakens, and for a moment, slants back.

Ah, Danny thinks, his own shoulders slumping. Epiphany washes over him, and his sad-heart soothes in warm understanding. So that's what it is.

His head tilts, and his hair spills over his shoulders, messy and fluffy, tickling his neck. Some of his bangs fall into his face. "Hal 'ant easabiatan ya habibi?" He asks, voice low and soft. Just as Damian's English has improved, so has Danny's Arabic. He still stumbles over himself some days, and Damian says his accent is trash, but they can have whole conversations now in Damian's mothertongue.

(Danny was incredibly proud of himself for it.)

Damian's face darkens, his blush spreading across the rest of his face, and he ducks his head down. Grown-out curls, black-brown and springy, falls over his eyes. "La!" He yells, loud and indignant, and not at all convincingly. "La 'asheur bialtawaturi!"

He was nervous. Danny can see it now, in the hunch of his shoulders and the tightness of his face, and faintly, he can feel it too. In the ecto-rich air of the Fentonworks House, it thrums, barely-there, like a hummingbird behind his lungs.

Danny can't stop the little, fond smile that forces itself across his lips and upticks the corner of his mouth. "It's okay to be nervous, little brother." He says, he sounds like Jazz when he says that. He doesn't think she'll mind him borrowing the nickname.

He pushes himself off the counter, and Damian refuses to look at him, hiding behind his hair and in his shoulders. It takes three long strides for him to reach the table, and Danny turns, plants his hands on the ledge, and hoists himself up. Right next to Damian.

Damian leans into him easily when Danny's arm wraps around his shoulders and tucks him close to his heart. He can feel his ear against his ribs. Danny hunches over him, resting his chin on Damian's head. "It's so okay to be nervous, actually. I was nervous, Jazz was nervous." He tells him, scratching the blunt edge of his nails across his scalp. "Everyone gets nervous."

"'Ana last aljumiea." Damian mumbles, as small and feeble as he was the night on the OPS Center balcony, realizing that his mom and the League weren't coming for him. Realizing that he was replaceable.

Danny's half-working heart squeezes; in grief, in rage, and his faucet eyes sting. He breathes in carefully, and presses his nose into Damian's hair in a loving faux-kiss. "You're right, you're not everyone." He says, steady and strong, because if he's not a pillar for his family, who else is he?

He can feel Damian's eyes flick up to him, and Danny smiles into his black-brown curls. Tilts his head to squish his cheek against him instead, hand dropping to thumb below Damian's lashes. "You're Damian Fenton," Because the adoption went through a few weeks ago, and he's still riding that high, "You're my baby brother. O' Artist Extraordinaire, Kickass with a Sword, Vegetarian and Wonderful Co-Ghost Hunter."

Damian tries to stifle a smile, and fails. Score! Triumph gathers in Danny's gut, his smile grows wider. He squeezes Damian tight, and only releases him so he can look him in the eyes. "And if anyone gives you a hard time at school, and I mean anyone--"

Danny has bad memories of the teachers looking the other way when the other kids were bullying him, all because he was a Fenton.

And Danny, bleeding heart, bleeding hands, loves his family more than he will ever love himself, will never let Damian experience the same injustice. Not if he can help it.

His eyes narrow, and the buzzy-film of ectoplasm covers his eyes, making them glow, "--You tell me. And as your awesome great big brother-and-technically-dad-but-only-biologically, I will handle it."

Damian, wonderfully made, full of light, his little brother Damian, giggles weakly at him. A sound that's worth it's weight in gold. The scary eyes dissipate, and Danny matches the sound with a cock-eyed, impish grin, dragging Damian into a soul-crushing, too-tight hug. The kind that only annoying older brothers can give. "Got it?"

That gets a proper, if short, laugh out of Damian. He wriggles in Danny's arms, trying to break free. But Danny does calisthenics, his arms are as big as Damian's head, so it doesn't work. "Understood, now, daeni 'adhhab ya 'akhi!"

Danny laughs, loud and bright, and loosens his hold just a smidge, only so he can adjust his grip and hop off the table with Damian still in arm.

"Never!" He crows, hoisting Damian slightly. One eye flick at the clock, and in one quick move, he secures Damian under one arm like a football, and hooks his foot under the strap of his backpack. Kicking it up, he tosses it into the air and catches it with his free hand, and slings it over his shoulder. "Now, to the car, my boy! Before we're late and Mom and Dad get charged."

Damian groans, childish and dramatic and long, but his face is all squished up with a wide grin and glee. Danny can taste his joy beneath his tongue.

"And, if my little pep talk didn't encourage you," He says, reaching the door to the garage, flipping Damian up onto his hip instead. "If you have a good day today, I'll make you bal mithai when you get back."

Like all kids at the promise of sweets, Damian's eyes widen and glitter. Danny loves seeing Damian be a kid, it's his favorite thing in the world. "I will!"

[eternalgirlscout]

i guess it's all building castles in the air about a character who only appears in flashbacks but i don't really get interpretations that claim shou's mom ~abandoned~ him when "lost the equivalent of a nasty custody battle with her supervillain ex husband and went behind his back anyway to at least stay in touch with her kid" feels like the much more obvious conclusion to come to about that whole situation given his dad's line about not "letting" shou see her

anyway i can admit i'm biased because i think shou, 13-year-old who sees himself as a responsible adult, suddenly having to deal with a parent who actually wants to be in his life As A Parent is a hysterical dynamic. he moves in with her like "so what do i owe you for my part of rent" and she's like "shou 1) you are my middle school aged son and 2) i own the house." there's a thematic argument to be made obviously vis a vis mob psycho 100's insistence on showing you genre-typical kids carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders and taking you by the chin and going "look. look. that's a child." but mostly i want to see shou ask his mom how they should revise the chore wheel he used with his adult lackeys to be fair for two people and her mentally screech to a halt and think maybe her plan to give him an allowance in case he wants to see a movie or something is not the biggest issue they need to deal with

[revvethasmythh]

it's so funny to me that caleb and veth really did just trade off the job of intensely pining for the other at like the halfway point of the campaign. like, imo, nott in the early days did not behave in any real romantic or even romance-adjacent ways toward him--I imagine it would be very hard to even think in that way when you hate what you look like so much, have such low self-esteem, and are actively lying about your entire past, including a secret husband. caleb, on the other hand, is kind of diving directly back into the sort of relationship he had with astrid and eadwulf. very close, very intimate, we-huddled-for-warmth-together-and-oops-it-led-to-something-else sort of thing. he is the one who expresses that he's fine with it if people think he and nott are romantically together when they're talking to keg. nott is the one who pushes back on that. he calls her his life partner. unknowingly, he compares his feelings for nott to nott's feelings for yeza. his behavior only really starts to change after he finds out about veth's husband because suddenly all of that other stuff is rendered inappropriate in retrospect. but even then he compliments her to yeza over dinner in the most awkward of ways, he admits to being jealous, he calls yeza "a lucky man" to have her, he stares at veth and yeza closed bedroom door for far too long, he creates an entire arcane tower with room for her family just so she'll stay with him. in general, his behavior is not, um, totally and completely platonic about it, you know?

like, veth's feelings for caleb are canonical and therefore indisputable in their existence, but caleb in the early days was not that dissimilar to how veth was acting near the end of the campaign. it really paints a picture of "right person, wrong time" in the way things just didn't line up for them. or, as veth would say: "in another world, maybe"

[2danesand1cat]

it’s a typical tuesday night. let’s take a look into the Wayne manor happenings, shall we?

Dick is chatting with Alfred in the kitchen, post dinner. Alfred looks more tired than usual and Dick notices this, trying not to think about how much his grandfather figure has aged since he first met him and how he had to subtly help him open a jar earlier and how frail his fingers looked in those moments he struggled to pop off the lid. After a few minutes of chatting, he realizes he keeps running a hand through his hair and assumes Alfred will suggest a haircut, but he doesn’t. His stomach is flipping nervously because he has been having A Hard Fucking Month and wants to talk to Bruce about how he handled a hostage situation earlier this week (and he is nervous bc he knows he could have been better and that he was sloppy and Bruce will have an Opinion), but he really needs to just talk about it and maybe just wants a hug. He glances over at Dames and smiles a bit and smiling at his “scrunched up concentrated face” feels easy. He wonders if he’ll bring his sketch into the den for Steph’s movie.

Alfred notices that Dick seems to be lingering after dinner. He knows this means he likely has to talk to Bruce about something important and is nervous. Alfred lets him help in the kitchen and takes note of his needed haircut. He feels older than he normally does and finds himself particularly tired tonight, but is pleased with the civil dinner. He felt a small knot he didn’t fully realize was there unravel when Tim seemed to have some more color in his cheeks than he had last week at dinner. He noticed the glances between Tim and Bruce throughout the meal and assumes they must have had a good meeting this afternoon at WE and likely got lunch afterwards, resolving the obvious recent tension. He looks forward to hearing about it from Bruce later tonight.

Damian is sticking close to Alfred and Dick, feeling lighter than he has in a few days because Dick is around, and he finally has a few relaxed moments to work on a new sketch. He plans to watercolor it later. It is raven he saw a few evenings ago, and she was holding a small marble in her beak. Damian smiles thinking about how the clever bird must had spotted the marble from her perch and spent a great deal of time and attention cleaning the dirt off of it. Briefly, he remembers cleaning his grandmother’s pearl, the one he found for Bruce in the sewers, and smiles. His painting of the raven may or may not be a Christmas present for Bruce. He’s not sure if he’ll slip it into his desk drawer one random night when Bruce seems particularly stiff or save it as a gift for the holiday next month. He sips tea quietly and subconsciously rubs his little socked feet together as he sketches.

Tim has been in a good mood since this afternoon. He and Bruce finally got a chance to talk about some WE leadership changes that have been bugging Tim for a while, but more importantly, he just got some one-on-one time with Bruce that he had been craving. Bruce had told him how proud he was of him and Tim honestly talked about his current mental state, all while shoving his face with fancy fries and aioli. Now, he was excited to watch this movie with Steph that she has to view for one of her “boring mandatory history classes”. He even made the suggestion for everyone to join while eating dinner, and noticed Bruce’s eyebrow raise at the invitation. Tim figured Bruce was mildly surprised he had extended the invite, but Tim was feeling generous and cozy. He also knew that if he invited everyone that Bruce would join. However, it’s a documentary on Ancient Mesopotamia, so there’s a good chance Bruce would have joined anyways. He rips open the bag of family sized Sour Patch Kids and eats 2 blue ones as he strolls to the den, knowing Steph will rip the bag from his hands when he walks in.

Jason is browsing the library looking for his old copy of Brideshead Revisted because he wants something light and easy enough to follow as he sits in on this movie, or rather, documentary. He rolls his eyes to himself wondering what the fuck kind of family gets excited about a documentary on ancient Mesopotamia. Before dinner, Steph had pouted at him until he agreed to watch and even though he fully intended on watching it before her antics (ancient Mesopotamia is perhaps, a little bit, mildly, intriguing), he also planned to read. As he browses the shelves, he sticks his hands in his hoodie pocket and finds an old Fruit Stripe Gum wrapper. He chuckles and licks it to stamp the temporary tattoo on his wrist. He knows it’s from a pack he bought last fall while running into the gas station with Cassie while waiting for a take out order (and he also needed cigarettes, which earned him a glare from his sister). He absentmindedly wonders if Damian has ever had Fruit Stripe gum and makes a mental note to buy him a pack.

Steph is laying on the den floor, feet in the air against the edge of one of the plushy couches, and hums the Dragon Tales theme song, trying to remember all the words. It’s been years since she’s seen it, but she was explaining to Cassie how she always felt jealous of the magical world they escaped in to and is telling sweet and patient Cass how she recalls wishing she had her own magical world to escape to when she was a kid (PBS was great, but not the same). Then, feeling suddenly emotional, decided to try and prove that she remembered every word to the theme song, and began loudly (and half incoherently) belting out the lyrics. She had flipped upside down to make it seem like that was the reason blood rushed to her face when she brought stupid Dragon Tales up. There’s also a nagging pit of anxiety when she thinks about writing this dumb paper for this dumb class. She hopes Tim stays awake the whole time so he can suffer with her. She hopes everyone sneaks in to watch. She feels gross and lonely and really already started this movie but was hoping to turn it into an event for the company without having to ask for company for Real Reasons.

Cassie is sitting criss cross on the Red Den Chair because it’s Not Ugly Stephanie, it’s Soft. She was smiling thinking about everyone at dinner, and how Bruce seemed tired but not Sad Tired and how Jason actually took off his jacket again and wore just a hoodie. She wonders if maybe Steph would like to paint nails during the movie. She feels tension rolling off of Steph and thinks it may be her essay she has to write about her movie but then notices blood rush to her cheeks when she starts to talk about her childhood comfort show. She hopes Tim grabs the sour candies in the big bag that Alfred knows about but pretends he doesn’t, because she knows that those are Steph’s favorites.

Bruce is feeling extremely content. Dinner has revitalized him, not drained him, because it was one of those rare nights where everyone seemed to get along. Jason is in the library which means he plans on sticking around for a while. Tim is doing better than he projected and has been better about actually discussing his personal life with Bruce, which makes his job a tad easier. He thinks about how his face lit up when he told him how well he was doing with everything, and how proud he was of him for balancing things lately. He knows Alfred will be happy to learn about their lunch and Tim’s two proper meals of the day. As he concludes his nighttime stretching in his bedroom, glaring at his own joints for cracking so much, he makes a mental note to find Dick before he joins in with the rest of the kids as they watch Stephanie’s school documentary. He noticed Dick chewing on his inner cheek after dinner and reasons that he needs either advice and a hug, or maybe just a hug. He showers and grumbles at his nearly empty shampoo bottle. He makes another mental note to ask Alfred to stock Damian’s shower with his shampoo, since Damian continues to pilfer it. He knows Damian finds comfort in the scent but would never admit that aloud. As he walks out of his bedroom he grabs an extra hoodie for Cassie, knowing she’ll want the cozy fleece around her during the film. He decided at dinner he would not patrol tonight, but instead maybe pour over some case files, and he does not regret that decision when he hears Jason’s laughter from down the hall. He leans up against the door frame of the den and tosses the hoodie to Cassie, who catches it swiftly with a smile. Stephanie almost immediately shouts “no throwing in the den!” (old Alfred rule) and launches a piece of gummy candy at his face. Bruce catches it easily and pops into his mouth while noticing Steph’s defensive demeanor. She’s upset. Another mental note. But first, Dick. He makes a promise to come back and finds Dickie on the back patio in the evening chill. And even though the wind whips around them and makes goosebumps rise on his arms, Dick’s head is warm as he leans on his shoulder. They sit for a while, Bruce rubbing his hand up and down Dick’s shoulders and arm, until Dick’s breathing is steady again. When they both creep into the den, everyone is there. Damian scoots over to make more room from them on the leather coach on the far wall. The bag of candy is being passed around and is nearly empty. Damian leans into him and from across the room, Alfred gives him a smile and a slight nod. It’s a good night.

[zorlovinghue]

My selfish little heart cannot help but be reminded of that time Raon calling Cale a bear for sleeping and rolling around his bed. It's so funny because what if Cale's actually a bear. And he's 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 hibernate too.

Our boy is pretty... Short. Well he's pretty indeed, but also short. And thin. A twink. Anyway he got the voice, the general tone and vibe, which strengthened when he finally reached twenty–let's presume this is the time for bear beastpeople to have their first awakening phase that conversely the same as the time he could first polymorph, so imagine the surprise of his family when he just... Polymorphed. And immediately went on rampage because of course he would.

He may be more delicate-looking because of Jour, it's a good twist if it was Deruth who's a pureblood bear beastperson. So Lily is half-blood, that'll explain their unique tendencies and why Bassen is our perfect logical-and-common sense-oriented sibling among the three.

Whether it would follow the canon events or not, the variable is open for exploration. How interesting when it was time for him to hibernate, and it is different with dragon's growth phase because he would need to do so 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺. Until he reached, I don't know, whatever you wish to fill in the gap, that he'll eventually managed to control it enough to function like Deruth.

His dream (plea) for a slacker life would just be an indicator of his approaching hibernation at some point. Everyone taking note on his sleeping and eating pattern, because he'd only, and only gained weight when his hibernation is near before losing it completely once he's done.... And continue losing weight as he resume his quest to flip the world upside down.

His meeting with Sayeru would be comical at first. I mean, our 36 years old apocalypse survivor being called a stray cub is surprisingly the most insulting words known to man. Even White Star failed to offended him, poor radish.

It was stated in canon that Bear tribe kinda poor in loyalty, so that's the homework, but twist it enough and he'll merely incapable of being loyal to his (never his in the first place) slacker life lol.

What bear type would he be? Black bear? Grizzly bear? Polar bear? Any other bear?

He is the best bear for his family! He could actually give a bear hug!

[tlou-obsessed]

I am just gonna freak out about 'The Wild Robot': spoiler alert

How fucking genius is it to make Brightbill look all scared at Roz, looking for reassurance, his wing is messed up and he can't fly, he's looking at his momma and nowhere else. To have Roz get flashbacks to how he looked through the stages of life made me ugly sob, and then she rips the hardware 'the cold heart' out, and put Brightbill there, showing that he's her heart now.

Then Pedro comes in with the most heartwrenching voice acting, throughout the movie we get fink who begins out as a 'every man for himself' but his caring nature comes through when he's looking at Brightbill, and through Roz we see him change, he becomes kinder, and starts seeking out Roz, looking for a friend... and cares for Brightbill, motivating him. One of my favourite lines from the movie is : "Fly like you, not them".

Can we just cry about this moment too, because Longneck being the only goose who believed Brightbill was capable knew Roz ran to see her kid and decides to fly by one more time. Also can we just obsess about that, they really showed how important a support system is. This last look had the floodgates open.

[queerprayers]

i want to say first of all that i fully respect a community's/denomination's/culture's right to have closed practices. i am not entitled to other people's traditions, and when i am a guest in a space i understand that everything is not automatically for me. and i know i do not have to understand to respect.

and also! when i go to a catholic church and can't receive communion i want to fall on the floor weeping. what do you mean i can't have him he's right there. sorry my baptism was the wrong kind of baptism. i'm hungry and you want me to become someone else before being fed.

[raayllum]

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