#plus a helmet with wings too

[ramosdeolivaa]

Guys, hear me out.

"Wouldn't you like" stage ver but Hermes is wearing one of those

[beastking-golion]

Saw a fic about vastaya Viktor and if you ask me he’s definitely a bird (or salamander if you wanna super angstify him- cough cough Rio cough).

[burningcheese-merchant]

Alright, so. Now that we have official confirmation for how Awakened Hollyberry looks (she's gorgeous btw, slay queen), I'd love to take the time to talk about certain design motifs I've noticed in every Ancient - namely, that they all seem to incorporate aspects of their Beast counterpart into their appearances upon awakening.

Let's look at Dark Cacao first.

Obviously, he has an awful lot more white in his design now. "The balance of black and white is key," he says. And he demonstrates that with his hair as well as his attire: a pleasing mixture of black and white, perfectly split down his middle, in such a way that they mirror each other exactly.

Next, Golden Cheese.

It can be said that the reddish tones were added more to her surroundings than to she herself (fucking LOOK AT THAT BACKGROUND); however, it remains clear that the most important part is her Soul Jam. Upon awakening, it becomes a striking mix of gold/yellow AND red, both of which seemingly melting into each other. There are also red accents in her crown/headdress now, making it look like that red hue/glow that's in her Soul Jam is spilling outwards. (Not to mention the red triangle on her spear.)

Third is Pure Vanilla.

Smaller detail is how his brooch now more closely resembles Shadow Milk's, with those teensy little dual prongs (or whatever they're called) on the sides. Bigger detail is how the underside of his cape/cloak is not only a dark blue, which was previously nowhere to be seen on his person (but everywhere on Shadow Milk's), but there are eyes in it. Exactly like the eyes in Shadow Milk's hair.

And finally, Hollyberry.

Holly has adopted an even more unique and interesting change than the other 3 have: her Soul Jam has outright changed shape, now more closely matching the angular shape of Eternal Sugar's Soul Jam. Furthermore, there are wing shapes/designs not only in her helmet, but on the back of her shield, as well. (It can also be argued that the golden holly leaves on her helmet resemble a halo. Who else has a halo?)

Why do these details matter? What do they tell us? In my opinion, they demonstrate a specific aspect of the Ancients' enlightenment: their understanding and acceptance of their Beast counterparts and their vices. In being briefly touched by apathy, Dark Cacao remembered who and what it is he must be fighting for; it is thanks to it, and to Mystic Flour by extension, that he overcame his flaws and awakened. Through her battle with Burning Spice and the suffering he inflicted upon her, Golden Cheese came to see the merit in destruction, in that it is what she wanted and needed to carry out in order to defeat him and save everyone; destruction as a form of justice and protection, not aimless cruelty. In his time in the Spire of All Knowledge, plus his brief but willing descent into corruption and despair, Pure Vanilla came to truly grasp the meaning behind both his own actions and Shadow Milk's; embracing deceit in the pursuit of truth. And it will likely be that Hollyberry realizes the folly in her chronic desire to run away from and ignore her problems while trapped in Eternal Sugar's jewelry box, and remember who she raises her shield for and why, thus regaining her true passion while wallowing in sloth.

Resolution cannot exist without Apathy, Abundance cannot exist without Destruction, Truth cannot exist without Deceit, and Passion cannot exist without Sloth. While they may not explicitly state this understanding through words (minus Pure Vanilla), it is nevertheless conveyed through these other details. Dark Cacao, too, once knew apathy through his own bitter withdrawal from the world; he just retreated behind walls and not into a cocoon. Golden Cheese was also a victim of the cycle of change, and had everything she worked for ruined; instead of bitterly forsaking all life and letting everything go in acceptance of brtual nihilism, she just chose the opposite extreme of clinging too hard to what remained of who and what she loved and refused to let go, to the point of severe delusion. Pure Vanilla also knew the pain truth and knowledge often bring - most notably in learning what truly became of White Lily - and recognizes the desire to obscure these things in favor of amusing, comforting lies. The Ancients understand their other halves completely, their hatred and pain and sorrow, and the virtues turned vices they now stand for. And thus, they quietly embrace the power and importance of these skewed ideals, for it is they, and those fallen heroes that champion them, that finally made the Ancients become who they needed to be. They finally became whole.

In essence, they say, "you are a part of me, now and forever, for better or worse. And I accept that. I accept you."

I've been wanting to make this analysis post for a while lol. Thank you all for coming to my TED Talk, I look forward to when and how White Lily incorporates Silent Salt into her design

[magickizu]

Phantom Contingency Plan

Crossover dp x dc. So I've got this time line in mind, for my crossover AU and this is a snippet of it. Master Post: Lost Retirement

After something happened and the Phantom-Squad (Danny, Ellie, Dan and Jazz) had to reveal themselves to the batfam, Bruce calls up Danny and tells him, now that he thought about it and in the least offensive way possible: how likely is it for the Phan-Squad to "go rogue". Danny is silent, a thought filled, contemplating silence. "... I'll come by the cave tomorrow eve at 8pm."

P.s.: sorry if the batfam becomes too much ooc, I grew up a marvel-child and just recently became invested into dc. pwq

"This is absolutely ridiculous, B!" Jason, in full Red Hood get up, was leaning against a support beam. He just can't sit right now. This idiot really just straight up decided to go and ask Danny for their weak points! Instead of going the normal route of collecting information, to expand the contingency plan alone- like it was supposed to be!

"As if any of them, who's very core is actively making them protect, save and help- literally!!- would just go against it and harm themselves with it." Why Hood was this adamant, about the Nightingales? Okay, yeah, maybe it does have something to do with him crushing on Danny, the moment he made the pits fall silent for the first time... But why the hell would he ever say that out loud!?

"It may be in their instinct, but you can never be sure what happens when that person breaks." Nightwing, who leaned on a nearby table. He talks calmly, but stern. His expression shows the hint of unease even he feels; the Nightingales have come to Gotham in an attempt to flee from someone. Someone who's set on hunting them down and hurting them, they're basically refugees. It doesn't seem 100% right, definitely. But the "what if"s are too big of a risk, none of them got any idea of what they're truly capable of.

"Bullshit..." Hood crosses his arms, looking away. His helmet is off, just the domino, so his muttering comes out as just that.

"Hood, please. Nightwing is right. As much as they want to help, you know it's for the best. Not even Constantine could think of something." Barbara sat next to Batman, as she turned to face the boys.

"Wait, what?? You can't be serious! Even Gandalf the Blond didn't know??" Nightwing looks at her incredulous. The redhead shook her head, but a slim smirk formed on her lips from the nickname.

"That doesn't excuse anything-" Hood got cut off by the notification that someone was coming in through the tunnel.

For the first time since the others came in, Batman moved from his seat at the batcomputer. He turned towards the tunnel entrance, where the roaring of a motorcycle can be heard. While Barbara and Nightwing seemed surprised, Hood could somehow, probably through his now healing core, sense it was Danny- which in turn just sent his head reeling a bit and his heart fluttering a little. Batman just checked the clock; the moment Danny brought his bike to a halt, next to Jason's, it was exactly 8:00pm, as promised. The ghost king really does keep his word, that's good to know.

Danny wasn't wearing any padding: no sturdy jeans, no leather jacket, just his usual get up and the black helmet with neon green accents. Crazy dangerous for a normal living person, but what could possibly happen? He's already dead, plus more sturdy anyway and untouchable when he wants to. Plus he's got the heightened reflexes, to use his abilities timely. ...which honestly just made his entrance, like- Wham!

Nightwing whistled impressed, "Damn dude, you're making little wing real competition, looking all cool and serious like that." He smiles, still impressed. Barbara just gave him a look that said, to keep his mind focused. In turn Nightwing answered with a look that asked, why it's only him and to look at Hood. Who in all fairness just was completely entranced by his crush looking extremely awesome, which made him incredibly hot. Well, at least until-

"Jay, stand back." Danny said, well... more like softly commanded, right as he took his helmet off, hanging it onto the handlebars. Said vigilanty did as he was told, without questioning. If it could harm Danny, it will harm him.

"Thank you, for not only your understanding, but your quick response, as well as trust to not misuse this. We really appreciate it." The Bat said in his low, serious tone. Danny nodded, giving him a similar facial expression.

"And thank you, for appreciating the afford." He grabbed two silver suitcases: one was flatter and the other looked more like a box. The moment he stepped closer to the table Nightwing was sitting on and where Hood was still standing, albeit a little off now, Hood became a little paler and suddenly feeling a bit weaker and uncomfortable. As if something underneath his skin began itching, somewhere inside. Danny's gaze shot towards him immediately, after setting them both down.

"You okay?" He asked, the concern visible in his eyes. The man's feet took him over towards Hood, the moment he was approximately 2 meters away, Danny shook and rubbed his arm. Probably to stop the same feeling Hood felt.

"I'm- ...yeah. I can handle, just uncomfortable." He chose to be honest, knowing, hearing and feeling the concern emanating from his core. But he nods, then stands himself next to the taller man.

Meanwhile Batman, Barbara and Nightwing stood themselves around the table in a half circle around the suitcases.

"The thicker case is filled with blood blossoms. Do not open that one, unless it's happening. These flowers have anti-spectral properties, they not only harm us, can occasionally break haunts and ghostly curses, they can and will kill ghosts and ghost-adjacent beings through exposure alone. Especially in that quantity." He begins to explain and Jason shifts slightly, shuffling one step away, trying not to make it obvious. Nightwing and Barbara look on in shock, even Batman has to take a deep breath.

"But aren't they just a fairytale? Constantine had mentioned them, but also said that they come from old folklore. Medieval times, when Christianity wasn't even that known. And aren't they supposed to have anti-supernatural properties?" Barbara questioned and it's true. John told Batman about them, but added that he didn't exactly know if it wasn't just some old folklore and not to put his bets on it. He knew of the infinite realms, sure. But Ghosts explicitly? Not that much..

Danny nodded. "They are as old as humanity and they have been used in countless traps and banishment rituals. It's just that..." He grabs his neck, thinking of which words to use and letting his usual self finally slip through. He's been practicing explaining things, this definitely put it to the test. "Hmmm... Okay, uhm... It was said that they have anti-supernatural properties, because quite a few ghosts were mistaken as other supernatural creatures. For example... Yetis!" He snapped his fingers, smiling proudly to himself, that he came up with it that fast.

"Yetis...?" Nightwing asked completely flabbergasted. "Pfff... Bigfoot also a ghost? Ow-" He couldn't help himself, but got a slap on his arm from Barbs, who glarred daggers at him.

"Yes and no, Bigfoot is actually a spirit of sorts, but not really. He just wants to be left alone, man. And yes, Yetis. They are ghosts of the far frozen and spirits of ice, the cold and healing. Because they're technically ghosts, they'd be affected, but they don't exactly look like your conventional, stereotypical ghost. So people just forgot about them due to monotheistic religions, because instead of blaming vengeful, violent and malevolent spirits, they became demons. Which lasted not that long after exorcisms and prayers became a thing." Danny explained.

"I see... So that's why Constantine didn't know for sure." Batman nodded. Hood got a stool and sat down a little further away- was this what kryptonite felt like to the supers? He made a mental note to never tease them about it again... In the back of his mind and in his chest, he can hear- no... Sense a chirping. It's Danny sensing Hood's tense unease. The smaller ones core calling out, //it's okay//will protect//save//. It did help a bit though and Hood's grateful for that.

"And this one?" Nightwing pointed at the slimmer suitcase, intrigued now.

"Those are regular ecto-blasters. They just shoot ecto infused lasers- completely harmless to anything living. The only thing it does is to inconvenience or harm a ghost, but they're mostly non-lethal." Batman nodded again, opening the case and inspecting the guns. "If you need more, just say so. I used to use them constantly, so I still got quite a few on the shelf." He crosses his arms, for comfort. But Hood's attention was drawn more to the 'used to use them'. Danny wheelded harmful 'mostly non-lethal' weapons for a while, so that also implies that he knows how to turn them lethal... Why?

"If that is possible, I would be most grateful." Batman said, holding eye contact with Danny, who in turn nodded.

"I'll drop them off tomorrow, then. You'll need to recharge them with both electricity and ectoplasm. Don't ever let them run low, tho or it will back fire on you. Not pretty. When you aim to stun: hit wherever besides the chest, it regenerates. But when you aim to harm and injure: aim for the core. It's, you guessed it, in the middle of the chest. Even if ghosts can regenerate, just empty the thing and keep firing; the amount of ecto we lose, is too much to heal against. Especially because we need said ecto to heal in the first place. And don't be surprised: ghosts melt. We don't turn to ashes, get sucked away to who knows. We melt into ecto." Danny answered almost immediately, stunning the birds and Oracle. But the bat only nodded, containing his own curiosity, as he closed the case and readied them to carry away.

- - - - -

"Danny! Talk?" He turns his head towards Hood; both sit on their bikes, standing next to each other. The traffic light glowing red, when the taller man calls. Then after a few seconds of silence, Danny looks around and motions for Hood to follow.

After some more explanations in the cave, on how to most effectively use each weapon and tool against his very own life and leaving the two birds as well as Oracle stunned silent, Hood decided to ride along. Since he has to go in that direction anyway, might as well ride with Danny and spend more time. As the light turns green, Danny nods and leads the way. After another 10-15 minutes of silent driving they get to a quiet viewpoint in a more abandoned area of the neighborhood. They come to a halt and the taller is the first to speak,

"Just... Just out of curiosity. How come or well, why were you so, I wouldn't say eager but, so... fast to respond? Not even the League members reacted this... How to put it, ready? Collected? Hell knows, they didn't nerd out about their weaknesses. So-"

"Jay, tell me: how much do you trust yourself?" The smaller man takes off his helmet and hangs it up on the handlebars again. Hood sighs and does similar, leaving only his domino mask on, as he leans against the railing, next to his king. He shrugs.

"I guess... talking about confidence in my skills and how to use them? Yes. Yes, I do." But the electric blues only look over the city skylines, he nods.

"No, I mean in yourself." So naturally Jayson's breath hitches, when these eyes suddenly stared into his. "Your ability to control your emotions, when the worst happens and push comes to shove." He takes a deep breath, his gaze flicking from the other up to the sky. Surprisingly it's a clear view of the stars. And again Jason decides that a) this man has so many more secrets, than he already thought and b) it just adds to his enchanting mystique and liminal beauty. Oh damn, he fell hard and deep.

"I mean... The pit-rages stopped, when we began training, but..." That's when realisation hit him. "...I don't know. No."

"...and I do know, that I won't." Jason looks at Danny almost immediately. His small, growing and healing core rumbling with //confused//what?//. Danny sighs heavily: "the last time it happened, I developed new powers again and apparently declared war to the conspiratorial wing of the government, leaving nothing but death, destruction and a crater the size of Wayne Manor's property line behind. I wasn't even at full health. I've also seen what happens, when I let my anger win and that was from a point where I was about 10 years weaker than I am today. It was a wasteland of a world, didn't even see the justice league there, so..." Danny's hands slip from the railing to hug himself, Jason just stares stunned and in shock, trying to buffer the words and sounds the other one makes. Said one smiles weakly his gaze never leaves the stars, as if they're giving him some form of comfort or answers only he can read. "...emotions are more than natural for ghosts, we're literally made by them. The will to survive, the need to protect and help or ... The boiling rage to avenge." He finally gave Jason a small glance and encouraging smile. "Really it's only natural. But that's also why I'm so hellbend on teaching you to control yourself. The more your core heals,..." He reaches out touching Jason's chest and his heart skips a beat. Gods he hopes the other doesn't notice, but he doesn't react so that's good? "The more you will feel and the harder it becomes to regulate. But... I got the feeling, you'll manage." He smiles and pats Jason's chest, then he turns back to the stars. His smile slowly fading. "...but if things happen, that'll make me lose it for good? I'd prefer to be taken out clean before another 'reign of terror' Happens."

They're silent, Jason has to process what he just heard. Danny more so as it still looks like he's listening to the stars sing, however that's possible. But hey, that's the Nightingale's ever since they showed up: anything but normal. The bigger one finally huffs, "So... You're really a big f*cking fish, huh... Your siblings that powerful too?" The other shrugs, yes and no. "Damn... Well, I definitely hope that it'll never happen. ...would absolutely suck to lose you." He glances at the other, just barely to try and get a sneak peak at him. But Danny just smiles softly, eyes closed. That's when Jason can sense the chirping from Danny's core again, //appreciate//you too//love//.

...wait. Wait, hold on!-

"Welp, was nice but I gotta go now. Jazz is probably done with dinner by now and they're waiting for me." The smaller turns to walk towards his bike, patting Jason on the shoulder and back again. "I'll see around, Red Guy. You know where to find me." He winks cheeky and puts on his helmet and like a phantom into the night, is gone. Jason still stands there...

Did he... Did he really just understand... Love? No, wait again! Danny and his siblings too always say, that ghosts are very sensitive to emotions and can read them off of- ...

...did Danny knew from the very beginning...?

[dickgraysonisnothereforthis]

Outgoing Call

A Jason Todd x reader story. It's funny, until it's not. Then it's angsty.

MDNI, NSFW, not smut but mature language. Excessive swearing, sexual situations, you know the drill. use of a slur, but in jest. content warnings for addiction.

I have no idea how long this is.

---

Jason doesn't want to be here. The stupid fucking pageantry of the Batcave gets on his nerves and sets his teeth on edge, always has. A whole-ass cave is fucking unnecessary, Jason makes do with a handful of safe houses—apartments really—and a storage unit. Bruce, sitting stoic at the computer in his full Batman getup and looking right at home among the exposed rock and towering ceilings that end in darkness, never seemed to know when to stop. It irritates Jason to no end.

Dick and Tim's blind chirping chatters angrily in his ears, and Jason considers putting on the helmet to block them out before he remembers he left it at his place. Damn. He’s going to have to experience this stupid meeting unfiltered.

Jason only realizes they're trying to get his attention when Dick taps him on the shoulder.

"You okay there, Little Wing?” he asks, raising his eyebrows and nudging an elbow into his gut. It's enough to make a swell of vomit claw its way up his throat. Jason swallows down with a grimace. "Yes, dickface," he snaps. "Just wondering when we're going to get this fucking show on the road."

Dick shrugs, and Jason's secretly glad he's not offended. He probably wouldn't be acting so much of a shit if he didn't go and overdo it at some unknown dive bar last night. It's possible Jason is mixing up his eager disgust with Batman and Co. and alcohol poisoning.

Like he isn't part of Batman and Co. Bruce grunts, and Dick and Tim refocus, alert. Jason does the same, then forces himself to relax. He ildly imagines shooting himself in the face.

"You know why you’re here," Bruce starts. Actually, Jason doesn't. He didn't read the report Bruce sent him, but whatever. He can figure it out with context clues.

"Oracle has a new lead on the cyber-crime case. She managed to override the suspect's phone and took control, creating an essential bug. It goes live in one minute."

Right. The hits on Gotham National Bank, GCPD, and the mayor’s office. Plus an attempt on Oracle's highly protected Batman case files. Jason doesn't know why he's here, he doesn't give a shit about this case. If the hacker manages to get into Bruce's stuff, he'll take them out to dinner himself.

"Do we have a name?" Tim asks.

"No, and no location either. The security on the phone is too tight, Oracle could only get outgoing calls. She'll silently trigger a call to a secure line. Our side is muted. We only have until the suspect realizes the call is ongoing."

Jason sighs, tries to settle in for the next few hours. He reluctantly takes a seat in front of the computer, furthest away from Bruce. Tim, teacher’s pet that he is, pulls out a notebook and pen. Bored, Jason thinks about what he's going to do when Bruce finally lets him off the leash. His thoughts go to your apartment, your bedroom, before he remembers that after last night, he's definitely not welcome there.

He slumps down in his seat. Oh well. It's for the best.

"Call goes live in three, two, one."

The cave is silent. There are a few gentle beeps as the call connects. Quiet, then, a subtle clacking of computer keys.

He catches Tim shoot Dick a look. Well, they're in.

The clacking continues uninterrupted for a few minutes. "Location still unknown," Dick murmurs. Suddenly, there is the sound of shifting fabric. The phone is in the perp's pocket, Jason thinks.

"You done in there?" someone calls. "I just cleaned my shower, don't get it all gross. You'd better not be shaving in there."

Location known. Perp's apartment. Tim all but flies to the computer. "Searching for voice recognition," he explains. Bruce nods.

"What? I can't hear you." The audio crackles, and then there's the sound of footsteps, the rain of a shower.

"I said, relax, I'm not shaving my pubes in your apartment, you asshole."

What the fuck? Jason stiffens, then internally recoils, trying not to sit at obvious rapt attention. He quickly surveys the room to see if he got away with it. Dick seems like he's trying not to laugh, and Tim looks mortified. He feels rather than sees Bruce shift minutely in his direction. Fuck. Fuck. He may have been made.

“Unknown person. Accomplice?” Tim mutters under his breath. “Attempting voice recognition.” As if Jason needs Tim’s tricks to recognize who's on the other end of the line.

"Good, I don't what that shit clogging my drain."

"It's just pubes, moron." Jason knows that voice, knows that tone, even on the phone, where he's been a million times over the past four months. He can imagine you rolling your eyes to match. "You have them too, you know, it's not just women.”

What the fuck are you doing in their perp's shower?

"Girl pubes are gross. I'll stick to men's, thanks."

Bruce's fingers move over the keys, gently moving Tim to the side. He's definitely writing out "homosexual" in the perp's file. If Jason had anything left to spare, he'd laugh out loud. But he's too busy furiously trying to figure out what you're doing there (and if you're in danger, and if he should be jealous) while keeping his reactions to himself. He doesn't need anybody knowing about his girlfriend.

Well. Ex-girlfriend, or at least soon to be.

"Speaking of men's pubes," the perp, starts, "how's Jason?"

Oh. Fuck. Jason's tongue shoots to the roof of his mouth. He doesn't think anybody noticed. Except Bruce. Maybe. He still might be in the clear. There are a lot of Jasons, but if you keep talking about him eventually Gotham's greatest detective is going to put two and two together.

He can almost taste vomit again as the thought crosses his mind. That would actually be really, really bad. Bruce wouldn't hesitate to use Jason's connection to you as a way to move forward on the case, Jason’s feelings be damned.

"He's okay. I mean, I think. I haven't seen him in a few days."

"Really? Is that weird, does he do that often?"

"Nah. Well, nah, yeah, he does it often," you say with a laugh. "It's fine, he always resurfaces." The trust evident in your voice grates against his skin, then settles warmly in his heart, then drops to his stomach. That was one of the things he liked most about you, that you didn't question his weird schedule or habits. Though he never allowed himself to think about what that might mean, how that meant you felt about him. It hurts more than he expected to hear it now, to have you connect the dots so clearly in front of him.

"What does Jason even look like? You've never actually told me." Shit.

"I dunno," you muse. "He's tall. Blue eyes, black hair.”

Jason hears Tim shift in his seat, feels Dick's eyes on him. Shit. Shit.

"You're bad at descriptions," the perp sniffs. "Here, let me find him. What's his last name?"

Your sheepish chuckle echoes through the cave. "Uh, I actually don't know."

The perp snorts. "Well, you're a goddamn idiot."

"Thanks, dipshit. His profile said Jason T."

Jason swears, swears, he doesn't react, but it doesn't matter. They know him too well. They have him. "Holy shit," Tim whispers. Dick lets out a low chuckle. "Putting yourself out there, Little Wing?"

Bruce clears his throat. "Name?" he asks Jason. Of course that's the only thing on his mind right now.

Jason shakes his head. "No fucking way," he snarls.

"Good enough," the perp answers. The sound of the shower fades as he walks back to the computer in what must be another room.

Soon the clack of computer keys crackles across the line. Jason braces himself. Let's see how dangerous this hacker really is.

Another comm line buzzes to life. "This is Oracle," Barbara announces. "Someone's putting out a search for Jason T, dipping into some private data. I swept everything out with your face and name."

At almost the same time-- "What the fuck kind of website are you on now?" you call from the shower.

"CCTV footage. GCPD and private contracts."

"Oracle," Bruce barks. "Any CCTV footage?" Jason wishes he were anywhere else. Surely, surely, he doesn't need to be here for this nightmare.

"GCPD footage is protected," she answers quickly. "Checking now. Wait--"

"Got it!" the perp sings. "Data breach," Oracle reports. "They got you, Hood."

"Noted," Bruce grunts. "Any connection between Jason and Red Hood?"

"Negative. Shutting them out now." Barbara's fingers fly over the keys.

If anything, the perp's are even faster. "Fuck, he's so hot. Holy shit. You didn't mention he's ripped. " Dick bumps Jason's shoulder, then easily dodges Jason's punch. "Red Hood," Bruce intones.

"Don't start," Jason threatens.

"Someone's trying to kick me out," perp calls to you. "I've got, maybe, fifteen seconds. Just enough time to zoom in on his ass."

The sound of the shower stops, plastic rustling as you pull back the curtain. "Yeah, zoom in on his ass."

"Wow. I hope you're fucking that shit up," the perp says. This is officially too much for Jason. He feels himself start to turn red.

There's the sound of footsteps again. Maybe it's in his head, but Jason feels like he recognizes it, the pad of your bare feet across the floor. "Don't worry. I'm eating that shit out every day of the week and twice on Sundays." Jason almost shits his pants as Tim sputters and Dick cackles.

"Quiet," Bruce commands. Jason wants to punch him.

"--disgusting," the perp is saying. "I can't believe you do that."

"I can't believe you don't," you shoot back. "Aren't fags supposed to love that?"

"Watch it," the perp warns. For a flash of a moment, Jason wonders if he's going to get angry at you, if you're in any danger. If he should rush in and save the day, if he has an excuse to see you again.

"Do you have to specify that in your Grindr profile?" you press on, delighted.

"Everyone's different, you cunt." The perp's voice is fond, and Jason relaxes slightly. "Speaking of which--" the line muffles and shakes for a moment. "I got a message I need to look at."

Grindr profile, Jason mentally notes. The sound is clearer now, the perp must have taken the phone out of his pocket. "Hm. I think this man needs a dick pic," the perp says thoughtfully. There's the metallic sound of fingers fumbling with a belt buckle.

"Christ, are you taking one now?" For the first time, Jason stops to wonder what your relationship is with this guy. Are you friends? Did you used to hook up? He tries to ignore the jealousy rising in his blood.

"Yeah," the perp sounds unconcerned. "Hurry up and get dressed, I can't get it up with a naked woman in the room."

Jason winces. He looks over at the others. Tim looks almost green in the face, and Dick is grimacing. This is quickly turning into porn audio, not exactly something he wants to listen to with Dick and Tim, much less Bruce. There's the sound of the phone being set down. Jason prays it's far enough away that it doesn't pick up what the perp is doing now.

"Do you want help?" you say after a moment. Tim gasps and whips his head toward Jason. Squeezing his eyes shut, Jason grits his teeth. He doesn't know what he did to deserve listening to you jerk someone off with his whole fucking family next to him.

Thankfully, thankfully, the perp snorts. "No!" he sneers as you cackle in the background. "I don't want your gross women hands anywhere near my dick." No past hook ups, then.

"You are so close to misogyny that if you're not careful it's going to smack you in the face."

"That's not what I want smacking me in the face," the perp sighs. "Hence, the dick pic."

"Well, you've got your work cut out for you,” you say. “You have the most hideous flaccid penis I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“Shut up,” the perp snaps. “It’s normal!”

“Hit a nerve did I?” You’re clearly amused. It makes Jason miss you enough to shake his head. Ugh. Apparently the alcohol didn’t flush the sad out of him.

“C’mon, help me out here,” the perp says, ignoring you. “What do you think of when you want to flick your bean?”

“Jason,” you say instantly. It makes him grow warm, then sick.

“Wow, she’s got it bad for you,” Dick murmurs. Not for long. “Nice job, Little Wing.”

“I’m happy for you,” Tim pipes up. Jason scrubs a hand over his face. He can’t take much more of this.

“Yeah, I can see why. Can I think about him?”

“No!” you snap as the perp laughs. “Fine, I’ll just think about Nightwing’s sweet, sweet ass.”

Jason’s out of the hot seat. Finally. He looks at Dick, ready to give as good as he got. Unfortunately, Dick doesn’t look offended. He’s grinning, the arrogant ass.

“Okay, I’m good.” They hear the artificial sound of camera. “God, that took forever. Send.”

Dick’s phone pings, Grindr notification echoing through the cave.

“Holy shit,” Tim mutters. “This is the best and also worst day of my life. Can’t you two keep it in your pants?”

Dick shrugs, but he looks embarrassed. “Would you believe me if I told you it’s not for the case?”

Your voice on the line cuts across anyone who would answer. “An unsolicited dick pic?”

“Nah, he sent me one earlier. Wanna see?”

Tim sounds like he’s choking. Bruce’s jaw is working, but thank god he’s quiet. “Nah, dude. I’ll leave that for you,” you answer.

“Dick,” Bruce says lowly. Dick can’t meet his eyes. “You may have to cut off communication.”

“What? Why?” Dick protests. Bruce opens his mouth to answer, but you do it for him.

“Couldn’t you hack his phone from that? Have you ever done that before?” you wonder.

“No.” The perp is quick to answer. “That’s a line I won’t cross.”

“See? It’s fine!” Dick insists. Bruce grimaces, but doesn’t say anything. The sound of a phone going off saves Dick from further embarrassment. Jason wishes he could have caught their attention for longer. He needed a break.

“That’s you,” the perp says. “Can you see what it is?” you ask. “I’m still getting dressed.”

“Sure,” the perp says, floor creaking as he crosses the room. “It’s your mom. Want me to answer?”

“Yeah, what did she say?”

“She’s asking if she can call tomorrow.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever. You can let her know.”

Jason hears rustling, the sound of you pulling your clothes on. He connects it to the sound of him doing the opposite, of tugging your clothes off and tossing them to the floor.

Damn. This is harder than he thought.

“You also have a text from Jason,” the perp offers.

“Yeah, I know,” you sigh. “I’ll read it later.”

Wait? You haven’t read it yet? Jason feels rooted to the floor. No wonder you said so many nice things about him.

Shit. Shit. He shuts his eyes. He knows what’s coming next.

“Dude,” the perp says. “Dude. I think he broke up with you.”

The cave is dead silent.

“What.” Your voice is flat. “What.”

Jason rests his forearms on his hands, head hanging down between his knees. When he sent you the breakup text, he didn’t think he would have to hear you react to it.

Maybe it’s what he deserves.

“He broke up with me over text?”

“Yeah.” The perp’s voice is gentle. “Yeah. Yeah, it looks like it.” The perp pauses. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.” At least you have a good friend, even if he is a wanted criminal. Not like Jason isn't, too.

“What the fuck. What the fuck.” Jason’s never heard your voice sound like that. He feels familiar bile rise in his throat. “What did he say?”

“You want me to read it to you?” Dick shoots Jason an alarmed glance. Whatever. It’s not like he has any privacy left anyway.

“Yeah. Yeah, read it to me. Actually, wait. How long is it? How many lines?”

There’s silence as the perp counts. “Four.”

“Four?!” you shriek. “Four?! That dumb motherfucker ended a four month relationship in four lines of text?”

“Jesus, Jason.” Tim mutters. Jason can’t even blame him.

“Uh…yeah.”

“Oh my god.” You’re seething. “Oh my god. I’m going to kill him.”

That’s fair.

“I’m going to kill him. I’m going to take the gun he thinks I don’t know he has taped under his mattress, and I’m going to shoot him in the penis!”

Dick bursts out laughing, but Jason has bigger problems. You found the gun?

“He’s got a gun taped under his mattress?” The perp asks, before Bruce adds “Jason, what does she know?”

“Nothing!” he yelps. “Nothing, I didn’t…” he trails off as your voice picks up again.

“Yeah, yeah, he’s some common criminal or something. His apartment’s definitely a safe house, there’s like, nothing in it and only non perishable foods. Whatever.”

“Dude, I think it’s more than whatever.” Jason agrees with the perp. You shouldn’t be with some common criminal. You shouldn’t even be with him.

“Well, it doesn’t matter now! Because he dumped me! Over text!” Your shout rings hard in Jason's ears. “Read the text to me. Read the fucking text.”

Ugh. This fucking rips. Jason would brace himself, if he had anything left to brace.

“‘I’m sorry babe. We have to end it here. It’s not you, it’s me. Hope you had fun.’” It sounded worse read aloud.

“Damn, Jay. That’s low,” Tim comments.

"'It's not you, it's me?'' Dick says incredulously. "Seriously, Little Wing?"

Shockingly, Bruce clears his throat. "Jason--"

"Nope. No. You shut the fuck up right now." Jason's anger is so quick, and blissfully distracting. "You don't get to lecture me about anything, especially this shit."

It seems like, on the line, you're matching his energy, bar for bar. “‘It’s not you, it’s me’? Is he fucking serious?”

“As a heart attack, apparently.”

You let out a small scream. Honestly, Jason didn’t know you had it in you. “Holy shit. I’m so fucking angry.”

“I can see that,” the perp says carefully. “Do you need anything?”

You seem to ignore him. “Oh my god, I am going to read this man for filth. This dumb motherfucker thinks he’s Holden Caulfield.”

Jason opens his mouth, slack-jawed, dumbfounded, as the perp lets out a sharp laugh and Dick sniggers. “Okay, yeah. Let it out, babe.”

“This dumb motherfucker watches Fight Club and thinks it doesn’t apply to him.” You’re on a roll. “This dumb motherfucker holds up any spherical object, says ‘alas, poor yorick,’ and creams his fucking pants.”

Dick and Tim are practically rolling on the floor. Jason swears he sees Bruce crack a small smile.

"This dumb motherfucker is one homoerotic experience away from a Richard Siken poem."

"I like Siken," the perp says defensively. "Come on," you sneer. "'You're in the car with a beautiful boy, and he won't tell you he loves you, but he loves you,'? What the fuck does that mean? He won't tell you he loves you but he does? Screw that!"

You pause, heavy breathing echoing across the line. "'He won't tell you he loves you. Why couldn't Ja--" you cut yourself off quickly. "Fuck. Fuck."

Jason squeezes his eyes shut, fingernails gripping his forearm with enough force to draw blood. He didn't realize this would upset you so much. He's done the in and out, three-month fling so many times it's hard to count. He gets close enough that the sex gets really good but not close enough that it gets messy. It's not supposed to be like this. Sure, he'd made an exception in your case, but he didn't think it would get so bad. He just couldn't help himself. You were too cute, and funny, and easy to be around. You had slid into his life like a hot knife through butter. The parts he was willing to show you, at least. Or maybe, the other parts too, he thinks, remembering your threat to shoot him with his own gun. You definitely don't have anything to do with the criminal underworld, and Jason would prefer to keep you on the surface of that. But maybe there was more than you could handle. You thought he was a common criminal, but you had stayed anyway.

And Jason's not a common criminal. Not that that's anything to take pride in, but still. He has finesse. And he's been playing by the rules enough lately that Bruce invited him back to his lair. That probably counts for something, somewhere.

And you clearly didn't mind criminals, if you were friendly enough with their perp to shower at his house and let him go through your phone. You definitely knew he was a hacker, you'd mentioned it enough times. Maybe--

"You okay, sweetheart?"

"Fuck off, Jess," you snarl.

"Yes ma'am," the perp (Jess. Name acquired) says. "I'm sorry you're upset," he adds carefully.

Right. It doesn't matter what Jason learns about you now. He ended it, and the past is the past. It might take him a bit longer than usual, but he'll get over it. He hopes you do, too.

"Ahh!" You let out a shout, then go quiet. "I know. Thanks, Jess."

"You're welcome, sweetheart." The two of you stay quiet for several minutes. Jason wonders if he's going to have to endure hearing you cry over the phone.

"He doesn't seem like he was good for you," Jess offers.

"Fuck off." Beat. "I know. But why does everything have to be good for me? Why do I--ha." You let out an acidic laugh. "'You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting."

"'You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves,'" you and Jess recite together. "Point taken," Jess adds. Jason knows Mary Oliver's Wild Geese. He just didn't know you knew it, too.

A beat. "I don't think you get to make fun of him liking Shakespeare after that," Jess observes.

You laugh humorlessly. "I know. I know. I'm acting like I'm not a fucking dork over here, too." Dick is looking at Jason very cautiously. So is Bruce.

"What are you going to do?" Jess asks after several beats of silence.

"I'm going to pick up a drug habit, that's what I'm going to do. Now seems like a great time to become an alcoholic."

"Don't," Jess says fiercely. "Don't even joke about that. You can't go back there."

"I know," you say softly. "I know."

Jesus. Jason didn't even know you'd had issues with addiction in the past. If he did, maybe he would have...done things a little differently. He can't even look at his family, can't meet their eyes. Not when he knows he may have inadvertently sent you over the edge. Holy shit. He feels sick with himself. How could he have missed that you were a little bit fucked up, just like he was?

Jason is suddenly grateful you didn't read his stupid text last night, when he had first sent it. Thank fuck you were with Jess right now.

As if to echo Jason's thoughts, Jess snarls "No. No way am I going to let this insensitive, fucking prick set you back. Not when you've come so far. You can't let him ruin you. He's not worth it."

Jason agrees.

"But what if..." you say quietly. "What if he could tell, and that's why he ended it. That there's something...awful inside of me."

"No!" Jess shouts. "No! How could you say that? There's nothing--"

You let out a choked sob, cutting Jess off. "Fuck, I'm sorry," you say desperately, voice cracking. "I just--" Shit. Shit. You sound so...broken, Jason wants to take you in his arms, tell you he didn't mean it, tell you he's got his own shit and then some, but you're perfect, and maybe you'd even understand some of it. Maybe you had more in common than he'd thought.

"It's okay, sweetheart." Jason hears footsteps, hopefully Jess was going to put you in his arms, like Jason wants to but can't.

"It just feels like...like I always have to try twice as hard. Like I have to keep myself under surveillance, like I have to be so careful. Because if I slip, it's...it's all over. And it makes me feel like I'm not good enough."

Jason knows what that one feels like.

"Listen to me. Listen," Jess implores you. "You don't have to be perfect. It's okay. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone slips. Recovery is not a straight line. It's okay."

"I know," you say, voice resigned. "I know."

"And you're doing so well. Two years without touching anything! Even when you lost your job, and your sister got sick. You're so strong, sweetheart."

"Thanks," you say quietly.

The two of you stay silent for several minutes. It gives Jason more than enough time to consider his next move. Should he text you an apology? Is it too late for that? Does he still want to be with you? Yeah, no shit. His hangover is proof enough that he won't be able to get you out of his mind. And it sounds like you're more alike than either of you realized.

Suddenly, Jess's computer dings with an alert, disrupting the silence. There's a shift as Jess walks over. "Oh, shit," he murmurs. "I got in."

The tension in the cave ticks up even higher. "Oracle," Bruce says evenly, "brace for an attack."

"What happened?" you ask, voice still raw.

"I got into the GCPD protected records." Jess breathes. "Fuck yes. I'm going to dox the shit out of those crooked cops and the politicians Black Mask has in his pocket."

"He's out for blood," you comment with a shaky laugh.

"That motherfucker has it coming, after what he did to my father. If I can't get at Sionis directly, I'll chip away at his stupid empire until he's left with nothing." The floorboards creak as Jess settles himself at the computer. "Are you okay?" he offers distractedly. "I'm sorry sweetheart, I need to tune out, I have to--" he trails off, as the clicks of a keyboard start coming through across the line.

"Don't worry about it," you say, but Jason thinks, worries, you might be putting on a brave face.

"Okay. Okay. I'm going to put in headphones. I'm sorry sweetheart," Jess says again, "but this is the chance I've been waiting for."

"Don't worry," you say. "I get it. Do your thing."

Jess must put in headphones with the music blasting, because they can hear it faintly through the call line. The cave is alive as Bruce barks orders at Oracle while Tim all but shoves him out of the way, flinging himself down at the keyboard and getting to work blocking Jess out.

Whatever. Jason doesn't care, if anything, he cares less than he did before. He's all for getting rid of crooked cops, any hit to Black Mask is a win in his book. He's only still here because you're still on the line.

The call is silent, save for Jess clacking away. Finally, Jess' phone picks up your voice again.

"Fuck. Fuck. I can't fucking do this. I need a drink. I need a fucking drink," you mutter.

Jason rises to his feet, just as Dick says "I think you gotta go, Jaybird."

He knows that. His feet are already leading him towards his motorcycle. But where--?

"I've got a location," Tim whispers. Jason turns to him eagerly, but he's not even looking at him. He's looking at Bruce.

Jason's seething. If that asshole thinks he's going to beg and plead for this--

"Go ahead, Jay," Bruce says gently, seemingly without thinking twice. "We can handle him from here."

Gratitude flooding through him, Jason turns on his heel and moves. He's on his bike in what feels like seconds, speeding towards the location Tim had sent into the bike's GPS.

He just hopes he makes it to you before you're too far gone.

[lunarphoria]

☽☾God of War & Courage☽☾

The premiere of ✨Phoebe's WIPs✨ who dis ? /lh

I thought that it'd be fitting if the first one I show you all is of Lord Ares !

As you can obviously tell, it's not nearly finished :') but I still think it's nice enough to share! Hope you like it <3 further down, I wrote down some notes on my design choices in case anyone is interested !!

NOW , my design notes :

I based the armor on ancient greek hoplites (though i obviously took some creative liberties ) , the floral imagery is supposed to be violets , since I associate them with him ( he doesn't have any sacred plants so this is upg ) . His main color is various shades of purple since I never really liked it when people solely put him in red :') plus it's a really nice color and I think it compliments the darker , more dull tones really nicely . My main inspirations come from his sacred birds , vultures & owls . I specifically associate Bearded Vultures with him ( e.g, the dark markings under his eyes and overall his eye color come from them ) . The hair strands that kinda look like ears on top of his head are a nod to the feather tufts of eagle owls , and I specifically ( tried to ) make him look younger since ancient Greek warriors were usually pretty young too . His helmet is horned as a way for him to match with his parents , who both have the horns of a cow / bull . The scales around his eyes and hands , as well as the claws, are referencing snakes & dragons who are sacred to him , as are the spikes on his greaves and the lower arm protection . The feathered " collar" is referencing Himalayan vultures, and the rest of the cape would have the patterns of an eagle owl mixed with a bearded vulture ^^ the cape maybe has the ability to turn into wings should he need them methinks ^^ also , i draw every Olympian with the golden laurel wreath behind them , as a way to show their status :3

( Also I MIGHT edit this post to include the finished drawing once I get it done )

( divider made by me <3 )

[spearxwind]

Did you see the new dragon in doom? Would love to hear your thoughts on it.

I haven't seen much of it yet ngl, not sure if/when I'll watch someone play through the new DOOM (it just aint the game for me but the vibes fucking rule)

I think in general the design is fairly solid, though it's not my fave thing ever. I think the mech wing arms are a tad too thin to feel like the wings are powerful (doesn't feel like they would have much weight or strength)

Suffers a little bit too much from spoon wing syndrome but there isnt anything to be done there if every game ever insists on it

I also think this particular horn design is very silly, especially because it only looks good in forward, slightly downward facing angles and nothing else, but that's personal preference. Makes for good cutscene shots but looks very unnatural in any other angle since they are too short to be functional as a bull-like ram weapon.

But to say some good things about it, I think the shapes are very good. It's not shrinkwrapped and feels like a powerful beast. I really like the mech arm design too. The anatomy is a little ??? but same as any other design in DOOM so it's very fitting for the style. The viking helmet head + almost human-like mouth is AWESOME, honestly leagues better than if they had chosen to make an ugly uneven needle teeth design like it's more usual for triple A games. I also like that it's very remniscent overall of a revenant (I think that's the name of the enemy unit??) very fitting as well.

I'd give this design a solid uhhhhh 7/10, it's not perfect but it's better than a lot of other designs in media nowadays. Fits very well within the franchise style which is a plus for sure. I like it!

[proton-wobbler]

Great Backyard Bird Off - Australia (poll 3)

Bird Info & Submission Reasons

Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina ribicen)

"Certified madlads. Absolute fluff balls. Stupidly intelligent, steals my coat hangers every year to nest, shows me the babies in a row and drops them off at my trampoline for free childcare. I’ve walked in on them in the strangest positions sunbathing on a brick wall in my house. Anyways I love them"

"Beautiful singers, horrifically violent"

"You think Canada geese are scary? They might be bigger than maggies, but at least they generally stay on the ground and you can see them coming! In nesting season (spring), every cyclist across Australia knows to beware these swooping birds, lest they take out your eye or knock you off your bike. (They swoop people walking too, but generally focus on cyclists). Seriously, people put zipties on their bike helmets, long end sticking up, specifically so that the magpie runs into the plastic and flies off instead of bashing straight into their heads. After being swooped, I have lain awake at night and fantasised about snatching the magpie out of the air and crushing it to death with my bare hands... All that aside, though, magpies are an intelligent and iconic bird that's found across Australia, and if you feed them or are friendly to them, they'll remember you and be friendly forever :)"

"These birds can get a bad rap. Yes we do have swooping season but only a small portion of magpies swoop and at the end of the day they only want to protect their babies. Plus they have the most magnificent song. Seriously. Look it up, they're beautiful birds. Very intelligent. Can and will fuck you up and honestly I'd side with the bird just about any day."

Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala)

"I know these guys have a bad rep for pushing out a lot of smaller native birds but I always enjoyed their little family dramas playing out in the backyard. Also they are good alarms for cats, snakes, and birds of prey!"

"They have a yellow section by their eye that looks like kick-ass eye shadow"

"Annoying as hell, everywhere, lowkey a pest. Also really fucking loud. It terrorises me every now and then again. The rest of the world should have to at least acknowledge its existance."

"probably the bird I see the most by pure numbers, they're incredibly gregarious, always doing things together. they make alarm calls a lot, and they're known for their aggression, they mob animals they don't want in their territory a lot, e.g. snakes, cats, other birds. they're also very pretty! mostly soft greys with a little bright yellow, and a lovely olive green patch on their wings."

Image Sources: magpie (Derek Stokes), miner (David Irving)

[dissvicious]

Your last post made me so happy it’s unreal!

First of all: THE OUTFITS!

Wow, everyone looks phenomenal! The Kilts are absolutely killing me! Ozzy and Ziggy matching with their Dads? loving it! Ziggys little flower crown is so stinking cute I just can’t! . Shrieks dress with the Butterfly the a) looks like the Butterflys Kid that makes and b) have the colores of Kid and Killer as its wings… UHG, Details!

Speaking about Details: The Flowers that Kid and Killer are wearing in their chest Pocket? Are their wearing each other as Flower??! 😭 Plus a pink one for Nina?!

Im on my knees for their outfits! I love, love, love the Kilts! Kid actually IS wearing Suspenders🫠…Let’s not even begin to talk about Killers outfit. DAMN! Is this Man looking fine!

Overall Everything in this drawing is just fucking precious!

Kid and Killer showing off their sons! Proud Dad moment! OSHA AND LAW as Ziggys good parents! Kid in the background, bitching and Ozzy mirroring him again😭😭

Ozzy winking at Robin? Franky crying? It’s gold! Pure wholesome gold!

Sanji should watch his back during the wedding… not that sole tragic accident will occur and ruin the day… Where is Zoro…?

THE KID PIRATE REUNION HAD ME IN TEARS!!

Loki pouting while being scolded by his brother?

I can’t wait for Nina’s outfit reveal!

THANK YOU FOR NOTICING AND ENJOYING ALL OF THOSE DETAILS!

I can finally share the ref I doodled for Shriek and Kid and Killer outfits

To answer you yeah they both have both of their lovers flower symbol on them ! Tulip for Kid, Pink carnation for Nina and snow drop for Killer.

Designing Shriek outfit and Nina outfit was a blast (I can't wait to share Nina outfit I really love it so much), but I struggled for weeks with KidKiller. Here are some former doodles

I'm kinda sad Killer hide his face but it was way too funny to have him keeping the helmet on for the ceremony.

I'm also so happy people loved the little Lawsha cameo! I hope you'll enjoy the next updates as well :3

[hollyberrygarden]

I know a lot of people see Awakened Hollyberry being a Valkyrie, and I see it too but with some of the Greek motifs on her new design… I wonder if she was also based off of the goddess of victory, Nike?

that's definitely possible!! especially with the wings on her helmet, which is part of Nike's iconography

the Athena inspiration is absolutely there because her awakened form is called Aegis Hollyberry, and Aegis is the name of a shield wielded by Athena (and Zeus!!) in Greek myth. PLUS Nike is even often seen as a "companion or attribute" to victory-given deities (such as Athena), which of course makes sense for her Goddess of Victory status. so Athena and Nike are both very present in the entirety of Hollyberry's awakened version!!!

these inspirations make sense considering the consensus of Eternal Sugar being Aphrodite. it's really cool seeing all of that come through in her design and more than likely the story itself; Hollyberry is about to defeat Eternal Sugar after discovering what's most important to her and will emerge victorious, therefore becoming a heroic figure like Athena and Nike

[thegiantsneeze]

The Fast Fairy Fueled Fit

G/T Snzfic. Warning: MESSY!!

When a fairy floats onto the road she's lucky she doesn't go splat on a windshield. The fate that actually befalls her is only marginally better than that though.

Elodie had been warned numerous times to keep away from the road. Too many curious fairies met splattering fates against the fast moving machines of man that traversed the highway. Long ago man had been satisfied with horses and carriages but now they needed massive speeding vehicles that plowed forward with power and without care. Elodie had been warned of these dangers... but she didn't care.

She usually kept a safe distance hovering close enough to the road that she could see the humans' vehicles but wasn't close enough to be in harm's way. Elodie was fascinated by these contraptions. She wished they came in her size. It was for that reason she often fluttered close to the road but not too close.

Plus she was far enough away that no humans would spot her. That was important too.

Elodie's species of fairy were naturally small and inconspicuous. They were not much bigger than a small flying insect. A keen eyed human standing still might spot her and still confuse her for a miniscule bug. Those riding by at terrifying speeds in their vehicles had no chance of noticing her.

Her wings that were not unlike that of a dragonfly's with the speed of a hummingbird's kept her aloft as she watched vehicle after vehicle shoot by.

Elodie was distracted by a particularly cute yellow beetle-like car when a sudden downdraft caught her off guard. The air sent her tumbling downwards toward the road. She careened uncontrollably with a scream.

Luckily, she managed to stop herself before she tumbled completely to the ground. She had no interest in slamming into the hot asphalt. Before she could get her bearings however something massive slammed into her at full speed. Someone. Elodie had collided with the dark helmet of a human motorcyclist.

Though she tried to pull herself away from the speeding cyclist it was no use. She was sucked into the front vents of the helmet in a vacuum like fashion.

She tumbled end over end through the vent and into the helmet itself. The interior of the helmet smelled faintly of leather and human sweat and breath. The human himself was completely focused on the road and oblivious to the presence of the fairy in his midst. Elodie was quite certain this was the closest she'd ever gotten to a human.

Elodie didn't have very long to linger on that fact before the flow of air sent her tumbling straight for the human's face. She fluttered her insectoid wings in a futile attempt to fight the flow only to find herself landing face first in one of the human's nostrils. She squealed indignantly and beat her wings in a fluttering fury as she attempted to free herself.

The human's head cocked to the side as he sniffled in response to the sudden intrusion. This sniffling served to only draw Elodie in further much to her dismay and much to the further irritation of the cyclist's nose.

"B-bug? Snrrrf-In my nose?" The cyclist remarked in surprise.

Elodie was too deep in a nostril to be offended at being called a bug right now. There was bigger danger ahead. Like the way that nostril was quivering in front of her and the mucus she could see beginning to pool.

A tickle was blooming in the motorcyclist's nose at a rapid rate now. He squinted and shook his head. He tried to blow the bug out of his nose with a huff but it proved to only cause the itching in his nose to grow.

"St-stupid bug. N-not gonna make me sneeze." he muttered, sniffing hard and trying to suppress the growing urge. “No… n-not now…” But his breath was already beginning to hitch.

The sneeze teased him itching and growing in protest. He tried to fight it. His upper lip twitched. His eyes watered. His hands gripped the handlebars tighter.

All the while Elodie was trying to free herself. "Believe me big guy. I don't wanna be in here either!" She groused, her miniscule voice lost in his cavernous nostril.

“Ahh… nnngh… c’mon… hold it back…” The human grumbled through hitching breaths. "Don't wanna- don't wanna mess up the new heh- helmet."

Elodie was beginning to pull herself free. She slowly began to back out of his nostril. But her hands and her wings upon the nasal interior made the nose twitch with her every move.

"Hhhuuhhh…"

His mouth hung open now, jaw slackening with each breath. The wind rushing past and through his helmet did nothing to help. His expression began to change: eyes squinting tighter, nose twitching, upper lip curling as his brows knit together in pure sneezy desperation.

By the time Elodie freed herself from his nose it was already too late. A chain reaction as old as time had begun and there was little hope of stopping it.

"Hhhhuuhh… huuhHHHhhhhh… Huhh’uhhh—"

Ragged breaths escaped him. He turned his head slightly, instinctively trying to shake it loose, trying to will it away.

“No… nnghh… n-not while I’m—driving…” he muttered, voice trembling.

He tried to fight it. Brought a gloved hand up to press the front of his helmet uselessly. He blinked rapidly, each breath more frantic, his chest hitching with the effort to hold back the growing storm.

Elodie had nowhere to duck and cover. She was trapped in here with this giant human and his giant sneezy nose!

"Ahhh… hhhuhhh’HHHhh… haaaHHHHh…"

His face was contorting now, nose wrinkled in helpless anticipation, his jaw jutting forward as if that would somehow help. He could feel his body rebelling, demanding release. His nostrils flared wide. His whole face was a portrait of sneeze tension: trembling mouth, watering eyes, twitching nose.

Softly, trembling, he managed to utter a resigned, "F-fuck-"

Then he snapped.

"HHH-hhhuhh’TSSHCHhhgk!!"

The first sneeze tore through him like a thunderclap in a bottle. He reeled in the helmet as the sound exploded inside the confined space, leaving his ears ringing and his face immediately dampened.

Elodie covered her own ears, feeling like her tiny eardrums might burst from the sound.

“Ghuhhh—hhuhhh’tSSHHhhgkkk! TSSH’uhhhkk! Hhhuh-TSCHHHhggk!”

He couldn’t stop. His body was convulsing now, seized by the force of each wet, rapidfire sneeze. His breaths came in desperate gasps between sneezes, each inhale hitching and shaky, his voice reduced to helpless gasps and groans.

"HHhh’GTSCHhhhkkk! Huhhh-TSCHHhhh… TSSSHhhk-HuhHHH…!"

Mucus sprayed the inside of his visor in thick, glistening strands. His face was covered in his own spray and snot. Elodie was even worse off, getting completely drenched at the mercy of his rapidfire fit. She was flailing in a whirlpool of snot shrieking in disgust as the sneezes buffeted her around the warm, humid helmet.

And his nose was still gushing, his cheeks coated. The sneeze attack showed no signs of stopping.

One sneeze had turned into three. Then five. Then an all-out storm of convulsive, wet, uncontrollable sneezing.

“Huh’TSCHHhhgkk! HHh’GTSHHkk! TSHHHhhhk! Huhhh… HUHhh-GTSCHHHhk!!”

The snot was everywhere now. His nostrils were overflowing, mucus bubbling out with each sneeze and splashing against his lips, cheeks, and the increasingly defiled interior of his helmet. The visor fogged with breath, then streaked with thick, gloppy strands of fluid.

"C-can't... stop... snee-snee-SNEESCHHhhgkk!"

Each sneeze was drenching the already soggy fairy again in a new layer of nasal slime. Her expression was one of pure outrage and disgust. And every time he sneezed his head rocked forward sending the now slimy fairy ping-ponging about inside the snot filled interior of the helmet.

He was still on the road, trees whipping past as he scanned desperately for a turnout. His helmet was a disaster. The last thing he needed was another round, but his body wasn’t listening. He sniffled, held his breath, tried to will the next sneeze away.

Too late.

"Huh-huhh-hmmpf! Mmph! Hh-mmphf! Hmpff! Hh’mmphff! H’mpf!—huhhh…"

He stifled them. Barely. His face twisted with effort, eyebrows knitted, nose scrunching.His eyes were squeezed shut, tears pooling at the corners. The road was blurring. The inside of the helmet felt like a sauna of mucus and spittle.

“Jus’… gotta—find—a—mmphf!—place—hmmpf!—to pull over…Th-this—mhmmpf!— f-fuckin' sucks...”

Each stifled explosion added another subtle splatter of damp breath and mucus to the already swampy interior, where Elodie was clinging to a cheekpad, snot-covered and dazed. She should have listened to everyone who told her not to stray so close to the road. If she got out of here alive she would never EVER fly by the road again.

Finally, up ahead, salvation: a gravel turnout off the shoulder.

The human veered over, tires crunching against the dirt. The moment the bike slowed to a stop, he tore off the helmet—sniffling, panting, face completely soaked. Elodie was flung from the helmet, drenched and unnoticed. She landed in the nearby grass like a glob of snot herself.

The human sniffled again once, then twice but the sneezing seemed to have ebbed away once he was free from his helmet. It didn't matter though. The damage was done.

The human wiped a massive glob of mucus off his upper lip, and peered into the helmet.

"Look at all this snot up in my new helmet!" He groaned, pulling a disgusted face. That wasn't going to be fun to clean out. It was a complete snotty mess. "Fuck this." He hissed with another sniffle.

But at least the human had his motorcycle to ride home. Elodie was going to have to walk home. Her wings wouldn't dry anytime soon and they were beginning to stick together.

[takaraphoenix]

Polympians Event!

Clarifying right off the gate: This does NOT mean exclusively Percy x poly Olympians, it means any god/Percy ship.

EDIT: I made a sideblog for the event: @polympians-event

EDIT 2: Here's the link to the AO3 collection!

What is the Polympians Event?

What I have in mind is an open event for any and all god/Percy ships. You ship Percy with only one god? Fill the prompts with only that ship! You sail many different god/Percy ships? Fill each prompt with a different ship, if you want! A full Percy/Olympians poly ship, OT3 or any poly constellation? Primordial gods, titans or non-Olympian gods? Any god(s)/Percy ship goes!

I've seen, in recent years, that god/Percy ships have gained quite some traction and I love that, so much. But while there are bigger ships that do have their own events, there are also the tiny rarepairs that don't get these chances, and even with the bigger ones, not everyone has the time/energy to participate in all their ships' events. So one blanket event, where the biggest of god/Percy ships and the rarest of god/Percy ships are equally welcome.

Are there rules to this?

Yes, but only the most basic. No ship bashing or harassment of other participants. The event is open to all god/Percy ships, which means people will participate with your NOTPs too. Don't like them? Don't read them. Instead, focus on the new content to your own ships! If you can't be a civil, normal person about this, then this event isn't for you.

Whether you want to write smut or not is entirely up to you, but you ought to tag appropriately!

What's the plan?

I chose the dates of the Lightning Thief quest for this event! Meaning it will run from May 28th (Percy waking up at CHB) to June 21st (Percy returning the Master Bolt and Helmet).

That length works out well for there to be 12 prompts, and you would have two days to post each prompt, plus an additional 13th prompt on the last day, to keep with the theme of the Olympians.

I'll get an AO3 collection started to which you can submit your entries on AO3 and, if there would be interest in it, I could start a sideblog specifically for this event to which entries (with proper ship tags so you can filter out your NOTPs) will be reblogged as a signal boost.

What are the prompts?

May 28th/29th: Roman

May 30th/31st: wedding/marriage

June 1st/2nd: The sea does not like to be restrained

June 3rd/4th: family focus

June 5th/6th: jealous/possessive [god]

June 7th/8th: role-swap AU (god!Percy/demigod![god])

June 9th/10th: Modern AU/no powers

June 11th/12th: metamorphosis/shapechange

June 13th/14th: godly gifts

June 15th/16th: Aphrodite ships it

June 17th/18th: Percy accepts godhood

June 19th/20th: yearning/pining

June 21st: Mythology

And because I'm bad at phrasing short prompts, here some explanations on what I had in mind with them, though you are of course free to interpret them in whatever manner you read them!

Roman: could mean the Roman aspect of the god, a Roman!Percy AU, or whatever else you want to make of it!

family focus: Are Percy and the god married with children of their own? Percy as step-parent to campers? The god meeting Sally, Paul and/or Tyson?

metamorphosis/shapechange: the gods have a track-record of turning people into animals or plants. Does this mean full animal, or catboy/other hybrid? Is this angst or fluff?

godly gifts: magic powers granted to Percy, or literal physical gifts to court, or something else?

Aphrodite ships it: Aphrodite as wing-woman, hyping and helping, can also very much include Aphrodite/Percy since she would be her own biggest shipper

Mythology: could be a mythological AU where Percy takes on a role from the past, or specific elements of a tale that recur, anything

Let me know if you're interested so I know I won't be hosting this just for myself!

[butterscotch-little-zone]

🌻Dollhouse🌻

🌻Summary: The Solver taunts J with another glimpse at what is under the helmet, J can’t help but panic running to the only place she knows untouched by its presence in hopes of having a safe little time. Hopefully Doll is up to the task of helping the small mind drone.

🌻Characters: J (Murder Drones), “Tessa” The Solver (Murder Drones), Doll (Murder Drones)

🌻Genre: Oneshot fic, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, It takes awhile for fluff but we get there, Angst, so much angst, SFW, No beta little to anxious to show off their work

🌻Warnings: Mentions of dead love ones, Slight gore warning, Mentions of incontinences

🌻Note: God I have spent way to long stalling on this fic, so many interruptions,

🌻Reblogs are much appreciated

(Divider by @/sweetmelodygraphics)

“J~” the Solver’s sickeningly sweet voice chimed

Invading her personal space wasn’t for this beast but it was always uncomfortable. The way it’s hands would move around her metal frame, the embrace from behind being cold and laced with malice. J had forfeited giving The Solver any attention she wasn’t necessarily in the mood for it, after all this was a simple stakeout there was no need for small talk, plus no company either why should she play pretend with it.

The Solver didn’t quite like this silence not one bit, as he it slumped on J’s shoulder with a groan. It was batting the various metals on J’s blazer like some kind of impatient cat. But it knew none of its tricks were working so it moved away from J, stepping back about three steps. J could still see the astronaut figure with her five extra eyes she practically had a 360 view.

So when the unsettling sounds of pressure being released from a helmet was heard, and the struggle of removing said helmet was seen J’s oil rang cold. She didn’t like many things about The Solver but one thing she couldn’t stand was its well… attire, true attire at that. The heavy and sloppy amounts of blood that began to burst from the helmet assaulted J’s sensors. She quickly tucked her tongue into her mouth to avoid smelling the rotten blood. It’s not like she was squeamish no quite the opposite it was who that blood belonged to.

…Tessa

It always was no matter how many different variations the skin,blood,bones and other unfortunate extras would have always belonged to Tessa. J didn’t care that at this point the leather casing didn’t belong to the real Tessa, it was still pulled from a perfect copy of her, one only cloned to be skinned and worn. Her mind immediately shot back to the horrible day 800 or so years ago where her beloved friend,lover,caregiver practically everything’s lifeless body was torn from her sorrowful embrace and was peeled and pick apart like nothing.

It was to much The Solver hadn’t even fully removed the helmet before J’s mind started slipping into a trauma response, one that she adamantly hid from anyone but Tessa. She stumbled falling to her legs pushing herself away almost crawling. Tears beginning to roll down her visor.

“Awe what’s wrong J? You too much of a baby to talk?” The Solver mocked throwing away the helmet to the ground and looming over the scared drone

J could only let out whimpers and chocked up cries as she crawled away from the beast, almost always stumbling. She desperately didn’t want to turn around and face it head on but wasn’t given much of a choice. As The Solver used one of its tendrils to flip J around forcing her to look at the grotesque sight. J starter to bawl louder covering her face with her hands.

“M-mama” was the best she could croak out from the various sobs.

“Your mama is right here Jaybird” The Solver cackled

As The Solver pulled J closed J found herself with a moment of agency and kicked the beast in the head with one of her legs. A unsettling squish was heard, but J didn’t bother to check the damage just extending her wings out and flying away. She zoomed up into the sky still little minded, she had no where to go and it would be a matter of time before it came up here. As she hovered above the clouds a familiar building caught J’s eye.

She remember going to see Doll’s hideout there, chances are The Solver already knew Doll was there but it was a gamble J was willing to take. Anyone was better than The Solver right now.

Swooping down and trying her best to get into a big minded headset J found herself crashing into snow absolutely stacking the landing. Which only made more tears, J tried her best to whip away any that were flowing. It didn’t help she felt her uniform become damp and soiled the smell being worse. J tucked her legs to her chest and tried self rocking to soothe herself. Her body shaking with fear.

— 🌻 —

Deep in the building in some kind of gymnasium, Doll found herself just shooting some hoops. It’s not like she was training for anything going back to Outpost-3 was impossible. Especially since they are now chummy with V.

The thought of her colony accepting and welcoming the beast who slaughtered her parents was enough to make Doll seethe, her hands gripping the ball tightly so tight it popped. Doll’s hand crashing into each other as air flicked on her face. Great, another ball down, that’s what three tonight? Doll thought.

But her attempts to continue this activity were halted by the sound of a large object crashing into the snow outside then followed by loud sobbing. Normally Doll wouldn’t pay this idea much attention but curiosity always was her weakness. Making her way towards the sobs Doll could see the ever so faint yellow lights out of the occasional window. That concerned her picking up the pace, the only Dissmbler that would know of this location would be… J and well Doll didn’t take her for a crier. Not to mention to increasing smell of oil and other foul scents.

Opening the school doors Doll saw as J wasn’t wailing on the ground. She quickly rushed over to comfort her. Over the weeks Doll had found a soft spot for the Dissmbler finding her company enriching. Though what came out of J’s mouth Doll wouldn’t have expected if she had a thousand guesses.

“J-J what’s wrong?” Doll asked placing a hand on J’s back

“Wah, bah bah ah… M-mama” J’s words sounded less like a sentence and more like babbling akin to an infant dronling, her voice was also more higher pitched.

J looked up at Doll with pleading eyes, Doll could tell this wasn’t the same drone mentally right now. She was shivering and babbling chewing on her fingers. There was a certain sense of fear from J that Doll had never expected, a fear of judgment a rejection. None of which would help right now. Doll thought back to when she was younger and night terrors would be a common occurrence, always involving a solver vision of some kind.

So without thinking she mimicked her mother’s actions pulling J into an embrace and petting her head gentled humming a soft tune. J didn’t hesitate to cling to Doll immediately burying her face into Doll’s chest. The two sitting there for a little while before J’s sobs dwelled down.

“You good to talk?” Doll asked lifting J’s head up

“Mmm” J mumbled and shook her head “mhm n”

“Ok” Doll sighed trying to work out how to get information out of J to properly help

“Do you know what is going on with you? You know not to be able to talk” Doll asked softly seeing as J flinched from the last question

J shrugged her shoulders and titled her head back and forth to gesture a “so-so” or “sort of” meaning. Doll seemed to think for a while, she definitely knew J wasn’t necessarily mentally herself right now but the words escaped her.

“Do you need my help? With whatever this is?” Doll said thinking this was probably a better question

J nodded fast as she clung harder to Doll.

“Oooohhh ok…. Um so is what I am doing right now helpful?”

J nuzzled Doll and babbled a little, seems yes she was helping her. J acted more like a dronling than her age right now from how childish her actions were. Doll didn’t know how old though… obviously to young to talk properly so infant? Really slowly developed toddler?. If that was the case J really did need Doll to do a lot.

She was thinking of ways when a rustle from a bush got J more vocal again. Whimpering loudly and burying her face again, Doll could feel J becoming more damp and something hot in her lower regions which seemed to upset the small minded drone.

“Shh shh it’s ok J-J, it’s just a” Doll looked up her screen detecting movement

Flying out of the bush was a small watchdog, bird like creatures with cameras for heads. This one resembling some kind of sparrow.

“It’s just a watchdog J, a small little drone like you” Doll said lifting J’s head up to see the drone was no harm

J was in awe of the watchdog but quickly turned her attention to the uncomfortable nature of her situation. She was wet,dirty and tired so everything kind of sucked worse yet J couldn’t tell that to Doll properly. So just pulling an arm doll had wrapped around her to her legs she tried to give clues.

“Uh ah ah mmm” J said as she tapped Doll’s hand on the area that was rather damp

“I see yeah much mess” Doll nodded

“Mmm wah”J babbled

“Do you not like that?”

J shook her head and huffed. Doll couldn’t help but giggle a little, despite everything it was still J a neat freak who couldn’t stand mess. But then it dawned on Doll she didn’t necessarily have the means to dress J effectively, none of her clothes would help her right now all to baggy and very scratchy.

“Alright well I guess we should get you into something more comfortable kay” Doll said as she lifted J up into her arms

J nodded and held on tight to Doll.

—🌻—

The two walking into the school building, Doll figured the kindergarten wing of the school would have the proper equipment for this little drone. As Doll reached the colourful hallways J cooed at the art and crafts. She reached out for them tracing her hand on the walls.

Doll kept looking for rooms that would have useful resources surely kids of kindergarten age would still need changes, it’s not like all human families could afford those necessities. After all she knew what kind of community humans had selfish and self centred, her mother told her enough. But schools seemed like a place where humans would help one another.

Stopping at a classroom and looking in Doll saw plenty of onesies,socks,diapers the whole work. There were also some changing stations, as well small bath areas. It’s not like they would need normal human soap but at least the tub would have a drain. J was currently staring at a butterfly decal, her tail flicking back and forth.

Doll entered the room J turning her attention to the pastel room. It was dark but their lights lit the room up somewhat.

“Alright J-J let’s get you changed and washed” Doll said putting J down in the tub

“Ah bwah” J cooed

Doll began to unbutton the blazer and undo J’s belt. The clothes quickly slide off though we’re soaked, a task for later Doll thought. J’s metal was stained dark black, Doll went to go get the wet wipes near by but before that she handed the little drone a rubber duck to play with. J was amused at the sound the toy made when it squeaked.

Lifting J’s legs up Doll tried her best to shine the metal back to its pearl white state. J giggling at the sensation the cold wipes felt on her metal.

“You are being so cooperative J-J, you feeling less well like this?” Doll asked as she finished wiping J down

J looked up with her big old eyes, as if to say she still needed help wasn’t quite back to her big age yet. Doll sighed as she looked around most of the outfits and diapers wouldn’t be able to fit around this larger drone, but J definitely needed something to cover her if she had an accident.

Solvering up a packet of nappies Doll moved one out, spinning her hand around the symbol changed and she enlarged the item. Moving it over hovering around J she narrowed her eye trying to gauged if this was the right size. J being mesmerised by the floating nappy.

She figured there was only one way to find out if this was the right size so putting the object down Dolly lifted J into her arms. J immediately clinging back on to Doll. Moving over to the changing station Doll placed J down gently, J still holding on to the rubber duck.

“Ok let’s spread your legs so I can get this on first try” Doll said as she moved J around, J giggling at the way Doll gave her small taps on her stomach.

“I think it goes there and then this way” Doll narrated to herself moving the fabric around snapping the clasp tight a crinkling sound being made as she did so.

It had been a while since Doll had to even think about this, last time being seeing Rebecca’s mum help her nephew at cheer practice. That was…. Woah seven or so years ago how time flies, Doll thought as she picked up a yellow onesie. Doing the same thing she did to the nappy the onesie became perfect size.

Doll slid the onesie up onto J, though a certain activity was distracting J from cooperating. Doll hated to do this but she needed to take the rubber duck away from the small minded drone.

“J-J I need that for a moment” Doll said reaching out of the duck

J whined as she pulled away huffing.

“Look I know you don’t want to give it up but we need to get you dressed” Doll sighed as she managed to get the duck from J’s grasps

J flailed her arms around reaching out of the object tears welling in her visor. Doll managed to pull one of the sleeves onto J’s arm though got smack a bit with the second one.

“Wa-wahhh” J cried out in sadness

“Hey hey no need for that you can have it back” Doll huffed “it was only for a while not forever”

Doll handed back the fuck as J looked at it, and winced at Doll’s scowling expression.

“Oo mm” J hid her face with her hands

“Oh sorry um girl? Kid? Baby?” Doll realised her usual face was scary to younger drones “please don’t cry look I am not mad…”

Doll stopped herself realising she is probably explaining to much to a drone that right now isn’t of the exact same reasoning level. Doll thought back to what J had called her, mama yes she consider Doll right now a mother figure so I guess she’s her daughter.

So with a deep breath Doll picked up J from the back and cradled her on the table. Stroking her hair.

“It’s ok J-J Mama has you Mama loves you” Doll was only really going off what her own mother would tell her “Mama is very sorry for scaring little old you”

J moved her hands away from her headband a little, showing her eyes as well.

“Mama?” J cooed

“Mhm that’s me” Doll softened her gaze as she held J gently “can you forgive me for scaring you? I won’t do that again”

“Mmm” J thought “mhm” J nodded as she wrapped her hands around Doll purring

Doll smiled as she gently rocked J back and forth humming a small tune. She saw as J was teething on the duck, figuring there could be a better option she walked around the room gently bouncing J. There she found some plushies and teethers. Picking up a few she expanded them with her solver.

“J-J” Doll said moving J out J looked up with wonder

“Do you want something nicer to suck on?” Doll said showing the sunflower pacifier

J nodded as she let go of the duck, Doll gently placing the pacifier in J’s mouth. Getting happy suckles and purrs. Doll couldn’t deny J was pretty cute like this, she seemed so less stressed not really agitated. Doll figured they were done here for now, not like anyone was going to enter the kindergarten area of this school, Doll could handle the washing later.

“Alright J-J let’s get you down for a nap” Doll said as she readjusted herself keeping J in her arms

-🌻-

Laying the small minded drone down was easy J had seemed worn from wherever she was. She practically immediately fell into the sleep mode when Doll tucked her in. It was adorable, Doll as well felt incredibly tired though laying down she found herself slip into sleep mode as well.

Only awaken by the sounds of rustling and angry hisses. Opening her eye she saw as J was up right trying to pull at her onesie but failing to get it off.

“This stupid thing dammit” J hissed still with the pacifier in her mouth

With each failed attempt J would go back for just a few sucks and whine.

“You want help?” Doll yawned

J jumped a little at the noise looking down she blushed from embarrassment. Doll knew J was definitely back to a bigger age but didn’t know how old.

“N-No I can change myself” J huffed

“Then why haven’t you?” Doll said a little bit smug

J stayed silent then turn away, her tail tapped against the tent floor.

“I get if you don’t like putting up with me in this state” J said down trotted “I am not necessarily easy to manage”

Doll frown as she pushed herself up pulled J against herself, the bigger drone not resisting.

“Who told you that?” Doll asked

“It doesn’t matter” J said sounding upset

“Well I can assure you, your not that bad as you say you are” Doll gently ran her fingers through J’s hair

“Do you still want to be in this state?” Doll asked

J stayed quiet before answering “yes but I am not as young as I was”

“That’s alright” Doll said shrugging “I mean you can explain stuff now right”

“Maybe I don’t know if I can give every answer” J said pulling at her onesie “I’ll explain on the way but I need a change”

“Ok J-J” Doll kisses J’s forehead as J purred

[racingliners]

Livery Watch 2025 Special Editions - British GP

THROUGH GOES LIVERY WATCH!!!! (Yes I am aware that this write up is coming later then usual, I had a weekful of stuff going on IRL, but I'm hoping that at least posting this before qualifying is okay 😅).

SO, without further ado, let's get into the selection of one-off liveries we have for my beloved Silverstone.

McLaren - Chrome Livery

It's starting to look like that a once-per-season chrome livery is starting to become tradition at McLaren - as the team has ran previous versions at the British GP in 2023 , and at last year's US GP.

This version features the most chrome compared to its predecessors, which if you had told me ahead of time I would have assumed that I would have been a big fan of, but having gone back to look at least year's version I think I prefer the US GP 2024 version.

Having watched both Free Practice sessions today (thank you Channel 4 live coverage) I think it's the nosecone section that lets the livery down for me. Has the tip of the nose been orange the car would have had more of a sandwich look thanks to the orange rear wing - which for me is why last year's livery worked so well.

But. It's still very shiny and therefore very fun and I do hope that McLaren keep bringing back the chrome liveries because it's such a fun throwback.

8/10

Racing Bulls - Graffiti Livery

Firstly, if you missed FP1 or FP2 today then I would strongly recommend scrolling through the photo gallery for this livery on the F1 website because this has just jumped into contention for my favourite special edition livery of the year for me.

The livery (plus matching team kit and garage art) was designed in collaboration with Nigerian street artist Slawn - which I absolutely love it when teams bring in artists who work in different art mediums I think it brings something extra special to one-off liveries and this one is executed flawlessly.

What I love about this is that the graffiti design fills in all of the empty white space from the core Racing Bulls livery without being too overwhelming. I also love the repeating motif and it being done in black works well in harmonising with the rest of the logos on the car.

This to me is just leaps and bounds ahead of the 2025 core livery for me. I have zero complaints and I wish the team could keep it for the remainder of the season.

10/10.

Mercedes - CONCEPT AMG GT XX livery

As I said in a post earlier on this week, I do find it funny how whenever Mercedes mention that they're going to run a one-off livery everyone's collective memory jumps back to Germany 2019 in a varying reaction from panic to despair.

Alas, the changes to the core livery are so small that I was debating whether or not to include this in Livery Watch - but after seeing the full livery in practice today I decided to throw it in.

This livery is part of a wider team branding for the British GP, in which they are celebrating Mercedes-Benz' past, present and future in F1 during the sports 75th anniversary year at the circuit where it all being in 1950. For the past Mercedes have honours the W196 in their 'Silver Arrows' fanwear line, and their future is represented what is being called 'Sunset beam orange' that was shown on the new Concept AMG GT XX which was unveiled last week (the Mercedes Safety and Medical Cars are also painted in orange for the race this week, as well as George and Kimi running orange accents on their helmet designs).

I have to say, as someone who's favourite colour is orange, I would again expect to be on board with this. However. I don't think the execution quite works. The current Mercedes colour scheme is pretty iconic for a reason and the added orange just feels very out of place. Had the Petronas teal stripes been replaced with the orange this would be a completely different write up - but a Mercedes without Petronas teal just doesn't feel right at this point.

Fun in theory, but sadly lacking in execution - 6/10

Honourable Mention - Williams

Why am I putting on an honourable mentions section when the above car looks almost identical to the 2025 core Williams livery?

I'm autistic and as much my thought process demands that I show all the one-off liveries for each race, not matter how small the changes are.

There's thin red and white stripes going around the nose cone.

So it's totally TOTALLY not very different but is it according to Williams' socials a one-off for the team's home race so, I've shoehorned it in. No rating as the changes are so small but, I did want to show it for the sake of journalistic integrity. (I would still like it to be glossy though).

[worldbeyondtheworld]

AU in which the Voices accidentally get separated from the Long Quiet. He and the Princess escape into the larger than canon construct, which here is a living place.

The Narrator sends them into the woods where the two are hiding and tells them the story that "the Hero was cursed into a beast, and you are here to guide him out and save him". The Long Quiet is still the same as canon and was never human, but that's difficult to sell in a location where everybody else is human and has bias.

The Voices also look like or similar to him, so the Narrator disguises and hides their appearance by shaping them with cloaks, helmets, armor, clothes, etc.

Original post plus reblog with more information here:

https://www.tumblr.com/worldbeyondtheworld/770387804645621760

I don't even have a name yet, or many ideas how the mechanics of the AU would work, or if it's a offshot from canon / something else, or the story, or the narrative structure.

I already have several scenarios and scenes haunting my mind:

--

Spectre makes an appearance to misdirect the adventurers / Voices. She looks alive to them, sticks her tongue out, runs behind a tree, and vanishes. As they look for her to no avail, a ghostly hand emerges from the tree and removes some of their blades from their belts. (Short blades just feel right, you know?)

The Voices only notice when they come upon a barrier of brambles between them and their goal, and find they have less blades to cut through than they thought.

--

Voice of the Hero loses his shit entirely at some point and tries to kill the other Voices in a panicking frenzy. He's scarily strong like this, stronger than even Smitten or Stubborn.

--

Voice of the Cheated leaps into the air from the excitement of getting wings. He doesn't have experience in using them yet. Before he can crash into anything, TLQ catches him in his palms. He shows him how to glide down, and Cheated lands safely.

--

(Version of the) Princess encounters all of the Voices without their disguises. She has a crisis because they all look like TLQ.

What's she supposed to do, surrounded by 12 of such attractive beings??? She gets so, so flustered, which flusters some of them in return.

--

TLQ for some reason is the one standing on the Princess' shoulders instead of the other way round to reach some fruit. And no, it's not Adversary/Adversary-adjacent. Both are puzzled when questioned why they are doing it like this.

(Warning for canon-typical topics under the cut. It's also long.)

--

Nobody can ever agree on what creature TLQ is supposed to be.

Things people have thought he is include: A giant bird (opinions differ on which bird, too), a black phoenix, an omen made manifest, a winged bear, a harpy, a gryphon, a dragon...

The Narrator: (Lie, because TLQ isn't cursed, but also genuinely annoyed) "What does it matter what he was cursed into?"

--

The Princess, craving comfort for herself and him, watches for wagons going through (but close to the edge of) or close by the woods. Whenever she can, she sneaks close and takes some food and drink.

Sometimes, people going through gift her things, perceiving her only to be a young woman living a difficult life. Which is true. After some bad experiences, she hides herself in a tattered cloak so people won't connect her to the idea of a princess or recognize her face from the Wanted Posters.

The woods are big, but still finite. She acts all over at different places, close to where bandits sometimes hide, to hide her traces. Nobody is supposed to find their shelters.

The next set of wagons is more heavily guarded. She's been miserable, no matter how much TLQ has been trying to comfort her, so she risks it. If only for the the thrill and distraction it provides. Usually in the routes, she's discovered and always flees without being seen properly.

At the start of a set of specific routes, some of the Voices are present. Hunted notices her and alerts the guards who circle her. She leaps and jumps across them, back into the safety between the trees, but losing her cloak - it was grabbed - and revealing her appearance as well as that she has some kind of supernatural agility. Hunted uses the scent from her cloak to track her down.

--

"Um."

He now understood what his companion meant. He stared up, and up, and UP at the Hero. His shoulders tucked in under his unwavering stare. It was so dark he couldn't see his face - only the white of his eyes - to gauge his reactions.

"You're taller than I imagined." That was what came out of his mouth??

"Thank you, I'll take that as a compliment."

????? Why did the Hero's voice sound like that of his companion???

--

All of the Voices feel drawn to the Princess, although they might not notice depending on her shape and the circumstances.

All of the Voices also feel drawn to the TLQ, in a different way, although they might not notice.

--

Several scenarios have outside groups interferring because of their own agenda and beliefs, but always because of something the Voices did.

In one, several people agitated by fearmongering, set trees and shrubbery on fire at various edges of the woods. Soon, the entire forest is burning. Depending on their actions, the Voices die alone, together, with the Princess and TLQ, in fear or in peace, or TLQ somehow throws them + Princess over the fire to safety.

In another, specific Voices can betray the location of the Princess and TLQ to some shady mercenaries to get some help. They might believe that he's under her thrall and needs to be escorted out. Or it's for power and safety. Or they want an escort for her safety.

The mercenaries lie in ambush - but not to do any of these things. No. While their exact motivations might differ, they capture TLQ for his powers, and abuse him because they don't care about him. They'd have done the same to the her if she didn't escape. No matter what choices they made before, or what they believe, the Voices as well as the Narrator feel horrible about what they've done, and what could've happened to the Princess on top of everything else.

Every iteration, the Den appears in rage before anybody can step out of the woods. She DOES not appreciate the betrayal and the abuse of her first and closest friend and companion.

--

At least one route is there where all Voices appear and they watch in horror at what is happening to TLQ because of them / because they couldn't stop what was happening. It could be in the above scenario.

It could be another capture scenario, only with the context that the Voices intended to capture TLQ to 'heal' him or make sure he cannot hurt anybody. He's simply too powerful. People murmur around them. They're sitting down to eat, morose, after his cries and bellows quiet, and they get handed soup with a strange flavor. Voice of the Cheated finds a black feather in his bowl after some bites and has an impending feeling of dread. Upon demand where the meat comes from, the cook laughs and says that they butchered the bird. Did you know that you can gain this bird's immense powers if you consume part of its flesh?

Scrambling, the Voices run for the cage, only to find it empty. There's blood everywhere- and there. At the edge of the camp is a stake. And on top of that stake sits a head.

Or a mob descends onto TLQ, and when they try to defend him, they get knocked down and tied up. They watch as he, miserable, is treated as nothing more than a beast as weapons are raised. They kill him. The same weapons get turned on them because they dared to defend this creature and the Princess, and they're monsters under their cloaks, too.

--

The Princess strangles the Voice of the Opportunist. She got almost killed and TLQ is in a cage being tortured, and Is This What You Wanted?? He was so kind to you, so considerate, and this is how you repay him??? For what, power, when everybody else will know what a backstabber you are, and do their best to topple you?

Opportunist is unable to even raise his hands to try save himself. He knows that he fucked up. He knows this is his fault. He cannot pretend that TLQ or the Princess deserve this. He didn't want this, but his wants don't matter in the face of the consequences.

And she's right. Nobody is in power forever. He can feel the ire and envy directed at him by others. He's witnessed others like him. They outnumber him, because none of the Voices will help him.

[awardenandacrow]

SNIPPET 66

[a mysterious chest appears at the Lighthouse]

NOTE: I have this headcanon that the N7 armor is actually a Fade armor that Caretaker made as a sort of peace offering to the new occupants in the Lighthouse, and since Naimy has the worst armor, she ends up with it, and it becomes custom Grey Warden armor. And I drew it! I have not finished coloring it yet 😬

——————————————————————————

“Doesn’t it look… kind of familiar?” Harding frowned down at the breastplate and leathers. “Like… something an old friend would wear.”

“I don’t know,” Naimeryn shrugged, though she could see where Harding was coming from. It both was and *wasn’t* familiar. Like a word that was on the tip of your tongue, but no matter how long you grappled with it, you couldn’t recall.

“It’s nice to have it just… appear,” Neve said, though her wary tone suggested she didn’t actually think it was “nice” at all. “But who is it meant for? Not Solas; that breastplate is too small, even for an elven man.”

Naimeryn found if she looked too long or hard at the armor, it made her eyes hurt. It wasn’t physically moving, but somehow it kept… shifting. As through it weren’t really solid.

“Can either of you use new gear?” She asked, opting to look at her companions instead.

“Not me,” Neve shook her head.

“I… like my gear worn-in,” Harding raised her hands in front of her, palms out. “But Rook, you’ve been wearing the same armor since we met. It’s way worn *out*, and I know it’s not keeping the weather out. Plus, by the time we got the dagger back, you were *covered* in Blight. You’re *never* gonna get all that out.”

“I *have* other armor,” Naimeryn crossed her arms nervously. “I’ve got my dress armor, and an unused set of mage robes I could always send to Weisshaupt for.”

“Right, but we have no idea how long it would take for your missive to get there,” Neve pointed out.

“Or how long it would take for them to send you your gear,” Harding added.

“Or if anyone even would,” Naimeryn admitted resignedly. “Maybe we should see if Bellara needs it?”

“Bellara is busy,” Harding shook her head. “*I’m* certainly not interrupting her. It’s okay Naimy. Just try it on! If you don’t like it you can see if Bellara needs it later.”

“All right,” Naimeryn agreed hesitantly. She reached into the chest and picked up the breastplate. She dropped it again, and all three women jumped, as it began to change under her touch.

The color had seemed undecided in the chest, a constant shift between gold and silver and copper and the greenish tint of everite, but it settled for the brilliant, polished silver of silverite now, and it’s unremarkable surface molded into a raised engraving of a griffon sitting in profile, its wings wrapping over and flaring out at the left shoulder, and its tail wrapping around the waist. The fabrics, too, had been confused in hue, but now settled into distinctive colors and patterns. The pants were a silvery grey with a single pinstripe of blue down the front and back side of the legs. The gloves, too, were grey, fingerless, with blue stitching. The undershirt was the familiar diamond-weave of blue with silver rivets in each diamond, and the once leather-like, now chainmail wrap for waist and hip protection was standard issue Warden-blue striped. The fabric belt was blue. The utility belt and other leather belts were grey. The boots turned blue as well, but changed to resemble Bellara’s Dalish wraps — the heels and toes of the wearer would be exposed. The helmet twisted and shrank, becoming a silverite circlet with a sapphire at the center, flanked by two silver wings.

Naimeryn heard herself squeal.

“Dream armor, from the Fade itself,” Harding chuckled. “My room’s closest; let’s get you in it!”

*the fic is secretly just Neve and Harding playing dress up with Naimy as their doll. Sorry not sorry.*