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[greenhorn-art]

World Champions | Artwork for World Champions by TheDefenestrator by TheDefenestrator, art by Blurb_brain

Fandom: The King's Avatar | 全职高手

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Category: Gen

Words: 71 944

At the end of season 4 of the Glory Pro Alliance, the government finally receives the information it has been waiting for: The other players have caught up. Or, In which Glory has been a government recruitment ploy for remote-piloted mecha operators all along.

About the Book

FONTS: Mundo Serif, Azonix [dafont], Segoe UI Symbol

IMAGES: Illustration by Blurb_brain [AO3]; cover image by NASA ID: 440611 [Rawpixel]; Planet Earth background ID: 6331593 [Rawpixel]; Circuit lines background ID: 3117935 [Rawpixel]; endpapers' image by Eric Eastman [Unsplash]; Swoksaar, Desert Dust, Lord Grim, Vaccaria, and Cloud Piercer [The King's Avatar Wikia]

MATERIALS: regular printer paper (8.5"x11", 96 bright, 20lb), 80pt bookboard, Iris Bookcloth (colour: Black Pearl), Neenah cardstock (8.5"x11", bright white, 65lb), waxed linen thread (white, 30/3 size), embroidery floss (shades 3750, 350, 3845, 370), leather cording (1.9mm diameter), Reeves’ acrylic paint (Mars Black, Phthalo Blue, Titanum White), Americana acrylic paint (glow in the dark), ph neutral pva glue (Books by Hand)

PROGRAMS USED: Typeset in Affinity Publisher, cover/title page/endpapers designed in Affinity Designer/Photo, QR codes generated with LibreOffice Writer, PDF arranged for printing with Bookbinder-JS

BINDING STYLE: quarto, case bound (slightly rounded, with oxford hollow, forgot to use tapes)

.

Fenes' "Glory's tech isn't handwaved" AU. This was great! Funny and creative, and I'm both amazed and full of admiration for Fenes' ability to juggle so many characters.

I was feeling excited and ambitious with this one. Tried some new fun things (double core endbands, painted edges) and used some new equipment (a lying press).

The Text

TITLE/HEADINGS FONT: Azonix says 'SciFi' to me, it's a bold, non-serif, sleek font.

BODY FONT: Mundo Serif, it's a decent serif body font I haven't used before. Felt like it worked with Azonix.

SCENE BREAKS: a special character in Segoe UI Symbol of a black & white icon of Earth, the globe showing Asia.

TYPESETTING: Finished typesetting the fic, left document open on my laptop, laptop's battery failed, file now crashes immediately upon reopening, issue persists with copied versions of file (；￣Д￣) . Thankfully I had a backup file for the typeset with the barebones of the text, so I didn't have to restart from scratch...

Title Page

My thinking: it takes place in space, the world's at stake, and it's the dawn of a new horizon for Earth. Glory and the titular champions are represented by Swoksaar, Desert Dust, Lord Grim, Vaccaria, and Cloud Piercer – the captains of what I'd call the 'big 5' teams. A circuitry board background element hints at the tech/mecha nature of the story's competition. It may not match Blurb's art, but I hope I was able to convey some of what the story is about.

The circuitry image is used as decoration throughout the book. I only used the avatars of the top five teams' captains because too many silhouettes would lessen their impact and readability. (Removing the backgrounds was tedious, but worth it.)

Here's what it should have looked like. The test prints for this and the BB art were fine, but I think my inkjet started running out of ink just when I printed the final copies and I didn't reprint them. (Too impatient, really wanted to finish up and read the book)

The Cover

World Champions is another Big Bang fic, and once again I based some of my design choices off of the accompanying artwork. The dominant colours of Blurb_brain's illustration are red and blue-green.

COVER PAPER: For the decorative cover material I used NASA's ASTER image of Poyang Lake. NASA has some really interesting photography some of which remind me of marbled paper, thought it could be interesting. I chose this image of Poyang Lake because 1) it's in China, 2) the colours were similar to Blurb's awesome illustration (fate strikes again, dropping matching images and artwork into my lap!), and 3) NASA is tangentially relevant to the fic, which takes place in space.

BOOKCLOTH: Verona bookcloth in the shade Black Pearl, a lovely dark navy blue colour. Thought it suited the cover paper and title page. (Bought it for this fic specifically, but the colour goes well with almost all of my decorative papers so it should see a lot of use in the future!)

Endpapers

The final decision that held this project at a standstill for two months. In the end I drew inspiration from the matchups against the final opponent in the story. The image I used is a little chaotic and a little too unrelated to identify why I picked it without an explanation, but this book is for me and I know why, so there. (Note that I played around with the colours and cropped the photo.)

Endpaper inspiration: the maps for the matches against the Infilhites

"a long bridge through an enormous tube-like hall, where light seem to come from every side through stained glass windows. It was visually confusing, limited lateral motion" "a warehouse, crates stacked on and beside metal racks that went all the way to the ceiling." "a house of mirrors, fully enclosed to be sure the Infhillte couldn’t fly out of it." "like a volcano, rivers of lava moving sluggishly down a slope, occasional vents of overheated air nearby." "a series of overlapping bridges between halls and stairways, level after level layered over an open abyss."

Trimming & Painting the Edges

Going all out, a 2-for1 deal: the opportunity to use my lying press for the first time and learn a new technique!

TRIMMING: Used a paring chisel and lying press.

CHISEL: The 1.25" wide paring chisel I used was form a modern manufacturer. (Vintage paring chisels are very thin, enough so that you can bend/flex the blade. But don't do that.) It's long and wide blade made it easier to register against the surface of the press for consistent cuts. Looks like this one below from Lee Valley.

LYING PRESS: My dad's project. Solid black walnut, hand carved screws and internal threads — he even made the tools to make the threads too! The jaws of the press are each 3 7/8" wide. It's big and heavy (though much smaller than full-sized professional ones omg), but there's enough of a flat surface to register the chisel against. A thicc boi, much like this one below from Bookbinding Supplies.

PAINTED EDGES: The idea was to have dark navy edges, speckled with white stars. I used acrylic from a tube to paint the edges — tutorials recommended it over liquid bottled acrylic, and I had an old set hanging around. Had to water it down because otherwise the paint just flaked off.

My test of trimming and painting went well. Then the trimmed book itself came out slightly crooked, the paint required significantly more watering-down than before, and the white paint did not want to be both opaque and speckle-able. Unfortunate, but still book-shaped! And now I have an idea of what to do differently next time.

Also, did not like the glow-in-the-dark paint. Looked too translucent in the light when compared to the white acrylic, and needed a thicker coat to be visible in the dark. (The thickness combined with the translucence and base colour kinda reminded me of boogers... Ended up scrapping most of it off, so there's not much left to glow.)

Endbands

Still in the mood to have fun and go all-out, I attempted double-core endbands for the first time.

TUTORIAL: YouTube @ BookbindersChronicle: Bookbinding 101 Sewing Headbands Session 2. Also watched @ DAS Bookbinding's Double-Core Endband // Adventures in Bookbinding, but I personally found Chronicle's closeup video easier to follow.

I used embroidery floss from a 100pk of assorted colours off Amazon, wrapped around a core of 1.9mm leather cording from Michaels. I drew from Blurb_brain's art for the general colours, choosing a dark base, with red, blue-green, and gold. The specific shades were picked to go with the cover.

[sanjiaftersex]

Punk Hazard fashion evaluation

(not considering the fillers)

(1) Robin had the best fits in the whole arc. Both her flowy tops are a hit, even her floral inner top was so cute too. The cherry red top fit she wears while leaving punk hazard failed a bit because of the pants, looked like generic millennial style. But both her coats were stylish and unique, and there were lots of variations in her wardrobe 9/10.

Robin's cutie bear coat deserves a separate mention. Gives very aquarius vibe, it's unique quirky and unisex but she also looks good. That's very aquarian, and she's on point with her zodiac!

(2) Sanji : i love his orange S coat i think the palette really complements his beautiful hair without overpowering it. Meanwhile his gray shirt this arc was super elegant in color, it brought out his features very well. All fits coordinated and compliments his features sexy and immaculate i love him 12/10

(3) Luffy : PH Luffy has a very bright and youthful style. I loved the dominance of red and complementing pink hues in his fit the whole arc. His PH style was like him : bright upbeat and vivid. But with each fit the sandals stayed and that makes him an icon idk anyway 8/10 Plus +

I know it's not a fit, but Momonosuke wrapped around luffy is a vibe and it gave paris fashion week 💯

Killer Fit mentions :

Zoro's mint coat was pretty, the palette complements with his usual clothing and his hair! Love the soft brown contrast with his otherwise all green/mint fit, the brown matches his shoes and swords well! Overall very harmonious

[blush-and-books]

Also thoughts on finale!!!!!

AHHH OK I HAVE A LOT

1. Yes, felt a bit like a rushed finale, trying to tie up loose ends and whatnot. It is what it is, but in the 16-episode seasons the writers definitely were able to pace things insanely well, so you feel how clipped they are in this 10-episode season.

2. I was totally misled by fics and other posts that Harvey like pressured her into marrying him and that he had decided to move to Seattle without us getting to see them talk about it, but I was pleasantly surprised to not feel that way about how it went down!! When Donna brought up the concern that their families weren't there, he instantly said they'd do it again, and IDK something in Donna's vibe was just giving of crazy "yes I need to marry you right now" energy. The man she's been pining after for years is literally proposing to her with his grandmother's ring THAT HE WAS KEEPING IN HIS POCKET!!!! yeah i would fold and have an impulse wedding too. she got her bag!!

about Seattle, I made a post about this but lowkey it felt like an idea that Donna had, knowing that Harvey was leaving the firm and that with everything that's happened, they both needed a change of pace and a support system in Mike and Rachel. Huge bummer that we don't get to see how the decision was made, but her adamant behavior in telling Louis that they both want to leave and also her checking in with Harvey and asking HIM "are you sure you want to do this" felt very much like she was checking in because he had agreed to HER plan, not the other way around. She's very clearly comfortable and happy with the decision. We love to see it.

3. When Louis mentioned (before the Faye takedown) that him, Donna, and Harvey were all that was left of PEARSON HARDMAN, I fucking cried. I hadn't heard any of the characters call it PH in so long and it was a crazy realization that they really were the originals from before the series had even started.

4. Donna's dress was so beautiful at the wedding I kept looking at it like 🥹

5. Donna saying in her vows that 100 years would never be enough time with Harvey.... Yeah I felt that. They wasted so much time not being together that now, no amount of time is enough.

6. WE FINALLY GOT TWO FULL "I LOVE YOUs" FROM HARVEY TO DONNA LMAO

7. I wish after the wedding they were at least a little more affectionate with each other and we got one more "my wife"/"my husband" (DONNA DESERVES TO FLAUNT HER BAG!!!! (her bag is harvey <33)). Like I wish we just got a little more juice or something about them being excited to do this next chapter together or whatever. But oh well that's what fanfiction is for

8. When Donna instantly went to hold Lucy first and Harvey was just smiling at them.... Oh my mind was at WORK!!!

9. As iconic as it would have been for darvey to be walking out of the offices together, I actually really appreciated that last moment between Donna and Louis, because their friendship is incredibly strong and I liked that it was acknowledged!!! And having Harvey be the last one out was just very iconic like yeah I ate that up that's our man

10. name partner katrina bennett my beloved <333

Sorry for the long post!!! Thank you for asking about my thoughts I'd love to hear how you feel about any of the bits and just how the episode goes overall

(I also cannot wait for Netflix to finally drop season nine so I can get more darvey stills at last)

[gamchawizzy]

I REALISED I haven't put any refs of Luce here yet....... Here is my OC Hoonter in his pre-canon wear!!!

Man's got that calachuchi drip (all the more to repel beasts because it's such a strong scent)

Anyway. Luce came from the PH and was in Spain alongside the haciendero's daughter, acting as her chaperone in university. He was also allowed to take classes as a status symbol of his employer's wealth.

When he came to Yharnam for blood healing to stop the things inside him, the blood had also healed something else he didn't expect - turning his feminine form into a more bulkier, squarer fit - his face still remained very dainty, so he hides it behind a mask.

I chose the calachuchi/plumeria specifically because it's very significant to me personally - as well as how, in SEA culture, they are also called "graveyard flowers", being planted at those sites the most. They have a lovely strong scent, but for SEA people, a superstition exists that if you're smelling it out of nowhere, it means a ghost is nearby 😨 I think Luce would wear them to make the incense smell stronger, but also to signify his presence being an omen of death for beasts and criminals.

I also chose to draw eyelashes for him because 1. brown boys with eyelashes are TOP TIER and also 2. as a nod to the BB comics' iconic nonbinary hoonter with pretty eyes

[starwriterulia]

Tomb of the Goshenite Stargazer Dragon - Chapter 2

SUBJECT MATERIAL WARNINGS FOR THIS FANFICTION ARE INCLUDED IN THE MASTERLIST POST OF MY BLOG AND THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THIS FANFICTION.

Bat dividers by @violetbudd

Creator support banner by @cafekitsune

Latest revision: August 18, 2024. Added "Support your creators by reblogging" banner. Added ⏭️ emoji below end of chapter banner with text explaining its function as a navigational button.

Fandoms: DC Comics, Batfamily, no Batcest, Thalassic Space (OC; takes inspiration The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Assassin's Creed: Black Flag, Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, and other sci-fi, fantasy and horror titles, as well as original concepts, such as the science and lore of the galaxy.)

Chapter Summary: Faith tells more lore to Batman and Robin, and a bit more about herself to the group chat.

[In order of appearance] Characters: Faith Lawson (TBA; self-insert), Bruce Wayne (Batman), Damian Wayne (Robin), Tim Drake (Red Robin), Barbara Gordon (Batgirl), Stephanie Brown (The Spoiler) Dick Grayson (Nightwing).

Word Count: 6744 8381 (July 30 revision) 8303 (August 10 revision)

Content warnings: N/A, unless I've forgotten something while transferring and adding lore. Let me know if I did!

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3

"You've got nice, big beds, eh?" Faith said, lifting the blankets and climbing into the bed. Hawkman and Hawkwoman had left the room, leaving Martian Manhunter to sit in front of the monitor to listen.

"Of course." Batman brought the wastebin next to the bed, then sat on the bed while Faith made herself comfortable with the pillows, putting one under her chest.

"I've only got a twin. My apartment is small. One bed, one bath, shared living and dining room with a connected kitchen."

"You live by yourself?"

"Yeah. I have work on Monday."

"Uh-oh."

“It should be fine?” Faith squinted her eyes. "There’s a Scripted event in that, if I leave Earth due to summoning or forced departure to another galaxy, such as Thalassic Space or this galaxy, I duplicate myself once so that I may continue life on Earth. But it might not happen. It's a Suggested Script, really. Not sure if it makes sense, so it’s not confirmed."

"What would it take for it to be confirmed?"

"You could comment on that part under the Unconfirmed Ideas heading of the Thalassic Space Planning document, saying it sounds fine, then I'll move it to its appropriate heading and mark your comment as resolved, and remove your comment. In this case, the heading is About the Great Little Starwriter. Here, I’ll share the TSRPG app with you, send you a friend request, and then a link to the document. It's encrypted and protected by another muse child, Chandra, whose mother is Calliope and father is Michael. Her Dragon Persona is part Android, SOFFFIAA: Simulacra of Friendship for Future Insight and Aspirations. Sophia, spelled with ph, is also the name of one of the Four Legendary Unicorns, and yes, Chandra is the type of person Sophia favours and allows to ride on her." Batman hummed. Faith woke up her phone and did some tapping. "Accept the download, please." Batman looked at his glove.

Thalassic Space Roleplaying Game would like access to your device.

Decline – Accept

"The loading screen of the app will explain its purpose. You can delete it at any time like you would any other mobile app, and you can share it with anyone through the Share button via your Profile with a QR code or device sharing, like I did with you. You’ll have access to all publicly known lore of the galaxy, and what isn’t there is in the Planning Document. You can see the Profiles of your Friends at their respective tab, and review their Health, Magic, Equipment, Status, Abilities, Skills, Personas and Soul Fragments, if any of the latter four Assets are applicable or known to you or your Friends."

"Alright." Batman selected Accept. The download and installation required three seconds. The app's icon was an eight-coloured sigil Batman had never seen before.

Four thick black circles forming a vertical number eight and a horizontal number eight, joined to create four angular teardrop shapes, perhaps better described as leaves, morphing the outward sections of the eights into fan shapes. The upper half of the vertical eight was sky blue, the lower half white; the left half of the horizontal eight was yellow, the right half red. The upper left leaf was emerald green, the upper left peacock or mermaid blue; Batman wasn't one hundred percent sure. The lower left leaf was ice blue, and the lower right leaf was a light red.

"That was very fast." Batman said.

"You don't sleep, and you're at peak physical and mental condition. It was fast for me when Ra's and I were in Platonia because I registered when I started lucid dreaming in the dream world of Thalassic Space at fourteen."

Batman opened the app. The loading screen, seen for ten seconds, displayed a white-blue O-type star that rotated, surrounded by magic circles depicting religious symbols. A blue lotus, a red eternity knot, a purple oak tree, an orange bolt of lightning, a golden eye of Ra, a blue David’s star, a red sigil of Baphomet, and the eight-coloured sigil. The title, in white-blue, read Thalassic Space Roleplaying Game and below it, in white, read:

Serving citizens and visitors with memories and immersive gameplay in the galaxy created post-mortem of "Tony" Richard Lawson in November 2021 by his adoptive daughter, Faith Lawson, the mortal name and memory-bearing soul of the Author of Thalassic Space.

Faith is revered as Ønske Ulia Χαμένος (Chaménos), daughter of Skuld and Víðarr, fostered by Frejya and Freyr, and mentored by Urania and Uriel. Faith, through Ulia, is the Great Little Starwriter of Thalassic Space, and Playwright of the Rondo Theatre in the Dream World on Paper, the dream world of Thalassic Space.

Connection is possible thanks to your knowledge or introduction to the dream world’s mechanics and lore, Thalassic Space’s history, and intention to participate in adventures in the dream world and-or Thalassic Space.

Batman noted the loading was taking longer than the installation.

Verifying files…

Registering user's memory-bearing soul to Santa Claus' Snow Globe Room…

Registering user's magic-bearing spirit or lack thereof to the libraries of the pantheons…

Registering user's physique and attributes…

Creating a personalised Room for user at the Pàrras VLFS Hospital and Hotel…

The app made three jingle bell sounds. Batman was presented with a 3D room suited to his aesthetics with a two-screen monitor computer on a desk, a queen-sized bed, a nightstand, a wardrobe, a vanity desk, a bathroom, and a door with the label (HOLD 3s) Leave planet; Go to Pàrras, planet Youtrnaeyl beneath it. The black UI in the bottom of the screen said Room, Map, Journal, Friends and Party in white text. A pictograph of a camera with a label in white below was at the upper right of the screen. The upper left had a white letter B on a black background for his profile photo. Batman was written above a green bar that read HEALTH that was almost full, a bar beneath that read MAGIC that was a greyish blue and had the words DISABLED at its right end.

"Are you in?" Faith asked.

"Yeah."

"OK, I’ll send a friend request."

Batman received a green notification banner on the app.

Ulia Χαμένος has sent a Friend request! <TAP TO GO>

"Feel free to explore your Profile and App Settings. For example, if you don't want jingle bells, you can change the ringtone, or set it to different levels of vibration, or a tickling sensation on your hand, nose or neck. Your Foes list shouldn't have any information you don’t know to be true. If it does, report it, and SOFFFIAA will purge it, so a paradox doesn’t occur."

Batman tapped the notification and was sent to the Friend Request screen of the Friends tab. He accepted Faith’s request, then backed out. He was in his Profile tab, showing his Health points were 480, 000; a question mark at its right end. Batman tapped it, and the pop-up read:

HEALTH is calculated by multiplying the user's age by 100 thousand, if human and non-magical, 150 thousand if human and magical, 200 thousand if non-human and non-magical, 250 thousand if non-human and magical, plus 1 million per decade if immortal or demi-immortal via demi-demonhood or demi-godhood.

"You came up with all of this too, right?" Batman said, as the game jingled and showed a notification.

Ulia Χαμένος has sent a message. <TAP TO GO>

"Yeah! The logic is supposed to be solid, like well-made video game worlds are." Faith said, while Batman clicked the link. "There's no password, for now."

"Thanks. I'll help you make a password later. But yes, just reading how Health works shows how much thought has been put into this."

"Thank you. You can use your Journal to view your life story as described by an angel, and you can search by date. If you have questions and are uncomfortable with talking to SOFFFIAA, but I'm not nearby, shoot me a message. If you'd prefer to not use the app or it's down for weekly server maintenance for an hour on Sundays at noon PST, my phone number is 778 [XXX-XXXX]."

"Will do. Thanks, Faith."

"You’re welcome!" Faith held her finger down, tapped, exited the app, and clicked to turn off her phone.

Batman’s TSRPG gave him a notification, and he opened the respective document. "By the way, your email for this is hilarious. I know it’s just a bunch of numbers, letters and symbols, but I can’t look at it without thinking how Matt Rose would read it, full send."

"Who’s that?"

"A YouTuber who reads Reddit. He’s British, so it's funnier." Faith started coughing. She heaved and swallowed. "Ew."

"What was the last thing you ate?"

"I tried to eat a banana and apple sauce. Threw it up earlier. Tastes sweet.'

"Lovely."

"I know, right?" Faith giggled.

"I have your tea, Faith." Damian said, not wearing his mask, entering with a teacup and putting it on the nightstand. "It's hot, so be careful."

"Thank you, Damian."

"You’re welcome."

Batman asked, "Faith, what's the eight-coloured sigil?"

"The Double Eight of Thalassic Space. It tells the story of the O-type star's spirit. The white and blue spheres are for the O-type star, and the yellow and red for the G- and M-type stars. The inner leaves are for factions and locations involved in the story: emerald for the Emerald Thieves, who were the elite of the Thieves Guild and returned to greatness during the main novel, mermaid sapphire blue for the merfolk of Thalassic Space, who were corrupted by Nero Poseidon through Nero Dionysus and became the only known sirens in Thalassic Space, ice blue for the Ninth Circle of Inferno, as Lucifer was the one who told Nerobzal about the Door to Platonia and as a reminder of the evil that Kaleido wished to release, and blush red for the blood of the anthropomorphs of Thalassic Space. It's blush red instead of blood to evoke thoughts of gentleness and love after the struggles they faced." Faith said, and picked up the teacup, blowing on its tea. "Any other lore related questions?"

"Where do the Departed come from? You told the ones who were harassing Ra's to return to the Underside."

"Well, then I must explain a Soul Bridge, which Dreamer Mages can access, and sometimes the owner of the Soul Bridge in dreams can too. It's a soul-bound Landmark in the Dream World on Paper, which I think you've the name of heard before." Faith sipped the tea.

"Yes." Said Batman. "Just the name, though."

"It's named so because I had a dream where I saw that I had drawn a simplified version of the three areas of the dream world on paper I had glued to coloured construction paper as a kid, and it blew my friggin' mind." Faith giggled.

"That's cool." Damian said, not doing so well in hiding the tone that showed how he actually felt.

"These areas are: a desert with mountains where there's mines, Egyptian ruins and a massive sinkhole in the dunes, a forested mountainous island with a dojo surrounded by an ocean, and a town with a city within a short distance that is actually Vanderhoof and Prince George, surrounded by a forest." Faith sipped. "Neo Spirits hang from the Suspensions of a Soul Bridge and whisper, speak or sing to the High Mind part of the subconscious, the sky of the dream world, to remind us of dreams, self-love, and good memories, all to make us smile and improve our quality of life. Nero Spirits cling to the Underside of a Soul Bridge and snarl, shout or scream to the Low Mind part of the subconscious to induce of nightmares, such as panic attacks, self-hatred, which can be expressed in many ways, and bad memories, which come from experiences related to the former two aspects." Faith sipped again.

"In the waking world of Thalassic Space, the army of Nero Spirits include the undead, which can take the form of draugr or zombies, and evil vampires, werewolves and sirens, though the latter is quite rare, and I don't think Urania mentioned them as a result. They only appeared because of Nero Dionysus, and they weren't around for long after the events of the main novel." Faith sipped. "Nero Spirits have neon red, orange eyes or yellow to evoke the imagery of fire. If they're toxic, their eyes are neon green, neon blue means electricity, neon purple means corruption of mind and decay of body, and neon pink means nightmares."

"Neo Spirits have pastel, jewel or earth-tone eyes, and depending on what the narration describes that colour as, you can associate the meaning of that rock or plant as relevant to the purpose and sometimes the personality of a Neo Spirit." Faith sipped more. "Both are bound to a Soul Bridge but can be seen in dreams or nightmares, and Neo Spirits can be summoned to the 28 Mansions to provide a source of comfort to a person when they've passed on, and Nero Spirits can be manifested, which is terrible news. Ask me about that later, unless I bring it up naturally through more exposition."

"Will do." Said Batman.

"Any other questions?"

Damian said, "Yeah. Why did you spare Grandfather?"

“If I killed him, he would fight his way out of Inferno, and from Mansion 0 and the 28 Mansions of the Four Symbols of Chinese astrology learn about the existence of the Earth-ruining events he so desperately wants and of the nearest reincarnation Realm, the Realm of Tree Peoples." Faith sipped. "Bartholomew, or maybe Krampus, would seek Ra's and promote him to General, giving Ra's permission to command Nerobzal's army. Ra's would bring them back here, occupy all the heroes, and then, all he would need to do to trigger Red Storm Earth is to cut me with my tooth and dagger, stuff my necklace down my throat or injure my throat with it, and have me fall to my death from at least three stories onto a cluster of manmade or natural spikes and thorns, a death vaguely reminiscent of Sailor Venus from the first season of Sailor Moon. 'Cause you know I gotta shout out the O.M.G." Faith giggled, and sipped.

"Nice." Said Damian. "Uh, nice reference."

"During Red Storm Earth, the 200 Fallen Angels are released from Dudael to kill, burn and rape humans and animals as they please while a rainstorm of black clouds with neon red lightning pours down at all times, and the movement of the Fallen Angels will create hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis and hurricanes. It will last for two days, and then Yahweh will send a massive, fiery planet to reset Earth to the beginning of the first day, but everyone will remember what happened." Faith sipped. "It can be stopped if the Four Legendary Unicorns are summoned from Thalassic Space, their Earthly riders win a race against the Wild Hunt, and brought to resurrect me. They are Bella, who is white with gold in her mane and tail and golden hooves, and she loves people with childish joy and love in their hearts who have forgiven themselves and others who have wronged them and those they love; Sophia, who is a dark liver chestnut with a light chestnut mane and tail with silver hooves, and she loves people who are wise about Earth, oceans and space, and who wish to spread that knowledge and sow inspiration to create a healthier world with the world and our neighbours; Pärla, who is baby blue eyed, her body pearl pink and her mane and tail lavender, is fond of magical people who use their gifts to help others, especially fairies and demigods; last is the stallion, Bedöma, who is black with orange eyes, and a red mane and tail alight with yellow lightning, and he allows heroic people who have never killed a god or fairy or the child of a god or fairy to ride him, but will deny people who have never saved a life."

"If the Four are gathered and I am resurrected in time, the day or days will reverse as if Yahweh had cast the fiery planet onto Earth, saving lives and the planet." Faith said. Batman hummed. "There's a second catastrophe he could cause, but the people in the 28 Mansions would only tell him about Red Storm Earth. Ra's could only find out about the Invitation of Nerobzal from Bartholomew or Krampus."

"Tell us about the Invitation of Nerobzal."

Faith nodded as she sipped. "So, I live as my Ego, as do all people. This is equivalent to a Neo Persona. We all also have a Nero Persona. While Neo Spirits and Nero Spirits are from the Suspensions and Underside of a Soul Bridge, our Neo and Nero Personas are Roles that we can each assume. Like you, as Batman and Robin, are Neo Personas, but Zur-En-Arrh and Robin before you properly settled into the Batfamily, no offense," Damian grunted. "Are examples of Nero Personas."

"These can be dangerous on their own, but at times aren't nearly as dangerous as manifested Nero Spirits. Manifested Neo Spirits are not an issue, unless you're an angel, in which case you expose people to your real form and voice, and that'll fry people's brains and kill them." Faith sipped. "Manifested Nero Spirits torment people’s minds, and their bodies react with seizures or possession by the Nero Spirit, and the possessed may injure themselves or become paralysed and vulnerable to a dark sorcerer, demon, or the manifested Nero Spirit. They’re dangerous, even to gods."

"A Nero Spirit can be manifested by a dark sorcerer through a ritual in which eight buildings containing at least eighty people are set ablaze with the blue fire of Naglfar." Faith sipped. "As the fire kills people, so does the newly spawned Nest of Naamah and its insect demons, which can quickly spread to other buildings if the windows and doors are not sealed or covered by fire. Drown the insect demons with boiling saltwater or burn them until they and the Nest are eliminated. Red fire reminds the demons of the volcano from which Father Dragon was made by the seraphim, and it's not blue, so it does not count towards the fire of the Naglfar. If the insect demons have Nested in a person, death by boiling saltwater or fire is the only mercy and way to prevent further reproduction of the Nest."

"Ew, they nest in people?" Said Damian.

"Uh, think of the fetish. It's like that."

"Ew!"

"Yeah, it felt right to make that creative decision, sorry." Faith sipped.

"No, uh, yeah, it works."

"If the Naglfar fire is not extinguished before the last person in the eight buildings dies, Nerobzal will rise from the ashes of the buildings and laugh, repeating the insanity that Earth felt when he laughed at Emperor Nero’s death. To return Nerobzal to Sagittarius A*, where he was banished to be torn apart for eternity at the end of the main novel, the archangels Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel and the muses they each bore a child with must be summoned by a Jewish man of pure heart, whoi is brave, kind and masculine in all ways applicable to the definition of a man under the eyes of God across all eras of mankind,"

'I immediately know who she thought of, when writing this.' Batman thought.

"And a cultist of Asherah must be present as well. " Faith sipped. "The Jew and the cultitst must each throw a spear, the Jew of lightning and the cultist of ice, into the eyes of Nerobzal. Blinded and frozen by the power of God and Asherah, Nerobzal will retreat for five years, and be unable to be summoned during that time. It’s also written that the person responsible for the ritual will be punished by the archangels, and made to forget all that they know about that night, and all knowledge of Thalassic Space."

"Ah, so that's your plan to remove Ra's' knowledge, as we all know he won't agree to the Departed taking it from him."

"Yes." Faith sighed, and sipped. "I'm sorry, I-I can make another that isn't a disaster, if I have an Editor. Proper noun, he he. Same with words like Landmark, uh, well, you're Batman, you get the idea."

"I do, yeah. Do you have any other ideas to get this out of Ra's' head?"

"Well, I am a wish-granting creation dragon. I dunno if Urania or I told you that, already."

"No, that's actually new information."

"Oh! Well, I accept gifts."

"What gifts do you, sorry, does your Dragon Persona like?"

"Rocks, gemstones, flowers, seeds and saplings, and traditional, performance and digital art."

Batman hummed. "Are you in danger of being killed by Bartholomew again, now that your dragon powers have returned?"

“No, Ra's is the only danger. Bartholomew only wanted to kill me because he's transphobic, and I was with Argophael when he found Argophael."

Damian asked, "Why did you chose to write a story like that?"

"Because too many trans people have died because of awful people, and in fantasy and horror, we get to emphasise and explore different ways to express history and emotions." Faith said. Damian and Batman hummed. "Oh yeah, I should say: if Ra's doesn't want to bother with Platonia, he could travel to Andøya, Norway to find and solve the hidden puzzle to reveal the door to my dragon tomb that the Snow Elves and Astral Giant Elves will have arranged by now. Planet Yotutrnaeyl is just a bigger Earth with magic islands, after all."

Batman asked, "What are the Departed going do with your hair and blood that you gave them?"

"They’ll give to Analise, one of the twin girls of Krampus, to advance Odeya’s strength. She's not evil, she's just a biology girl."

Damian said, "Soooo, what are you going to do when you're not sick?"

"I'll use Platonia after I’m done being sick to get my other Relics and my Costume, unless you want to take me to Norway."

"We'll go to Norway." Batman said.

"Sweet, OK!"

Batman hummed. "You should be proud of Thalassic Space. It's really well done, Faith."

"Yeah, it's really cool." Said Damian.

"Thank you!"

Batman said, "You should try to sleep. I'll read over what’s available in TSRPG and your planning document."

"OK! Goodnight, Bruce. Goodnight to you too, Damian."

"Goodnight, Faith." Batman patted the blanket where her right arm was, then rose and walked to turn off the light.

"Goodnight." Damian said, leaving with his father. Batman closed the door.

"Do you want the app too, so you can read?"

"Sure." Batman interacted with his gauntlet, sending the app to Damian. "Thanks."

"You’re welcome. I'm going to read in the drawing room. I might have a conversation with Watchtower, while I'm in there."

"OK. I’ll be in my bedroom."

"Oh, and you can tell the others about our new member."

"Already?"

"Why do you think she’s unsuitable?"

Two second pause. "You have me there. I have nothing against her."

"Thank you."

"I will add her in the group chat, as well."

"Good idea. Thank you, Damian." Batman said, as Damian reopened the door of the guest bedroom.

"Sorry to bother you."

"No, no, it's fine. What's up?"

"What's your phone number? I'd like to add you to the group chat." Faith gasped with a smile. She repeated her phone number. "Thanks." Faith nodded.

"Um, what's the WiFi name and password? I like to listen to ocean ambience to sleep."

"VKR3L17WE is the name, and TREACLE0743, all caps, no spaces, is the password. That’s T-R-E-A-C-L-E, 0743."

"Thank you."

"Mhm. If you need anything, just text me or Father." Damian told Faith their phone numbers.

"Thank you so much."

"You’re welcome. And don't worry about making a mess. You're sick. You're allowed to be gross." Faith smiled a little. "I will brief the others on what's happened. You can say whatever else you'd like, after that, OK?"

"OK!" Faith said. Damian exited, went to his bedroom, and closed the door. He took off his costume and put on a comfortable shirt and pants. He opened the Batfamily group chat and added Faith to the group.

Damian added Faith Lawson (StarwriterUlia) to the group.

Faith Lawson (StarwriterUlia) changed their display name to Faith.

Damian: Everyone, meet Faith from Earth-33. Grandfather had a naughty dream and wanted her body and power and brought her to Father's mansion to taunt Father, but he cut himself with Faith's dragon tooth so Faith had to come along.

Damian: Some ghouls called Departed seized Grandfather and put him in a room of the domain that Grandfather and Faith used to travel from Earth-33 to here. The Departed harassed him while Faith and Father talked.

Faith: *Room, Domain. Sorry, author things, proper nouns need to be capitalised.

Damian: Yes, thank you.

Damian: Faith opened the door and requested for Platonia to show Grandfather. Faith told him to back off or face her full power later, and that a Departed would come to him after a week of nightmares and offer to take his memories and knowledge of Thalassic Space.

Damian: He won't agree, of course.

Tim: Yeah, no.

Faith: Aaaa, hi!

Tim: Hi Faith, welcome to the Batfam 😇👋

Faith: Thank you!

Faith: But yeah, and because he's a demon, he could not only use Platonia again, the Departed and Umbrella Man will just ignore him. He could go to Mansion 0 and any of the 28 Mansions of the Four Symbols of Chinese astrology, the afterlife of the people of Thalassic Space that has many doors to the afterlife Realms of the real religions that have magic circles surrounding the O-type star of the galaxy, protecting its planets from its massive heat and magic output, and find out about Red Storm Earth and the Invitation of Nerobzal.

Tim: Umbrella Man?

Faith: Do you know the TF2 ARG Project Skybox?

Tim: Oh! Yep.

Faith: Ra's isn’t considered an interloper now. I didn't mention this to Batman, but Ra's was attacked because he *was* an interloper until it realised he was a demon.

Damian: Father will read this too, don't worry.

Faith: OK!

Faith: Anyway, Platonia won't try to devour him again.

Tim: I'm sorry, what's Platonia?

Faith: It's the Navidson hallway from House of Leaves, defined as Julian Barbour's platonia. You summon a Door to Platonia with the door opening ritual seen in MyHouse.wad.

Tim: Ooooh, that's so cool!

Faith: Thanks, I’ve been working on Thalassic Space for four years.

Faith: Ra's could learn everything the public knows and the history of Thalassic Space and me, and the closest Realm in the world of the living is the Realm of Tree Peoples. Bartholomew or Krampus would gladly promote Ra’s to General upon meeting during Ra’s would-be trail of destruction in the Realm of Tree Peoples. Bartholomew is the Ebony Giant Elf who murdered my Dragon Persona, the Goshenite Stargazer Dragon, and my Animus/lover, a trans boy named Argophael who was Bartholomew's eldest triplet and fled from home because of his dad.

Tim: Bartholomew sounds like an evil wizard LOL

Tim: Is Santa evil too?

Faith: Oh yes, he’s a pirate warlock with a serrated black sword of blue Hell fire. That’s what he killed us with, as we enjoyed the night life of the Carnival of Seasons, on the Realm of Tree Peoples. He mutilated our bodies as we died, and he raped me. The Carnival is between the Stretch of Heart, the forest where the Oak Dwarves, Spruce Humans and anthropomorphs people suitable for the forest live, and White Sun Harbour, where Fir Elves and fish-anthros live. Astral Elves and Snow elves live in the villages around the Pivot Day Monastery, the Domain where the Astral and Ebony Giant Elves live.

Tim: Wow, this lore is SO GOOD!? 😮

Faith: Also, no, Santa is an Astral Giant Elf, not an Ebony Giant Elf; he's the good one of Nerobzal's sons. Bartholomew and Krampus are the other, older two. Nerobzal is the big bad evil of Thalassic Space. At least, in the Script. Backstage at the Rondo Theatre, where I'm the Playwright, he's just an Actor, like everyone else who's named in Thalassic Space who isn't a deity or demon.

Damian: OK *that's* an important detail you should have mentioned earlier. Urania didn't say that, either.

Faith: Sorry, it's so easy to get carried away with my own toys!😛 It's a blessing if a chapter for anything I write is less than 20 pages LOL

Tim: LOL

Faith: Nerobzal was Erophael, a Court Fool of Yahweh, until Emperor Nero off'd himself, then Erophael laughed so loudly that all living things went nuts for five seconds until Yahweh cast him out of Paradiso. Oh shit, I forgot to tell this part of the lore, aaaaa, but Yahweh had also been affected! Michael stuffed that malice into Nerobzal's throat, literally, so Yahweh's OK now, but still.

Tim: Oh geez!

Faith: Michael stuffing Nerobzal's throat is where the Siren's Knot comes from. If a siren has a Siren's Knot in their throat, they can't sing or talk well, even in Neofom or Nerobzal, and are more likely to choke to death. Sirens are characterised by yellow eyes and a tail belonging to any fish that is unfriendly or toxic, manages to leave the hive, always bulit in or nearby the den of a sea monster, such as those on planet Bafsina (bahf-sin-uh; means 'basin' in Neofom, the language of Neo Spirits, who are friendly, unlike Nero Spirits; both come from Soul Bridges. OH GOD, LATER, OOPS. SAME WITH THE NAMES OF THALASSIC SPACE'S SIX PLANETS. Also yes, Damian, there are three more planets! They were created by the massive amount of magic used in the Third War for the O-star Spirit, and they are Judge, Little Path and Sia; Tim, the original six are Yotutrnaeyl, meaning 'journey', Bafsina, and Grace, the *OG* of the entire series that I made before my adoptive dad died, motivating me to make 8all of this* LOL)

Tim: LOL, "OH GOD, LATER, OOPS". Also, thanks for the quick lore drop this time around!

Faith: I girlbossed too hard with the lore in four years LOL

Tim: LOL

Barbara: Are there unicorns and pegasi in Thalassic Space?😮

Faith: OMG hi!

Barbara: Hi there! Welcome! 🥰💖

Tim: Tell us about Soul Bridges, while you're at it!

Faith: OK!

Faith: The Sanctuary of Gla’si’ (Glass, in Neofom, the language of Neo Spirits; Nerobzal is both the name a character and the language of the Nero Spirits), on the Realm of Album. Thanks to the formation of the Oracles, the twelve most powerful Dreamer Mages from different universities on the original three planets of Thalassic Space, the population's questions of how the body is able to or unable to use magic from the O-type star and Sagittarius A* was finally answered. The names of magic in Thalassic Space are Elevifeb, unscrambled as 'believe' and 'belief', in reference to what a person believes in, be it themselves, their family and-or friends, and belief being a more divine-centric term for a person's faith; good, solar magic; all three words are used interchangeably, and Eledisfeb, unscrambled as 'disbelief'; references the same terms as Elevifeb, but with negative connotations; dark, singularity magic; again, all three words are used interchangeably.

Tim: I'm sorry, but couldn't you have just called it Elevib or Elefib?

Faith: Yeah, but then I'd be one syllable short.😛 Symmetry or lack thereof is important to the bards and Playwrights of Thalassic Space!like me, the Playwright of the Rondo Theatre in the Dream World on Paper, a term I came up with after I had a dream where I saw childhood drawings of the dream world I glued onto coloured construction paper, and I REMEMBER DRAWING THEM. It blew my friggin' mind. 😵

Tim: Fair. Also, cool!! 😮

Faith: People who live in, have visited or acknowledge the existence of Thalassic Space have Five Mortal Qualities: the memory-bearing soul, which dies with a mortal and immortal, but their memories are archived in Santa's Snow Globe Room. Memories from a past life can be restored via resurrection by a divine or demonic entity who has their Snow Globe at whatever ritual the entity is conducting. Snow Globes *can* break, but they respawn in the Snow Globe Room if broken. Yes, this is stolen from the Santa Clause movies. Also, this is how my Animus literally gifted me Thalassic Space for Christmas when I was a demigoddess LOL

Tim: LOL!

Barbara: LOL I love that.

Faith: Second is the magic-bearing spirit, which can be disabled or awakened due to many circumstances depending on the person's status as a human or non-human, their physical and mental status, and even if they're alive or dead. The spirit stores knowledge related to magic, including any physical motions or verbal phrases required to cast a spell.

Tim: Can the spirit die?

Faith: Nope. But it *can* be stolen, and drained, by dark sorcerers.

Barbara: Ah.

Tim: Ahhhh.

Faith: Third is the mind, which is directly connected to the soul, and that's how impulses and protective actions are communicated to the fourth, the body, which acts out what the mind instructs it to. The heart is technically both the fourth and the fifth, according to some faiths.

Faith: The Soul Bridge is where Neo and Nero Spirits are born; Neo from the Suspensions, and Nero from the Underside. I use different specific verbs to describe the emotions, but both whisper, talk, shout or sing to the High Mind (the sky, exclusively interacted with by Neo Spirits) or the Low Mind (the river, exclusively interacted with by Nero Spirits) to influence or remind the Five Mortal Qualities of whatever the frick that Spirit was born for.

Tim: Ha ha!

Barbara: This is a fun read!

Tim: Heck yeah it is!

Faith: Soul Bridges can be accessed by expert Dreamer mages, and in the dream world by a person. Mine starts out like the bridge in Vanderhoof near Riverside Park and connects to Old Loop Road, but it's *so broken and twisted* that it's literally the most impossible roller coaster my subconscious could come up with. That's how it views my memories, my magic, my body, heart and mind; they're all out of sync, and it's dangerous and nonesensical. But I remember a dream where I was riding on it like in a crazy mine cart mobile game mixed with an arcade railgun shooter with Final Fantasy elements thrown in there, and I've come to accept that, if I ever go downtown, I will have a very violent awakening, literally. It'll be one of those dreams I wake up from in a hot sweat, shaking and letting out a loud scream.

Faith: And that's all about Soul Bridges and how they work, with a bit of info. about Neo and Nero Spirits! I had to throw the Five Mortal Qualities in there, 'cause that's just how I explain it in the planning document.

Barbara: Holy crow, your mind, girl! 🤯

Faith: Thanks LOL

Faith: That being said! If made General, Ra's would have access to Nerobzal's army of undead, Nero Spirits, and evil vampires and werewolves. There are also dark sorcerers, but Ra's wouldn’t order them around. All of that is the cult of Kaleido, or what remains of it after the Third War for the O-star Spirit. Kaleido was Kitsch, now Kaleido has been freed again and is Kirei. Instead of Italian vampires, the Japanese control it now!

Dick: All of *this* is what you've been cooking for four years? 🤯 I think we have a creative genius in the group now, holy smokes!

Faith: Oh geez, hi! Also, thank you! The complexity of Thalassic Space is me trying to emulate the masters of fantasy LOL

Dick: Hi Faith, welcome 😊 Also yes, it shows!

Faith: Uh, and I've been cooking soup.

Tim: Soooouuuup!

Barbara: Sooooouuupppp!!

Stephanie: (smacks lips) good soup.

Faith: Aa! Aaaaa!

Stephanie: hi 😉

Faith: I'm gonna freaking explode aren't I? LOL

Barbara: Please don't explode. 😜

Stephanie: so you've got magic dragon powers? :ooo

Faith: Yes! I can use the Thu'um, and my dragon tomb has my other two Relics. One is a white ebony dagger that can become Uriel's fiery sword (he’s my spiritual father; Urania is my mother), which Ra's cut himself on 'cause he was being greedy, and he ran out with only the dragon tooth 'cause he woke up my ten Dragon Priests. :D They're technically just guarding Argophael, now.

Barbara: Ooooh, was he your dragon boyfriend?😮

Faith: Yes! And trans! I've always been pansexual lol.

Tim: Eyyy, another gay in the family, woo hoo!

Faith: 🎉Let's freaking go, lesbians💅✨

Tim: LOL

Barbara: LOL

Stephanie: lmao

Dick: Ha ha ha!

Faith: Do I have to say what Bartholomew did again?

Barbara: Nope! We scrolled up 👍

Faith: OK, THANK GOD LOL

Barbara: LOL

Tim: Also, why did you name him Bartholomew?

Stephanie: LOL you named him Bartholomew

Faith: Bartholomew Roberts.

Barbara: OH RIGHT he's a PIRATE WARLOCK

Stephanie: a good fit for a transphobe, ngl

Faith: Yeah! And he's captain of the Naglfar because why the fuck not? XD

Dick: Whoa! We're tossing f-bombs out, now?

Faith: I'm always tossing f-bombs out. I just get bored of it sometimes. Also, it's not always time for an f-bomb.

[Faith sent an audio message.] [Singing merrily:] Ohhhh, fuck fuck, fuckity fuck fuck! A-fuck fuck, fuckity fuck fuck! Fucking fuck, fucking fuck! Oh, fuck fuck fuckity fuck fuuuuck! Fuck.

Dick: Nope. Not listening to whatever that is.

Dick: Nevermind, Barbara played it on her phone.

Barbara: LMAO

Tim: LOLOLOL

Stephanie: BEAUTIFUL. SAVED. THAT'S MY RINGTONE FOR YOU NOW FAITH LOL

Faith: I'd like to thank Casey Jones from the comic that was in the back pages of the manual for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012 for the Wii for introducing me to 'fuckity fuck'. Fucking is just a normal verb form for fuck.

Barbara: LOL

Tim: Oh no, noooooo, that game *sucked*!

Faith: I had some fun with it, playing with my brother, and it and the movie it was based on introduced me to the fandom I wrote my first fanfic for, OK? I wouldn't be here without it! Muchlessbeamonsterfucker. Anyway!

Tim: LOL

Barbara: OMG FAITH 🤣🤣

Stephanie: PFFFT GO OFF I GUESS

Faith: The other is a white-blue gradient scallop seashell necklace that works like the Mermaid Princess pearls of Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch, but I can also dance, and my genre is Tohou Eurobeat.

Stephanie: (gasp!) so you're a magical girl too!! :oooo

Faith: Yes! :DDDDD I also have a Fairy Persona named Solas. My birth demigoddess name is Ønske, but when Urania became my mentor, I also got Ulia Chaménos, the surname to tribute the people I'd go on to save. And I got invited to Paradiso, where Uriel greeted me as my patron angel, and I was told my mortal name, which is, well, Faith!

Stephanie: coool :o what does your fairy 'sona look like?

Stephanie: wait no!

Stephanie: you can just show me some time!! right?

Faith: Also yes, I can! Dragon powers awake = everything is awake.

Faith: I also have a magic Costume, formally called my Astral Jester Costume. The styles of the pieces can change, but by default, it's a T-shirt crop top, shorts, cuff-bracelets lined with jingle bells, a choker with a cluster of jingle bells, hiker shoes (I have a deformed right foot, and my feet are naturally wide, so no flip-flops, flat shoes or high heels!) with a cluster of jingle bells, and, of course, a jester hat with four “ears”, each with a cluster of jingle bells. The entire outfit is white but can change colours as it changes styles. It's a magic cosplay piece LOL

Tim: OK cool but *why a jester?*

Faith: Look, Harley didn’t make me gay, LEGO Catwoman did, but I gotta do one for the clown gays, all right? Harley is an iconnnnn

Stephanie: lol truuuuueeeeee

Tim: Go off, girl! 🤣

Faith: When LEGO Catwoman used the diamond to cut the window, and was caught in the spotlight? And then we saw it again after the villain level? I was like "Oh, she’s cool! …Is she hot, too? Is that just her thing?" There's a reason my imaginary friends were fairies and mermaids and I've had my first imaginary friend, Bella, since I was like 6 🧚🦄🌈✨

Tim: yaaaaassss! ✨🌈✨

Stephanie: yes, miss gurrrlll!! 💖💖✨✨

Barbara: I love that for you!! /gen

Dick: Yeah that's cool 😁

Damian: You can all read about the Four Legendary Unicorns in the app's lore or the planning document.

Faith: Thank you, Damian!

Damian: You're welcome.

Dick: Hey Faaaaaaith

Faith: Yeeeeees

Dick: Who's your favourite Robin? 👀

Faith: He's not present. (throws a peace sign, vanishes)

Dick: GAAAAASP! (holds chest)

Tim: Eh, fair.

Stephanie: lmao

Faith: (Reappears with the sound of a tendon going over bone) But uh, the Four represent the emotions and head-spaces of the people they allow to ride on their backs. Two Italians, and two Swedes LOL

Stephanie: aw man, not the swedish!

Dick: LOL why that sound??🤣

Faith: I've got hyptonia from my dwarfism, OK! I make it a lot!

Tim: Oh cool! How tall are you?

Faith: 4'6" (146 cm)

Faith: Just know that it was supposed to be Polish as a Witcher reference. 💀

Stephanie: bruh 💀💀💀

Tim: LOL the opposite of the Wild Hunt

Faith: Literally 💀Anyway! I have the flu right now so please don’t visit, thankssss

Barbara: No. ❤️

Faith: OK! I believe you! Jump in the line, rock your body in time.

Faith: OHHHHHHH!!!

Barbara: LOL!!

Faith: I know that song from Just Dance 2. Or was it 3? I don't remember and I don't care to ask SOFFFIAA right now LOL

Dick: You’re so energetic, I love that.

Stephanie: oh you're *def* a Just Dancer.

Faith: Thank you! (ihaveareactiveattachmentdisorder)

Steph: felt that

Tim: LOL

Barbara: LOL oh hon, you're perfect 🤣

Dick: 🤣🤣

Damian: I can hear you laughing from across the hall…

Faith: Also, I haven't played since I broke my knee in March 2015 ☹️

Stephanie: awww, that sucks! but we can get you back into shape!

Faith: It's gonna be a *real* challenge.

Dick: We can do it, though 😊

Faith: And heck yeah! Oh, also.

[Faith sent a voice message:] Damian climbs out of bed, takes a decent stride away from the furniture, and does a backflip.

Damian did as told. He held in his scream of fury, and sat back on his bed.

Damian: Never do that again. Whatever that was.

Faith: Wow, he didn't scream in anger! I'm glad /gen. Also agreed

Tim: Girl is OP af💀

Faith: It’s the power of the Thu’um, but I just speak English >w<

Stephanie: i kinda wanna try 😮

Faith: Also yeah, sorry for being a Mary-Sue, everybody blame Ra's for bringing this shit into DC Comicsssss

Tim: Nah, don't apologise.

Dick: Do you *remember* the magic users we've got?

Faith: Oh yeeeeah, sorry, too used to being mean to myself

Stephanie: mood honestly

Barbara: Well, *that's* going to change, Miss Faith!

Faith: Honestly, that would be nice.😄

Barbara: ❤️

Faith: Are you sitting or standing, Steph?

Stephanie: i’m laying in bed bored as shit

Faith: REAL XD

Faith: Also feel free to get this on video for evidence, up to you

Stephanie: oooh bet, lemme record this, go ahead!

[Faith sent a voice message:] Stephanie runs to the wall, runs up the wall, does a cartwheel as she reaches the ceiling, and lands firmly on her feet.

[Stephanie shared a video.]

Stephanie: THAT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!

Barbara: Nice flip, Steph!

Dick: Good form 👍

Stephanie: Thanks!

Tim: I mean, I wasn’t doubting your dragon powers were real, but hey! They’re real!

Faith: But uh yeah! I think the magic should be easy for me. It'll be trying to get my body to work like it did in high school that'll be the problem 🙁

Dick: How fit were you in school?

Faith: I could lift 420lbs on the leg press.

Dick: Nice!

Barbara: Wow!!

Stephanie: damn!

Tim: You had strong legs!

Dick: You had an injury?

Faith: Yeah, I broke my left patella in tenth grade. I'll spare y'all the story for now, but it gave me anxiety and depression, and that led to a rough last semester and an even rougher grade eleven and twelve. I tried homeschooling, but Internet and fanfiction writing hooked me, and I would have been just fine at the high school branch near the police station, but then I met the one IRL boyfriend I’ve had, and then I was even more depressed. Another story for another time. I used to play volleyball and dance, and now I can only dance while sitting down. It’s not quite the same to make a choreography and be unable to do it. Hence my magic pearl!

Dick: You fit right in with us. You had a rough life too. And now you've been given the opportunity to take your life back.😊

Faith: Yeah! I mean my job is going fine, and Bruce just approved the idea I had for my Earth-33 self to return and continue her life, so no worries there. But I've spent so much time reading and consuming media just trying to understand how people make friends, and what family is like! Not that my adoptive family didn't love me, or try to teach me. My foster parents just screwed up *bad*. I was a Benadryl kid.

Dick: That sucks. Sorry to hear that.

Barbara: Awww, yeah, sorry. 😢

Faith: Again, I could literally go on, but you get the point.

Stephanie: yep.

Barbara: You're welcome to talk to us about yourself anytime, Faith! I'm sure you know plenty about us already ha ha.

Faith: Maybe not plenty, but enough to be very comfortable.

Barbara: Good!

Dick: Awesome.

Tim: So, are you aiming to get your 420 lift back?

Faith: I mean, that'd be *amazing*, I'd like to try!

Dick: Well, when you're not sick, we’re abducting you from the mansion. 🤪

Faith: Woo hoo!

Stephanie: i have a question!

Faith: Shoot.

Stephanie: where are you from? like, the country

Faith: I’m Canadian. Yes, I've been to America. We visited my adoptive dad's family in Gilmer, Texas in Easter of 2008 or '9. It was *so hot*. We flew kites, had authentic iced tea that Mom only let us have a bit of 'cause it had caffeine, there was a wasp on the bathtub that was in the backyard, and I remember briefly playing Tetris and one of the galaxy shooters with one of our cousins. And we went to the zoo! I vaguely remember the black panther, the birds, and the rhinos. We took a weird route there, but a more expected route back. I *think* that's the trip we stopped in Seattle or something to sea the ocean? I remember seeing the trees you used to be allowed to walk/drive through.

Barbara: You're just so full of stories. ❤️❤️

Faith: Aw, thanks!

Stephanie: deadpool or wolverine?

Faith: Smash both but Deadpool first unless the chemistry isn't there, ditto reasoning for Wolverine, marry Deadpool, talk history with Wolverine, I don’t think he’d like me enough to marry me; no killing here, folks.

Stephanie: wow. what a slut /aff

Faith: Thanks, I learned it from the cult of Asherah that the Yahwehists tore down, but before then, R34 and Bayonetta. Also Catwoman, again. Poison Ivy, too. OH and Her Imperial Condescendence from Homestuck.

Barbara: Oh my Gooood…

Stephanie: oh she’s *chaotic* gay!

Tim: Not Homestuck!! 😭 😭 😭

Faith: I used to be a Nepeta kinnie. Now I’m an Eridan sympathiser and fucker.

Tim: NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Stephanie: AAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

Dick: (Points at the cuss) Get outta my sandwich!

Faith: (Mine turtle) Hello!

Dick: LOL

Stephanie: lmao!

Barbara: LOL!

Tim: oh of course you like asdfmovie /aff

Faith: Anyway yeah! This will be fun if my body stops breaking after the first couple of weeks or so!

Barbara: Oh, we get hurt aaaalllll the time.

Dick: Yep.

Tim: Yyyyyep.

Stephanie: uh-huh!

Damian: Yeah.

Faith: I know, I've seen the panels… I don't usually save time or money to buy or even pirate comics tbh.

Stephanie: Fair.

Tim: Yeah.

Faith: OK! I'm gonna try to sleep now! Nice meeting y'all! 👋

Stephanie: Byyyyeeee!

Barbara: TTYL!

Dick: Bye! 😄

Tim: Sleep well, Faith!

Damian: See ya.

Faith has changed her status to Do Not Disturb.

Faith has changed her status to flu needs the z’s.

Tim: She’s got a good sense of humor.

Dick: Yeah, she seems easy to get along with.

Barbara: I think we're her only friends, though. 😉

Dick: Yeah.

Stephanie: yeah

Tim: Yeeeeah. Not that I mind, though.

Barbara: Neither do I.

Stephanie: same

Dick: Ditto. Some people just need the winds of fate to blow differently for something to go their way.

Barbara: Oh, for sure.

Tim: True.

Stephanie: i'm excited to help her, though! and be her friend. 😊

Tim: Heck yeah!

Barbara: Bruce, could you take her to the Belfry when she's not sick to start with the basics?

Bruce: Sure. 🙂

Dick: Yes, great idea.

Damian: Is it mandatory?

Dick: Nope. If you don’t feel like it, you don't have to, Damian.

Damian: 'Kay.

Dick: I think that's all for now, yeah?

Tim: Yeah.

Barbara: I think so!

Stephanie: yeah, no ideas for now.

Dick: All right. We'll let Faith know when she's done snoozing and go from there. [Multiple people Liked this message.]

Click emoji to navigate to next chapter. ⏭️

[existingtm]

What are your top five anime/manga?

Ooh, this is hard because I really haven't watched/read that many! I feel like my scope is very limited. But as it stands, I'll give you my current top five as far as I've thought about them:

5. (TBD) Contenders: The Summer Hikaru Died / Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu (Manga, anime not yet released), The Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting (Manga)

4. (TBD) Contenders: Sousou no Frieren (Anime) (holy shit, don't let anyone tell you it's overrated), Uramichi Oniisan (Anime, haven't read the manga yet), Erased (both the Anime and Manga)

3. The Apothecary Diaries (Anime) This had me hooked, waiting every week for the next episode to drop! I've only read the first volume of the manga, and am unfamiliar with the light novels, so I can't say which form is best, but they did an AMAZING job with the anime! It's visually stunning! More than that, though, the story and characters were what hooked me. I can't stand fantastical, Sherlock-esque deductive reasoning, but Maomao doesn't fall into that trope. She steps back when she realizes she's making flawed generalizations, and that makes her so much more real and interesting.

2. The Case Study of Vanitas / Vanitas no Carte (Manga) This might overtake the number one spot when it's complete! VNC is by the same author as Pandora Hearts, but it's newer, so she has more experience with storytelling and illustration. I actually studied it for a real college credit! MochiJun does a great deal of research for her manga, so I was able to make an actual case for it as an academically relevant work. Beautiful and intriguing story that has me constantly stressed out! The fact that it's influenced by so many historical tragedies is very ominous. However, it has MochiJun's usual motifs, many of which are fueled by love. There's so much to look forward to (or fear)!

1. Pandora Hearts (Manga) This one should come as no surprise. My icon has been the PH contractor incuse over the genderfluid flag for a while. This became my favorite manga after I picked it up from the library on a whim in middle school, drawn in by the references to the Alice duology and The Wizard of Oz. Then it overturned my expectations completely! It totally reshaped how I view storytelling. It's also why I decided to start reading Fullmetal Alchemist and D.Gray-man, both of which I'm still in the early stages of (so they're not on the list yet), and which are relevant to the author. This manga is why I came to care so much about complex characters and plots as a writer myself, and that's not even mentioning MochiJun's art! Beautiful even back then!

---

So, in summary: I love complex characters and a unique plot, especially ones that effectively invoke both tragedy and comedy. I also love an element of horror in my stories! (And maybe a little romance if it's well-done!) (Edit: and Mystery!!! But good mysteries are hard to find!)

Thanks for asking! Please throw any recommendations my way if these bring other anime/manga to mind! (There's a good chance they may be in my to-watch/read lists already, but don't let that stop you!)

[henrysglock]

If I'm Henry, and You're Henry, then Where's Brenner?

I feel insane just writing this post, but the math maths a little too well for me to not say anything...so here we are.

Em, bless his soul, has been up TFS's ass about the "Brenner is Henry" and "Henry knows he's in a play" stuff.

My deal is: I wonder if it's not necessarily that Henry is Dr. Brenner/they're physically the same person, but more along the lines of "Henry is playing Brenner". I'm staring at:

"Every One is just waiting...waiting for it all to be over. All while performing in a silly, terrible play, day after day."

Now, as we've discussed, "Henry" breaks the 4th wall and interacts with TFS as though he's realized he's in a play. However, as Em pointed out in the other post I linked above, "Brenner" has an...interesting line that could be read two ways:

One way implies he's addressing "Henry"/pulling "Henry's" attention back to him, and the other implies that only he, Henry-Brenner, is the only 001 who could possibly understand the Shadow. There's also a good number of "Who is Henry Creel?" word-drops, cluing that Henry and "Brenner" might be linked via identity.

And so of course that brought to mind some of the dialogue repetitions I've noticed between Brenner and Henry in filmed canon (I'm just showing my faves because of the image limit):

1. Something more challenging:

2. The "Well, well. Look—" dialogue frame

Now, what's particularly interesting about the second set, in my opinion, is the hairstyles.

Here we are before we go through the mirror to see baby El:

Business as usual.

Then we push through the mirror, but only one parting-side swaps:

Henry's hair, here, swaps to part very unnaturally to the same side as Brenner's...which has me looking at how unnatural the hair on TFS "Brenner" is:

Not to mention the fact that Patrick looks so much like Jamie:

Now, you're probably going "but James, all of this implies, at most, that TFS 'Brenner' and on-film Henry could be the same person".

And you'd be right! That is what this sounds like...So far.

Here's the kicker: a) TFS exists in a physically impossible timeline based on the papers alone:

b) "Brenner" doesn't age, although decades have supposedly passed:

(Maybe because decades haven't passed. It's only been a few minutes. I wonder if, had we'd seen NINA for tapes spanning years rather than days, certain ages would have been weirdly frozen. Many thoughts.)

c) Lack of aging aside, "Brenner" shows up in an orderly outfit with no tie, something we never see in filmed canon:

Ever.

(TFS "Brenner" is also missing Brenner's iconic sideburns...sideburns Henry very much doesn't have...a weird choice from the hair dept.)

d) All the direct NINA paralleling (just my favorite because of the image limit):

And so, with that in mind, I take us right back to Rome (all paths lead here): Sentient Henry.

This ^ isn't the only time someone in NINA has been "too sentient", either. Brenner does it here, when he speaks directly to teen El, with a side of foreshadowing for the 4.07 massacre:

And I know we've speculated that it could be Brenner himself who's weirdly sentient here, and that's still absolutely possible!

But with a Henry who's sentient in NINA (The "El knows it's a simulation "simulation" that's actually showing signs of being some form of time-travel/rewriting history), a Brenner who's sentient in NINA, and now a Henry-Brenner in the "everyone knows they're in a play" play that has weird time-travel/rewriting history lines:

I have to ask (in relation to Brenner himself being sentient in NINA):

Maybe there are only two sentient characters in NINA: The subject, and...someone else, some One who occasionally bounces between roles (like a swing actor):

So..."Henry", and some One who knows the goddamn lines...

That is to say, what we see TFS Brenner doing was likely done by on-film Brenner at some point, but it may not be Brenner who's portraying it in TFS. Thus "who is Henry" might not be saying that Henry = Brenner on a physical level in reality, but more that he may be portraying the dramatized version of Brenner via a NINA-type simulation. This might explain why TFS "Brenner" is so different from on-film Brenner (see: the constant thread of hollering, behavior we never see from on-film Brenner, even at his angriest): Henry's not a good actor in TFS. Brenner might seem like a weird parody of himself because Henry's a shit actor and can't pull off the role...Just like we see here, with the weird, shitty knockoff One:

Now, none of this is me claiming the events of TFS didn't happen in some capacity, just that they may not have happened the way TFS presents them/TFS is a performance, much like NINA is.

and I mean, on top of it all...

[rawliverandgoronspice]

What's your ranking for favorite iterations of zelda characters??

thanks for the ask!! much appreciated <3

hmmm... if we're talking proper list, I think it would go like this:

Link

Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask/TP (he's just very. he went through a lot ok ;;)

Hero of the Wind, so WW/PH (love how expressive and aggressively brave he is at all times)

Twilight Princess (I don't know I just really like this grassroot countryboy who cares deeply for his folks, I love his quiet and purposeful Strongman Stance, and Midna allows him to shine a lot by being the voice to his silent disapproval, very fun dynamic these two share)

Hero of the Wild, BotW/TotK (he's a gremlin of improvisation and raw brute nerve, which is honestly very funny, and I kind of like the very rare glimpses of characterization we get through the other characters)

Skyward Sword Link (he's just. I know we throw himbo around a lot, but, genuinely, he looks so. content, all of the time)

Spirit Tracks Link (I haven't played the game unfortunately, but I always like Toon Link's expressiveness)

Minish Cap Link (I'm biased I played this game a lot when I was a child)

Link's Awakening Link (I know it's the same Link as another one but I can't remember which --anyway what a trip bro)

A Link to the Past Link (love the tuft of pink whatever in his hair)

A Link Between Worlds Link (I don't dislike him he just doesn't really have a ton of character from what I remember)

CDI Link (do I need to say more)

Oracles Link (I never finished these games u_u)

Other Links I have not played as (so Four Sword and FSA, and Zelda 1 and 2 --I have played Zelda 1 a bit, but, you know)

Cartoon Link (leave Zelda alone I'm begging you)

Zelda

OoT Zelda (she's so interestinggggggg what is WRONG with you girlboy guy plagued with nightmares and a pathologic guilty urge to make sure everything is correct and just and right)

WW/PH Tetra (she's so cool!! I wish we would get to do more adventures with her, but conceptually I think she's really great)

Spirit Tracks Zelda (she's just a fun time and we get to do stuff with her and that's amazing. love her!)

Skyward Sword Zelda (bittersweet stuff. I wish she was more of herself tbh, and less in a crystal, but she's cool)

Zelda of the Wild (if she was not thrown into the garbage bin in TotK in terms of character arc, she'd be under OoT Zelda I think)

TP Zelda (love her somber resignation and quiet resilience, and whatever is going on between her and Midna)

Minish Cap Zelda (she's just really cute)

A Link To The Past Zelda (she's... there, but the sequences she's connected to are very memorable)

(genuinely cannot remember whether she is in the Oracle Games?? it's been a hot while)

A Link Between World (for everything I like about the game, it's a shame she's barely a character in it tbh)

CDI Zelda (she's a *savage*)

Cartoon Zelda (much prefer her to Link!!)

Other Zeldas I have not played and do not know that much about

Ganon(dorf)

Wind Waker Ganondorf (yeah)

Twilight Princess Ganondorf (okay I know it's pretty controversial to put him above OoT, especially since he's barely in the game and perhaps shouldn't have been, but I *cannot* resist his arthouse swagger and understated/probably-not-actually-there tragedy. If that helps, they're both on the exact same level, and they're the same guy anyway!)

OoT Ganondorf (the one and only --wish the game was less Like This re: everything gerudo, but he's just iconic and a king and we love him so much. My favorite iteration to ponder upon --I'm mostly commenting regarding in-game execution)

BotW Ganon (okay this one is even Worse in terms of placement justification, but I just. It's the fact that malice is being called "rancor" in French, and just how fundamental and "part of the natural world" his hatred became. I think it's great subtle worldbuilding and it just works for me)

TotK Ganondorf (looking fly, being as internally incoherent as humanely possible (derogatory), punching spines, and! having genuinely cool and thrilling moments and a really fun final battle in spite of The Mess)

A Link to the Past Ganon (he's just creepy and overwhelming in a really cool way, he actually made me feel pretty uneasy and powerless as a kid)

Oracle Games (now that's just fucked up, really bad morning alarm clock rang too early also my moms died for this bullshit kind of energy)

Cadence of Hyrule (I know including that game is pushing it but little guy!!!!!!! he's such a little guy!!!!!! with his little organ!!!!!!!!!!! i love he;;;;)

FSA Ganondorf (I hear he's cool but I unfortunately never played the game myself, and I should really look into it)

A Link Between World Yuganon (can you imagine trying to fight for the ultimate agency, and then failing and then being used as a vessel for other shitty wizards without any regard for who you were and what you were trying to achieve isn't that messed up kind of unfortunately talking about ganon without getting sad is an impossible feat to me)

love both CDI and Cartoon Ganon, they're great and strangely goopy in their own way and I appreciate them very much for their contributions to the Culture

I think he's there in Four Swords??? okay

Impa

Skyward Sword Impa (I like her behavior and her commitment, and her design, both old and young, is the best she's ever had imo)

Ocarina of Time Impa (she's *barely* in that game honestly. And Yet. your influence. your secrets. your buffness also not gonna lie.)

Hyrule Warriors Impa (just realized I did not put HW Ganondorf/Zelda/Link in the list, but I haven't spent enough time with them to have strong opinions honestly --but Impa being a strong general fighting the hard battles is a weak spot of mine u_u)

BotW/TotK Impa (I love grandma Impa!!! love her little roadtrip in TotK, wish it had been expanded upon and she had been more involved in the Zelda search, but. not so fun fact but I cannot stand the design of her young version in Age of Calamity --she looks so generically moe it's borderline unforgivable, what is up!! with all the nothing dollface sheikah babes!! honestly!!!)

I like all the old women Impas --but I'm kind of craving another, slightly edgier take on the character again honestly

and that's it I think!!! thanks for asking!!!

[puppet-purgatory]

you won't post 1 headcanon for every puppet. you wont

i WILL. AND i'll do it in chronological order from appearance (more or less). but it will be under a readmore after the first season so i dont interrupt anyones scrollin

The Professor: i think in addition to growing a bit from Dino DNA(tm) he also has feathers now. just some feathers in there with his fur. maybe even molts and is miserable about it

Death: he plays guitar And piano, but just as a hobby. he's like a salaryman who had a garage band as a teenager and never fully gave up on the dream

Propeller: propeller SADSTUCK: i think he legitimately had to go to therapy for the britannica shit that happened. PH feels like it would be that realistic about mental health tbh

Big Pile of Diamonds: his mustache is fake. his greatest secret. his greatest shame.

God: he actually really likes to dance! unfortunately next 2 no one will do it since... The Incident

Train: does he not have a better name... maybe put a mr. in front of there... anyway he feels betrayed by the U.S. since they gave up the train model for highways/interstates and the motorcar industry. gets REALLY heated about it

Mt. Vesuvius: has a bunch of speeches given by famous latin authors and orators memorized, but sometimes he mashes them up without realizing/misattributes which one was written by whom. old man moments

Hatshepsut's Goose: can't remember what their gender was in life. that's fine, they love being a nonbinary icon. AMAB (Assigned Mummy at (em)Balming)

Clipped Coin: dodges the spool's wrath by being unflappable and so down to earth despite his apparent success. truly the king of staying in his own lane

Olympic Torch: hes a cranky piece of shit and only really enjoys sporting competition. he was complaining about being in the group puzzle photo so god just picked him up and he went ffffffffffine. okay. ill smile for 2 seconds

Gay Oars: i think they Also went to therapy, mostly relationship counseling, and now they are back and better than Ever. unbreakable bond. im abt to pen a whole ass comic series about them getting married in purgatory

Policarpa's Spool: still thinks of himself as a spy type, but there's only so much spying he can do in... purgatory. of course, his primary nemesis is the treasure chest.

Lake Donner Snowman: idk if this counts as a headcanon per se but in my very short list where i recast the puppets as famous singers, he is ABSOLUTELY voiced by Weird Al Yankovic.

St. Nick's Wet Bones: sort of taking the whole purgatory thing in stride. he kinda feels like he's in retirement! now he's a minor agent of chaos who's looked after by his darling Pickle Boys

Beast of Gevaudan: i was so sad when the infinitiger wasn't real, i wanted them to have a cooking show together so badly and destroy the horse's self-esteem. i love him. hes so abominably french

Stool of Gold: well-traveled, well-read, literally just as sensible as the Book or the Oars, but finds the chaos entertaining to spectate.

Ziryab's Oud: I think that the puppets have divvied up the whole Wondrium Arena and all have designated Living Areas, and he has a whole dressing room filled with shitty costumes he can't even wear. every time someone knocks he answers like hes on MTV's Cribs.

Bye Bye Brothers: they live in the orchestral pit and treat it like a secret lair. only other Murderer Puppets are allowed in. EXCLUSIVE club

Flower Boat: GNC Icon. this is a flower boat stan account. jenuinely a wholesome, emotional vessel doing their best to pitch in.

Molasses Horse: you can wash him as much as you want, that shit always just comes back somehow. the book theorizes it's psychosomatic at this point, since they're technically only souls at this point.

Tiny Piece of Wheat: bro i bet they went through SUCH phases after finding out about the professor's death. like all five stages of grief and then four more that have not yet been discovered by humans. dw kiddo, u got Grandparents incoming

Emu: the type of guy to fistfight you and then help you up. laid back but ready to throw down at a MOMENT'S notice. has no beef with the Wheat, but generally avoids them to keep from any Upsets.

Treasure Chest: has a little list of get-rick-quick schemes he wants to test, but has no way to in purgatory. he has one braincell bouncing around in his head like the DVD logo

Scabs & Pus: they get to hang out with the Bye Bye Brothers in their little club :) they're gross dudes to look at and be around. but they are ultimately harmless and friendly and just happy to be included.

Book: i love da book. I think he lives in the music library backstage and finds librettos for stageplays/musicals to pitch to the group to put on, as well as produces their little TV shows.

Birch Trees: since they share a root system, they have a telepathic link and communicate without even speaking, which is fucking creepy as hell when one or both of them just start laughing out of nowhere. they probably enjoy acting sinister

Asmodeus: he worked HARD on his song for the show!!!!! i think he's a bit of a ham sometimes when he gets the chance. also his goat head bites literally anything that comes close on reflex.

The Devil: while everything he does is to get souls, it also feels like he wants for positive and is less an Enemy of God and more an Irritating Coworker. in my brain they have a whole Tom and Jerry thing going on.

I don't have anything for the Fake Puppets the Substitute impersonated, but im planning on drawing some infinitiger soon bc he was my fave for sure

The Substitute: this is PURELY crack but i think it would be hilarious if he had voice commands like some tech does. i want him to climb back in the window and ryan just yells XBOX TURN OFF and he vanishes.

Dino Dad/Dinosir: i think even after he gets to the present and learns about all kinds of rocks and gems and crystals he Still just loves a big old rock he can lay on and sun himself with. like a dad and his armchair. doesnt gotta be fancy, just has to be comfy.

Dino Mom/Dinosara: i think she would be REALLY into the fake tv shows the puppets in the Wondrium Arena make. and they'd probably Love to have her as a fan. i think both the professor's parents are Hella popular.

[necromancercoding]

Hola Necro, espero que te encuentres bien hace rato que por cuestiones de tiempo no había podido ingresar para seguir con mis proyectos de skin jejej, pero ahora que regreso tengo una duda, si quisiera crear iconos propios para el foro y colocarlos en la skin, cual es el proceso para realizarlo, y tendrás conocimiento de que medida deben de ser los mismo. Gracias de antemano por tu apoyo.

¡Hola HR! Todo bien por acá, espero que tú también andes bien 💕

La manera más sencilla de hacer tu propia icofont es usando IcoMoon.

1.- Tendrás que buscar los svgs de los iconos que quieras usar (recomiendo FlatIcon, siempre dando crédito a los creadores). Importante que el svg del icon sea monocromo. En FlatIcon, puedes seleccionar en filtros 'Black' y usar cualquiera de las tres opciones (Outline, Fill o Hand-drawn); lo importante es que sea 'Black'. Una vez los tengas, guárdalos todos en una carpetita para que los tengas juntitos. Si los tienes ya con el nombre de la clase que quieres para ese icon, mejor que mejor.

2.- Regístrate en IcoMoon y haz click en la parte superior donde pone 'IcoMoon App'. Una vez allí, le vas a dar al hamburger icon en la parte superior izquierda y vas a darle a 'Manage Projects'. Ahí le vas a clickar a New Project, y le pones el nombre de tu fuente. Y le das a LOAD.

3.- Ahora te toca subir todos esos iconitos. Una vez subidos, te van a salir todos en la pantalla; si quieres añadir más, NO le des a upload, en 'Untitled Set', a la derecha, le das al hamburger icon y le das a 'Import to Set'. En el hamburger icon también puedes editar el nombre del set dándole a Properties -> Edit Metadata -> Name.

4.- Selecciona los iconos que finalmente llevará tu fuente. Selecciona el primer botón de arriba (el del cursor con el cuadradito) y haz click en toditos tus iconos. Ahora dale abajo a la derecha a 'Generate Font'. Antes de hacer nada, le vas a dar arriba a la izquierda a 'Preferences'. Cambia tu font name a algo único (es lo que usarías como font-family), y cambia el class prefix a algo relacionado con la font name. Puedes usar por ejemplo la referencia de cómo nombran otras fuentes de icono sus clases y nombre: phosphor/ph-, cappuccicons/cp-... Una vez que lo tengas, dale a 'CSS Selector' y selecciona 'use a class'. Usa el mismo prefijo pero sin la -. Por ejemplo, si fx- es tu prefijo, .fx es tu clase. De nuevo, ejemplos como cappuccicons: cp cp-flower-o.

5.- En esta pantalla también puedes hacer cambios generales sobre la fuente. Si no has cambiado las clases de tus iconos, edítalas aquí. Recuerda que es case-sensitive (si pones mayus, tendrás que usar mayus en tu class cuando uses el icon). También puedes modificar el código de pseudoelemento (no recomiendo cambiarlos a posteriori si updateas la fuente para añadir más iconos, o vas a tener que modificar los códigos que hagan uso de ellas).

6.- ¡Has terminado! Dale a download y sigue el método de subida de fuentes que he explicado en posts como este. IcoMoon te da el stylesheet directamente, así que solo tendrás que modificar los links en dicho CSS por los tuyos de dropbox, y luego subir ese CSS para usarlo en tu foro.

¡Espero que te haya servido este minituto! Saludines 💖

[tomorrowxtogether]

TOMORROW X TOGETHER Reflect on the ‘Sense of Pride’ Collaborating With Jonas Brothers for ‘Do It Like That’

The fast-rising pop collab connected two superstar boy bands, as well as OneRepublic hitmaker Ryan Tedder, in ways that go beyond music.

TOMORROW X TOGETHER‘s highly anticipated entrance into the music industry in 2019 generated immense interest as the latest addition to the esteemed roster of Big Hit Entertainment (now BIGHIT MUSIC), whose strong music history was laid by chart-toppers BTS and innovative singer-songwriter Lee Hyun. 

Meanwhile, a cornerstone of TXT’s musical story has been the array of worldwide collaborators including global hip-hop stars (Coi Leray, iann dior, pH-1, Woodie Gochild), rising singer-songwriters (Salem Ilese, Seori, Lilas Ikuta), punk-rock icons (ModSun), EDM heavy-hitters (Alan Walker) and more. With TXT’s prime-for-pop-crossover smash “Do It Like That” alongside the Jonas Brothers, fans saw how the process goes beyond music.

Ahead of the July 7 release of “Do It Like That,” the K-pop stars shared a series of teaser videos to piece together their biggest Top 40 moment yet. Amid the U.S. leg of TXT’s Act: Sweet Mirage world tour, the quintet jetted off to meet OneRepublicfrontman Ryan Tedder in the studio. While the super-producer behind multiple Hot 100No. 1s already pumped some mainstream magic into the track, adding TXT’s Republic Records label mates in the JoBros expanded the song’s appeal to a broader generation of boy-band fans for maximum pop appeal.

With nearly 20 million views on YouTube since its release, the song is beginning to connect worldwide in its quest to become—as TXT’s eldest member Yeonjundescribes it—”the perfect summer track” for 2023.

TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s Yeonjun, Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun and HueningKai‘s took a moment to delve into the collaboration with Billboard to share behind-the-scenes anecdotes, aspirations for the song, who would make the best TXT/JoBros sub-unit and the latest message to their fans, affectionately known as MOAs.

Billboard: Tell us more about how TOMORROW X TOGETHER and the Jonas Brothers came together for “Do It Like That.” Have you ever previously connected with Jonas Brothers, or was anyone a longtime fan?

YEONJUN: It was our first time meeting Jonas Brothers for this collaboration and I had personally been a fan of their music growing up and even practiced with their music as a trainee, so it felt surreal to be working with them. “Do It Like That” seemed like the perfect summer track and when Jonas Brothers also expressed their interest in the single, we met up in the States during the U.S. leg of our world tour in May to make this collaboration happen.

TOMORROW X TOGETHER has collaborated with several artists, but we got to see you meet, interact and record fun content before the song release. What was the vibe like? Any fun stories from the day?

TAEHYUN: From recording the track to shooting content, this collaboration was such a fun project. Jonas Brothers were even cooler in person and their friendliness helped us work together in a chill environment. 

BEOMGYU: Jonas Brothers were incredibly welcoming from the moment we met. They were just as enthusiastic as we were about shooting content, which we really appreciated.

YEONJUN: We gifted Jonas Brothers our most recent album The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION! We shot a lot of content together, and I remember being pleasantly surprised by how good they were at filming TikTok videos. 

Do you want fans to look out for anything specific in the music video?

HUENINGKAI: Viewers will be able to see how much fun we had on the set if they pay attention to TOMORROW X TOGETHER and Jonas Brothers’ facial expressions and gestures within the music video!

Fans loved Jonas Brothers’ sharing “concept photos” in the style of TOMORROW X TOGETHER on social media. Did you enjoy?

HUENINGKAI: We thought their concept photos turned out really well and felt a sense of pride seeing the positive reactions from fans. 

In what ways do TXT and Jonas Brothers have similarities, and in what ways are they different? 

TAEHYUN: I’d say TOMORROW X TOGETHER and Jonas Brothers are both artists who have a jam-packed discography with quality music. We, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, are not related by blood like Jonas Brothers, but the five of us are a band of brothers too and a family nonetheless. 

What are your personal and professional goals with this single?

SOOBIN: It would be amazing to achieve good results on the Billboard charts with “Do It Like That,” but more importantly we hope that this single acts as a window for more people to discover TOMORROW X TOGETHER and get to know us.

Sometimes K-pop groups split into “sub-units” for certain performances or albums. What would be the best combination if one member of TXT and Jonas Brothers formed a duo?

BEOMGYU: I think HUENINGKAI and Nick Jonas would make the perfect duo because their vocals complement each other very well. 

TOMORROW X TOGETHER has a lot of big things coming up: Headlining Lollapalooza 2023, a Disney+ documentary, of course this new single. What’s your message to fans as you roll it all out?

SOOBIN: We can’t spoil too much, but including our new single, we have a lot of exciting plans coming up for the rest of the year beyond what you mentioned. It’s a busy time for us, but we’re thankful and working hard to put our best foot forward for the many opportunities to meet our MOA. As always, we would appreciate our MOAs’ excitement and support every step of the way!

[thesharkzone]

Hello lovelies! Today's Shark Spotlight is none other than the famed screen princess,

The Great White!

The Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) is one of the most iconic and powerful predators in the ocean. Known for its size, speed, and sharp senses, this apex predator can grow up to 20 feet long and weighs thousands of pounds. With razor-sharp teeth and an extraordinary ability to detect prey from miles away, great whites play a crucial role in maintaining the balance of marine ecosystems. The 1975 film Jaws gave the Great White Shark an unfair reputation as a vicious man-eater, leading to widespread fear and misunderstanding. In reality, attacks on humans are very rare and Great White Sharks are necessary parts of the marine ecosystem. Conservation efforts are now focused on correcting these misconceptions and protecting these important predators from human threats.

Here are some fintastic facts! 1. Great whites can grow up to 20 feet (6 meters) long and weigh up to 5,000 pounds (2,268 kilograms). They're among the largest predatory fish in the ocean.

2. They are apex predators, using speed (up to 35 mph or 56 km/ph) and sharp senses to detect prey like seals, sea lions, and fish. Their ability to breach out of the water while attacking prey is one of their most striking hunting behaviours.

3. Great whites have an incredible sense of smell, able to detect a single drop of blood in 25 gallons of water, and specialized organs to detect electrical fields produced by other animals.

4. A Great white’s teeth are serrated and can grow up to 3 inches long. They can go through thousands of teeth in their lifetime, as new ones continually grow to replace the lost or worn-down ones.

5. Unlike most sharks, great whites are partially warm-blooded, allowing them to regulate their body temperature, which helps them survive in cold water.

6. Great whites can live for up to 70 years, and they grow slowly, which is why they are vulnerable to overfishing.

7. They are highly migratory, traveling long distances across oceans. Some great whites have been tracked traveling thousands of miles between feeding and breeding grounds.

8. Despite their fearsome reputation, great whites are vulnerable due to bycatch in commercial fishing, illegal poaching for their jaws and fins, and habitat degradation.

photo credit @euanart

[paranormalbadboyfiles]

Okay so,

We are gen’ing on main! Let’s get into the theories! Let me know yours too :3  ~*Under the Cut*~ (long post incoming!) Non-Circled Items - Visible Text: Words, clockwise - Visible Text: Numbers, clockwise Circled Items - White Numbers(1-18) - Green Numbers (1-5) - Red Numbers (1-4) - Orange Numbers (1-2)

~*Non-Circled Items*~ Visible Text: Words, clockwise Left - Magma - Theory - Theory #4 -  Escaped monkey (there is at least on often reported on YouTube story about this) -  Shockwave Top -  M on the left is the Mystery Files logo. -  Exhaustion. -  Volcanic gas. - The body disintegrated. (Another tale of spontaneous human combustion maybe?) -  A belch, methane(?) Right - Theory #3(?) Bottom - Theory #2 Center - Suspect #1 - Unknown - Rip Van Winkle Visible Text: Numbers, clockwise Left -  2007 (the year, I’m presuming) Top -  $160k Right -  80 million trees Bottom -  $100,000 Center -  2005 (the year, I think)  - 500,000 acres ~*Circled Items*~  White Numbers(1-18) 1. Looks like some kind of machine-type thing? See number 12. 2. Letter J. See number 13. JK = Just kidding? 3. Nuclear explosion icon? 4. Mobile phone. Randonautica? (Ryan did an ad for them awhile back during the same season where he tied himself up for an AYS promo shoot). There's one very uh...dark story that occurred with this app that's been heavily covered on YouTube. 5. Under water nuclear explosion? Underwater volcano? (The words "magma" and "volcanic gas" are also on there). 6. A Tumblr-looking "T." I AM my fear.  7. PBS is provided by support from Internet content viewers like you. Thank you! 8. Chipmunk? Beaver? Groundhog? Or do I have the paredolia? 9. Suspect #1, right under a picture of Ryan. 10. "Public Enemy" written across a picture of Ryan on PH set. 11. A little Professor sticker peeking behind Number 10. 12. A machine looking thing? Inner mechanisms of a watch? Possibly related to number 1? 13. Letter K. See number 2. JK = Just kidding? 14. I looked up the "Evergreen State" and it's Washington. 15. A heart. See number 18. 16. Looks like a generic "person" graphic similar to one used in BFU. Sunglasses on top. Why? Finally the Buzzfeed tea? 17. A rosary? 18. Another heart. See number 15. Green Numbers (1-5) All of these are connected together by green string 1. Insect? 4 legs? Multiple antennae? I fear the buggy cryptids D: 2. Musical notes.   3. M is the Mystery Files logo.  4. $500,000 acres.  5. Mystery Files is the title.  Red Numbers (1-4) All of these are connected together by red string 1. Post-explosion site?  2. Nuclear explosion?  3. Text: Volcanic gas.  4. Football  Orange Numbers (1-2) 1. Thumbtack, right next to the left edge of the board.  2. Thumbtack, right beneath the top edge of the board.

[succubusphan]

Two Man Team - Chapter 1

Summary: This is the story of two struggling friends who after many trials and tribulations find their way back to each other and build the life they've always dreamed of.

Or how Phil changed his life by talking to random strangers on the internet.

Rating: E

Tags/warnings: Friends to lovers, Friends with benefits, mental health issues (mainly anxiety), Slow burn, Dan is a psych student. Canon divergence (the timeline is altered and some things never happened), Slutty Phil, Angst with a happy ending. The fic spans many years.

Author's Note: Written for the OSPBB 2023 @oldschoolpbb. Thank you @effingmeteors for being my life saviour and beta as usual and to my artist Lin @anironsidh.

Edits and the art will be added at some point, we are busy bees.

POSTING EVERY DAY UNTIL IT'S COMPLETED.

Total Word Count: 75k ish

Read on Ao3

CHAPTER 1: Somebody to Love

June 2005

Phil threw himself onto his bed and looked around at his neon green walls and carpet thinking how little time he had left in his childhood bedroom. He had one last summer in his hometown before uprooting his entire life and moving to York for uni. It was weird, in a way, to be in this sort of limbo where his basic education was over; he no longer felt like a child but didn’t feel like an adult either. It could be because he didn’t feel like he was fully himself, not to anyone he knew - not even his friends.

Could he really call them his friends if they didn’t know who he truly was, if he couldn’t share his attraction to boys like the others shared their crushes on girls and their flings? Maybe it wasn’t fair to think of them as near strangers, it was not their fault that he didn’t feel ready to talk about it. They had all been there for him his entire childhood and he still wasn’t ready. That was on him.

On the other hand, York presented him with a new opportunity, a chance to live his true life and finally get a boyfriend. That’s all he wanted, just - someone to cuddle with. Ok, also other stuff, but he wanted a proper boyfriend. It didn’t hurt to start looking now though.

Phil sat up and reached for his laptop, lifting the screen and connecting to the internet. He clicked on the Explorer icon and waited for everything to load for a few minutes. He logged into a random Yahoo chat room as per usual and greeted the 60 strangers chatting and sending emojis in the hopes of catching someone’s attention.

Snowdude: Hi. Anyone around 18? ;)

A private window popped up immediately.

DanTheMan: hi snowdude XD i’m dan

Snowdude: Hi. als?

DanTheMan: 16/m/reading. u?

Phil hesitated for a moment. It wasn’t often that dudes messaged him. Still, “Dan” was too young and still in school. Well, he didn’t have anything better to do than speak to him.

Snowdude: 18 m York. Are you in school?

DanTheMan: yeah just the A lvls to go. What’s ur favourrtie game?

Phil’s eyebrows shot up at the typo and he snorted. 

Snowdude: Final Fantasy 7 is ace.

DanTheMan: ace XD favourite show?

Snowdude: Buffy obviously. What is this, an interview? What’s your favourite subject in school?

DanTheMan: ouch, geography and psych and theatre.

Snowdude: hate geo, you act?

DanTheMan: don’t laugh. i always have but i’m cool.

Snowdude: nothing wrong with it. I’m a terrible actor. 

Looking at his ceiling, Phil felt bad for making Dan feel insecure by bringing up school, pointedly marking their age difference. He knew what it was like to be looked down upon by the older kids. He quickly typed another message.

Snowdude: I signed up to art because I thought it would be easy and almost failed. Seems like i suck at art.

DanTheMan: ROFL. ur weird.

DanTheMan: let’s be friends.

Snowdude: Lesbifriends

DanTheMan: forget it lol. I regret asking.

Snowdude: noooooooooooo 

DanTheMan: i have to go my mums calling. add me on msn i’m danosaurXD@hotmail.com.uk

Snowdude: Rawr xD. ACe. Good luck with homework

DanTheMan: fuckoff with your capitalistion and good grammra ttyl

And just like that, Dan exited their chat. Phil smiled and logged into MSN, hesitating only for a second before adding his new friend.

Ian opened their conversation with a buzz as per usual and invited him over to play games with the girls. He hesitated, but another notification popped up and it brought a smile to his face.

GoThic chiK (Anja): coming or not phL?

Phil rolled his eyes, at least Anja would be there and even if he didn’t like girls like that, Anja was always cool. She was like a girl, but also not. Well, she was a girl of course, but she felt like a guy, but not - like him. He didn’t fit in as the kind of man his dad wanted to see in his son and Anja didn’t impress her mother either. Maybe they were losers but they still had each other.

Phil Strikr: omw Annie tell Ian

GoTik chiK (Anja): told you to stop butcherin ma name.

Phil laughed and sent her a buzz before logging out and getting into his favourite blue jeans and a green T-shirt.

--

The night went by in a breeze, with loads of pizza, drinking and a few rounds of TEG that ended in disaster. He mostly enjoyed it until the topic of dating came up yet again. All the guys had some sort of girlfriend or arrangement and Phil had barely anything to show for. For the umpteenth time, Phil considered coming out to them but he could never bring himself to do it. Maybe one of these days when he was drunk enough.

“Phil, Phil!” Someone said.

Anja snapped her fingers in front of his eyes, startling him and causing him to drop the dice he had been shaking for who knows how long. “Mate, what is it with you today?”

“Uh, nothing. I was just thinking about Buffy,” he said.

Anja gave him a look that let him know she was not buying it, but the rest rolled their eyes and continued with their conversation. For a moment Phil thought he was off the hook but Ian looked at him expectantly.

“What?” Phil asked.

Ian sighed heavily. “Sandra asked about you again, mate. When are you going to ask her out?”

Phil tried not to look like a deer caught in the headlights. “I think it would be weird to date your cousin, we are like brothers at this point.”

Ian snorted and shook his head. “We are like brothers but not actually. It’s not like incest or anything.”

“Ew, don’t say that,” Phil said, paling at the thought of Sandra and her wandering hands. He was not going to repeat the mistake of asking her out. One sloppy kiss was more than enough.

Richard, Noah and Keith laughed at the face he pulled but Ian merely smiled at him.

“Oi! Phil is mine, let him be,” Anja said, shuffling closer to him and resting her hand on his thigh.

Phil’s eyes widened but she gave him a small wink before looking back at their friends.

“What? Are you his girlfriend now?” asked Richard with a frown.

“Yeah,” she said, looking uncomfortable at the question. Anja didn’t like Richard like that, she loved him as a friend, but he had a huge crush on her and he was terrible at hiding it. Phil didn’t need to read her mind to know she didn’t want to break his heart or risk their friendship but it was bound to happen eventually.

Wrapping his arm around Anja’s waist loosely, he set his head on her shoulder. “Tell Sandra I’m taken,” Phil said and Anja relaxed against him, letting her head gently rest on his.

Richard looked disappointed but didn’t press the issue any further.

Eventually, the board games stopped being fun and the alcohol ran out so they declared the party over. As soon as Phil said goodbye and stood from his spot Anja followed him, making the others laugh and howl at them, half whispering about what they were going to do in Phil’s bedroom.

Once they were out, Phil turned to look at her. “Do you want me to walk you home?” He asked, hopefully.

“Nah, I was expecting to crash in your bed.” She began the walk back home and Phil followed her.

“What?” Phil squeaked.

Anja laughed and turned towards him, but her eyes looked a bit misty. “Don’t be daft, it’s not that.” She poked him gently, looking into his eyes. “I just feel sad and I don’t wanna be alone right now. I know I can trust you like that.” 

“Alright,” Phil said, still walking at her side. “Do you want to talk about it? What happened?”

Anja looked away from him, her eyes focusing on the moon for a moment as she spoke. “I was dating someone but they are not sure about it anymore and it sucks.”

Phil stopped walking and pulled her into a hug. “An- you know you can tell me anything, come stay with me too.”

“I know.” She returned the hug tightly only for a moment before stepping back. “Come on!” She said, grabbing his hand and pulling him along. “Kath will be fuming if we are not there before midnight.”

He snorted and laced their fingers together. “I’ll tell my mum you call her Kath behind her back one day, you know?”

“Meh,” Anja shrugged. “She loves me. I’ll live.”

They stayed silent for most of the 20 minute walk home and had to sneak in, but soon enough they were in his room. Phil gave Anja a big T-shirt and a pair of joggers and slipped into his own pyjamas while she changed in the bathroom. 

Five minutes later they were looking up at the ceiling as they lay under the covers in the small bed.

“Hey, Phil?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think Richard will get over his crush eventually?”

Phil turned on his side to look at her. “Probably, he has gotten over the others.”

She nodded. “Are you seeing anyone that you haven’t told us about?” she asked in a drastic change of topic.

Phil sputtered. “As if anyone would be interested.”

“You have pretty eyes and perfect eyebrows. I wish I had your eyebrows,” Anja said. “You should dye your hair black though, it would make your eyes pop.”

“I don’t know… Would you do it for me?”

“Of course, ginge,” She laughed.

“I’m not a ginger!” Phil whined.

“Course not.” She poked at his stomach. “Good night.”

“Good night, An,” he said and shut his eyes, letting sleep claim him.

---

It was a weird summer. Anja remained sad for the majority of it but refused to talk about her boyfriend, choosing to focus on giving Phil an extreme makeover instead. She dyed his hair black, took him to the mall to pick up black skinny jeans and to the stylist that had given her her emo haircut to tame his mane.

By the end of it, Phil had perfected a nice image for his MySpace page. He had even ventured into eyeliner for some pictures when he’d gotten bored waiting for Anja to get ready for a party. He’d enjoyed the results and even Ian and the guys said it looked cool on him. Even Dan thought he looked really cool when he saw the pics.

He got to talk to Dan quite a few times as well before going off to uni and caught up with life. It was amazing to learn that they were actually super compatible, liking many of the same games, music and shows. The best part was that Dan said there was a chance he would go to York like him so they could hang out and Phil liked the sound of that, even if Dan was still a full year away from it. Dan was honestly super cool and Phil really had come to consider him a friend in the last few months so it would be super fun to have someone close to hang out and play games with. It sounded like a great plan.

Daydreaming about their potential meet-up was a nice distraction from Dan’s home life, which seemed to be in constant turmoil as Phil came to find over time. There was a reason Dan barely mentioned his younger brother and he had vaguely complained about his father’s rage issues, so Phil always let Dan talk first, and let whatever was troubling him be aired so that he could offer his support or advice if it was needed. Phil also shared some of his issues and insecurities, but his problems were not nearly as bad as Dan’s so he tried to keep things on the positive side and help Dan out.

But Phil wasn’t expecting to catch Dan in a lie only weeks later. As it turned out, Dan had never been 16, he was a 14 year old kid. It was a silly lie, but it still hurt Phil, so he asked Dan to never lie to him again. Dan was very apologetic and begged him not to break their friendship, which Phil had briefly considered, but decided against, especially because of the kind of bullying Dan suffered at school on the regular. After the initial shock had worn off, Phil reassured him that they could be friends, even if they would have to be long distance.

Dan deserved to have supportive friends. He needed someone to be there for him and Phil knew he could be that someone. At an appropriate distance, of course.

It was a bit of a rough patch between them, but after they had resolved the issue, life went on as usual. Phil dived head first into his uni life and there were so many changes. He moved into the dorm and met new people at uni, but sadly, he wasn’t able to stay in touch with his friends back home as much as he’d have liked due to his schedule. In a way, he had inadvertently severed most contact with his life back home, but no matter how much things changed, some stayed the same: his lack of a love life and being trapped in the closet.

He decided that it was time to take his life by the horns and that marked the beginning of a new chapter for him, an exploring phase of sorts. After some consideration, he opened a profile on a dating website, hoping to find a nice guy he could date. His new look did seem to help a lot, but his popularity applied mostly to MySpace. The dating scene seemed a bit dry, or maybe he was just too awkward. There weren't a bunch of messages flooding his inbox by any means.

To be honest, he was starting to get really discouraged, thinking he would never meet someone, but his luck finally changed on a mighty weekend when in a hidden corner of a pub, he got his first taste of freedom. He was blonde and tall and three years older than Phil and his lips were on Phil’s, quickly taking him to heaven, making his blood rush south and his stomach tingle. His hands were inside Phil’s T-shirt and struggling with his jeans’ zipper in less than five minutes. It wasn’t too rough or something that Phil didn’t want, but the speed of it all scared him a bit. It was too much too soon and he wasn’t ready even though he wanted to be, so he took a step back and apologised.

“I’m sorry,” he said, still trying to catch his breath. “Listen, I’m not out yet, not even to my friends back home, my new uni friends or my roommates.”

The guy nodded and smiled at him. “That’s alright,” he said. “Could I get your phone number? Maybe we can meet up some other time.”

Phil nodded and saved it in the other’s phone, but he was not going to trick himself into thinking he was going to get a text. His chances were slim.

They parted ways with a quick kiss, which surprised Phil. He let out a deep sigh as he watched the blonde disappear into the crowd and surveyed the pub in search of his friends. 

Towering over most people did come in handy and allowed him to locate his roommates in under a minute. Phil tried to put on a brave smile as he made his way to them and accepted a beer, taking a zip and groaning at the bitter taste. It was performative and he knew it, but he didn’t know what else to do, so he followed along with what everyone was doing. He got drunk - and even made out with a girl briefly just out of boredom. 

He felt nothing, nothing at all, but his roommates cheered him on and the girl seemed happy enough. 

That made one of them.

--

Once back in his room, Phil put his phone to charge and turned it on. There were a few missed calls and texts from Dan, asking if he was free to talk. Phil got a bad feeling about it and tried to call him but Dan didn’t pick up. Maybe it was too late and he had fallen asleep. Biting the inside of his cheek, Phil hesitated before sending a text.

“I’m sorry I missed your calls, I was out until just now and my phone had died X.x . I’m free to talk in the morning!”

Phil lay in bed for what seemed like forever, the room spinning a bit around him, as he thought about the blonde guy, the boring night, the girl he kissed - and Dan. He wished he would have stayed home and talked to Dan, maybe played some games, or talked about school. It was sad that he got along better with a 14 year old than his own friends. What did that say about him? He fell into a fitful night of sleep just as the sun rose above the clouds.

The talk with Dan didn’t come the next day, or the following one. In fact, Dan stopped replying entirely for over a week and Phil’s stomach was twisted into knots. Over twenty messages unanswered could only mean bad news, right?

The following weekend, Phil sent yet another text: “Please, Dan. Just let me know that you are ok.”

Ten minutes later, his phone finally vibrated. “im ok. stop.”

Phil’s eyes welled up with tears. “I’m so sorry, Dan. I’ve been worried about you. I went out and had so many calls and missed texts, I thought something had happened and you needed to talk. It’s ok if you don’t want to, I just didn’t want you to think that I didn’t care. Sorry I missed your call.”

His screen lit up with a call immediately and Dan’s raspy voice greeted him on the other side. “Hey, sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s ok,” Phil said, trying to calm himself down, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. He swallowed thick and attempted a small smile, even if Dan could not see it. “What did you want to talk about?”

Dan was silent for a moment, but then he let out a tired sigh. “Nothing much, it’s fine.”

“You can tell me, you know you can,” Phil said with a frown.

“Last weekend I went to the mall and I had some problems with the usual shitheads…” he trailed off.

“Did they throw rocks at you again?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t care. And on Monday -” Dan paused.

“What happened on Monday?” Phil asked, frowning at the pain he could hear in Dan’s voice.

“One of the idiots grabbed me by the neck and slapped me for like 5 minutes,” Dan mumbled. “And I know what you’re going to say, one of the teachers saw and did nothing. He even laughed.”

“Dan,” Phil said, his heart breaking for his friend. “I’m so sorry, you don’t deserve any of that. I wish I could be there to help you.”

“It’s fine,” Dan said in a monotone voice. “I didn’t react, I didn’t want to give them that satisfaction.”

“It takes a lot of courage not to fight back. You were very brave.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Dan muttered. “Almost gave them another satisfaction.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m so tired sometimes, you know? Just so tired.” Then, Dan cleared his throat. “Anyway, I’ve been staying with my grandma since Tuesday, so I’m ok.”

Phil had to clear his throat too, trying not to get choked up by what Dan was implying. “You have to get good grades so you can get into uni and we can hang out, ok?”

Dan snorted. “As if you would hang out with me. You’re cool and I’m just a 14 year old loser.”

“You’re not a loser. You’re kind, and funny, and one of the coolest people I know. I know that one day you will be a great guy. Maybe you’ll be a famous actor, like you’ve always wanted.”

“Yeah… maybe,” Dan said. “Wanna play Mario Kart later? I have homework.”

Phil looked at the time, it was already late, but a few races wouldn’t hurt. “Sure. Text me when you’re done.”

“Thanks, Phil,” Dan said and Phil could picture a little smile on his face.

“No problem. See you later.”

“Yeah. Hey, can I follow your MySpace?” Dan asked.

“You can follow me anywhere,” Phil said. “We are friends.”

“Yeah, ok,” Dan snorted. “See you later, Philly.”

Phil rolled his eyes and hung up the phone.

Letting out a deep sigh, he decided to do the “adult thing” and study a little more for the exam he had the following morning so that he could join Dan online later. It was not a lot, but he felt better now that Dan knew Phil was on his side and he cared.

That night, Phil stayed on his DS until 4, but he managed to get a passing grade on the exam anyway. He rewarded himself with a 10 hour nap afterwards.

--

All through his first term at uni, Phil tried his best to keep in touch with Dan, but with his tight study schedule, the weekends pretending to be straight and attempting to not stress himself half to death with his new chaotic life, it was getting increasingly difficult.

Before long, Phil had to make a drastic choice. Something needed to change and he knew exactly what was the worst stressor for him: his straight-sex-maniac persona. And so it was decided. 

He invited his four roommates to their very limited common space and paced in the square foot of floor he had available to himself waving his hands around without uttering a word until one of the guys asked if he was ok. 

No, Phil was not ok at all, he was nearly crawling up the wall, so instead of giving a carefully planned and rehearsed speech, he stopped short of the wall, turned around and said: “I lied… I am not super experienced, I don’t have a lot of sex experience. In fact, I have zero experience, because… because I’m gay. I’m sorry that I lied, I just wanted you guys to like me, you are all so cool. I wanted to be your friend. I didn’t mean for it to get so out of hand. I-”

Peter got up from the armrest of the sofa, causing Phil to take a step back just in case, and gave him a hard pat on the shoulder. “It’s ok. We are all figuring things out,” he said. “Also, Sarah will be happy to know that you are not disgusted by her presence, you’re just thick as all fuck and gay. Right, Sarah?”

“You like me?” Phil squeaked, turning towards the popular blonde girl. She was super nice and also pretty, but she was still not a guy, so there was not even a chance.

“I do. I did, but it’s ok. We can be friends,” she said with a smile.

“We can?” Phil croaked.

Sarah nodded. “You’re a good guy, Phil. Why wouldn’t I want to be your friend? And the fact that you are not opposed to a little makeup also plays in your favour.”

Peter clapped once and rushed to the fridge. He got the Malibu out of the freezer, messily pouring the alcohol into various glasses and mugs and other liquid-holding implements before turning around to face the group and raising his glass. “To Phil, the gayest emo York has ever seen - and a good friend too!” He downed his drink without waiting for anyone else.

Sarah walked over to the kitchenette and grabbed a shot glass, raising it towards Phil with an encouraging smile. “Cheers,” she said and downed her drink. She then passed a repurposed laundry detergent cap full of Malibu to Phil. 

“Thank you,” he said, hoping that his eyes could convey the gratitude he felt. “Cheers,” he said and drank the entire thing.

Jimmy and Callan, who had been quiet until now, stood from the sofa and grabbed a mug each, raising them to Phil. 

“To Phil, the gay emo,” said Callan with a smirk.

“We can still be friends even if you’re gay and your willy is bigger than all of ours,” Jimmy said with a nod and necked his drink.

Phil laughed. “Stop talking about my dick, Jimmy. You saw nothing!”

“I will when it stops looking back at me every time you sit,” Jimmy cackled. 

Phil threw the laundry detergent cap at his head, hitting the target and causing the group to laugh.  Hours later, he crawled into his tiny bed and felt the effects of all the alcohol he had consumed rock him gently, like the waves in the sea. He let out a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on his lips as he remembered how the night had started. His coming out had been awkward but still a success. Now he could truly be himself, at least in York, and he couldn’t wait until he was able to live his life fully everywhere.