#sometimes the stories want to be about things other than that.

[department-shoe-stud]

Honestly, learning the difference between medical AI and generative AI has been very important for me, all for the sake of my mother.

Ya see, I’m a writer, published and everything, and I want to do that again. If there’s one person who supports my writing, above everyone else, (sorry Aaron), it’s my mum. She’s my number one supporter. She’s a great sound board, she loves hearing my stories, she’s even reached out to some successful published authors she knows for help and advice. She might be more excited about me being published than I am, to be honest.

She’s also a geriatrician, and a damn good one at that. However, that’s not an easy job, and I remember, when I still lived with her, that on Sunday afternoon/evenings, I wouldn’t see her. She would go up to her room and dictate her notes for that week. She would come down, and look absolutely EXHAUSTED, but she had to. Just like she had to get up at 4:30-5:30 every day to get to work early to get things done. Her patients start to come in, at the earliest, 7:30. But she needed to get it done because she wanted to be home in time for dinner with her family.

Mum was miserable, but there was no other way. Until: medical AI. She now uses a program that records what her and her patient say, sorts all of it into different categories, takes out the unnecessary small talk (which she admits she needs to go back in and edit sometimes because sometimes that ‘small talk’ is actually important for testing her patients’ memories), and does everything DURING the appointment. She still writes some notes down for her sake, but her life has become SO much easier.

She’s heard me complain about AI, and didn’t know what I meant exactly, so she started to feel guilty about using the medical AI. Hearing me complain, she tried to explain what she was using, and I realized: ‘Holy shit. That’s not the AI I’m talking about. That actually sounds really amazing.’ And I let her know what I was talking about, and she had a sigh of relief.

AI is meant to make life easier for your jobs. It’s not supposed to take the enjoyment out of personal activities. It’s not supposed to take away these skills. It’s making my mum’s life easier because it’s doing the dictation and notes filing for her. It’s not doing memory clinic. It’s not prescribing the proper medications or treatments. It’s not taking my mum’s job (good luck with that, she’s been at this for 3 decades now and has won multiple awards), it’s making her job easier.

My only complaint is that this AI wasn’t used earlier and saved my mum the gray hairs she has now.

(Source)

[viperwhispered]

Notes on Jamil's speech patterns

I was supposed to just pick out some examples of typical Jamil lines. How he speaks, the vocabulary he uses, things like that. Something I could easily refer to when writing to get the tone right.

But then it kinda blew up, oop – because it’s hard to talk about how a character speaks without also dipping into why they say whatever they say.

Plus then I wanted to get examples of Jamil in different moods, and could not resist some poignant things that were more related to his character or backstory rather than strictly the speech patterns themselves, so… It expanded a bit.

Anyways. Some things I noticed he tends to do:

Sighs (more than I realized)

Snarks

Tch (though could be a more general twst writing choice too)

Stutters when he’s flustered / embarrassed / caught of guard (what a cutie)

Goes ahem like an old man when he’s trying to get back on track in those off-kilter moments

Kinda formal with his manner of speech and choice of words (especially in servant mode) (I always worry I exaggerate this but he sure does do that)

But there’s still some animatedness with the way he emphasises words, for example

(so long-suffering and ready to bark out directions to Kalim oh boy - the way the directness just comes through when he loses it)

sugarcoating his opinions if he doesn’t feel like he can say them plainly (tyrant becomes rigorous, etc.)

sarcasm, sometimes with a side of deadpan, sometimes with a smirk

“Good grief” (another thing I didn't realize was that much of a catchphrase)

Very mild on the level of insults & swears honestly, (I mean, "drat"?) but I imagine this is more of a result of the game's rating (I guess for in-game reasons we can say he's been very conditioned by his upbringing)

I put the screenshots that seemed telling, and some related notes, on to a google sheet. That way one can filter and order it in various ways.

The sheet is probably best viewed on a computer or another larger screen, the screenshots might make it a bit difficult to navigate on mobile.

I did go in with the assumption that Jamil might speak differently pre-overblot (when the servant mask is firmly in place) and post-overblot (at least those occasions where he allows himself to be more honest). Like, there’s the sycophantic (as Leona calls it) flatterer, versus when Jamil’s honestly voicing his own thoughts. Which also shows in how I chose to categorize the screenshots.

Of course events are a bit wibbly wobbly in relation to the main story so can’t be placed in the timeline in the same way, but there are still those occasions where it seems you can tell the difference between the servant mask and a Jamil who’s not saying things just for the sake of appearances.

So, to explain the logic of the sheet:

First column has a screenshot of something Jamil says. The second two columns give the source.

The column for whether or not this happened before or after the overblot is only really used for main story things, since event stories are kinda murky timeline-wise.

Next is whether Jamil seems to be putting on the servant mask or speaking more honestly. This is where get more to interpretation territory, and I’ve not applied it to every screenshot (either because that didn’t seem like the relevant part for that line, or because I couldn’t tell).

The last column of the sheet is where we get most to my personal interpretations. So of course you might read these lines differently than I do, and that’s completely fine, these are simply the aspects that seemed poignant to me. Some notes are simply pointing out specific word choices or style of speech, others delve more into character analysis side of things.

Totally fine if you want to copy this file or modify it to your own needs. All I ask is that you don’t pass off anything I wrote as your own thoughts.

Order of lines is based purely on the order the pics were in my screenshots folder, so guess this is also an insight on the order I played things in, lol.

Tagging some jamil peeps in case y'all find this useful:

@crystallizsch @diodellet @moonyasnow @twstgo @lex752

@majestickitty @viperbunnies

[mayakern]

In light of finding out that there's actually people out there being jerks to you in your inbox, I wanted to tell you how much joy you've brought into my life without even knowing about it! My girlfriend introduced me to your art and your clothing and I've been a huge fan ever since! Your art makes me feel more comfortable in my own skin and see beauty where I hadn't thought to look before, and watching you succeed puts a smile on my face. I wish you and your wife a long and happy life full of joyful memories and interesting stories!

aw thank you, this is so incredibly sweet 🥺🥺🥺

we did have a couple ppl being weirdly combative at the combo of me asking why ppl hadn't purchased from the canada store (this was a genuine question to see if there were issues we didn't know about, which there were) and then me talking about what a rough position the business is in currently, but largely people have been nothing other than extremely kind and supportive and wonderful.

i think it often comes down to the sad reality that when a small brand like us, which is more expensive than fast fashion in large part because we use certified ethical labor, talks about our financial/sales issues in a time when most people are struggling, people sometimes get defensive.

even if i am not being aggressive or mean or blaming our customers--i am also a non-wealthy person who lived through 2024, i have not at any point been unaware of just how difficult things have gotten and i don't blame anyone for their financial situation--because of the type of business i run, seeing me or the business fail can make people feel guilty. because even tho a lot of people try not to think about it, when you buy a fast fashion shirt for $5--or when you buy several, knowing that they'll fall apart after just a few wears--there are so many "invisible" costs. knowing that you can afford a shein clothing haul because someone was, at best, paid pennies to make the garments wears a person down. knowing, too, that that piece of clothing that was made by exploiting other humans is going to end up in the trash relatively quickly also takes its toll.

for a lot of people, fast fashion is all they can afford. and also for a lot of people, they have convinced themselves that buying a higher quantity of cheap garments that will fall apart quickly is more affordable or a better deal than saving up for one more expensive piece that will last them multiple years. after all, buying a single garment that you'll wear for years doesn't give you nearly as much of a dopamine hit as getting an entire clothing haul that costs the same amount up front.

and i think because of this--because a lot of people make this choice and do not feel proud of it--when they see me or my business struggle, they project their own feelings of guilt and assume that i must be blaming them personally. that i am figuratively breathing down their neck and haunting their closets.

the truth is, i know the path i have chosen is not the easy one. i could probably make a lot more money and live a lot more comfortably if i operated on a business model that more closely resembled fast fashion. but for as long as i can afford them, i would like to stick to my ideals. and i don't blame other people for not being able to do the same.

[writingwisterias]

Okay so hear me out ( hello first, where are my manners )

but rly hear me out : Leon and the reader, the reader is pregnant, and the baby is born on September 30th. Like I can’t be the only one who thought about it ? Anyway, please don’t die I love your stories.

stay hydrated folks

Hello!

I actually love this, I could feel the angst and fluff. I will try not to die 🫡 I hope you enjoy and have a good day! And everyone that sees this is your reminder to drink water or anything please (Not proof Read I'm sorry it posted before I got the chance!)

I'm so sorry for how late this is please forgive me! I wanted to flesh it out a bit

Warnings: Fluff, Angst, Pregnancy, Child birth (Not graphic), PTSD, Establsihed Relationship

ID!Leon Kennedy x AFAB!Reader

The red circle on the calendar was just a constant reminder to him. Not only because of the impending arrival of his child. But also of that one fateful night -- the day that changed his life. He would spend the entire year trying to forget about it and think of anything other than this. It was the devil's work he swore in that doctor's office when the date was announced. He watched you freeze, a fake smile now replacing the real one you had when you entered the office. Leon hated that one date could still have so much effect on the two of you. 

You grasped his hand during the rest of the appointment, and you watched as he sunk into himself, his eyes turning hazy as he dissociated. Your fingers squeezing his desperately trying to get him to come back. You would never blame him, the horrors he had been through were enough to break a thousand men and he was still here. You had asked him years ago to explain everything to allow the secret he had kept so long to be heard by someone he trusted to help him heal. Since then the pregnancy had turned into a nine-month countdown to the date. The small kicks he felt every night fought desperately against the feeling, the reminder. The life you were carrying to involve him in a never-ending circle of happiness was already trying to heal their dad. Leon was too good of a man to let this affect the relationship with the child, besides due dates can be wrong all the time. Sometimes the baby will come later, he might be lucky.

You watched him become nervous as the countdown began as you were in the final weeks of the pregnancy. It became a routine for Leon to stare at the red circle every morning as he made breakfast and coffee. Only getting worse since the date was only a few days away at this point. The nursery was completely decorated with things you had both collected yourselves and had been given in the baby shower. All of the baby grows were washed and put away, a large stockpile of diapers in the changing table ready to be used up. You were both just waiting on the baby. 

“Good morning” You spoke softly as you entered the room. Your voice is now the only thing taking his attention away from the calendar. Leon smiled at you, his oversized shirt draped over your body. “Morning” He mumbled, hand instantly smoothing the fabric smiling at the little kicks that greeted him. It wasn’t unusual for him to be awake early, his military timer being one of the things that never left him. Despite your attempts to train it out of him in favour for a few more hours in bed. “What’s for breakfast today? It smells good” You hummed sweetly looking over at the hob. 

You tried to hide it, you really did but Leon didn’t miss the twinge of pain in your face. The small adjustment you gave yourself as pain washed over you. “Are you alright?” He asked ignoring your previous question entirely. His touch was gentle a simple reminder of his support. You nodded muttering a small ‘yes’ despite your features clenched together displaying otherwise. His hand moved gently on your lower back, the movements distracting you from the pain. You knew what the date was but you also knew what the pain meant. You just didn’t have the heart to tell him yet. After spending the whole night hoping that maybe it was just a Braxton hix and they would fade away eventually. However, the world wasn’t that kind. “Love, please don’t lie to me. Not when you are this close” 

“The date-”

“I know the date…I don’t care not right now. Tell me what’s happening” 

You turned to him, finally able to stand up straighter now the pain had subsided. Leon knew what you were getting at, he’d read all the books and leaflets the doctor recommended. All to be able to recognise the signs. Leon ensured that he was as prepared as he could be but now it was happening he froze. Panic rose in his system as you had yet another contraction in front of him. The timings were too close together, you had waited for hours as he slept. Hoping it won’t fall on this date. For his sake. 

“Do we need to leave?” He asked, his voice catching in his throat. You nodded a soft chuckle leaving your lips as you held onto him, fingers digging in his arm as you let the pain subside. To his credit he worked quickly, gathering the bag and items you had prepared and putting them into the car. He was careful as he led you towards the car. One eye on the road and the other on you, pride swelling in his chest at how well you were handling yourself. He thought he would be more lost today, that the date would distract him from being present with you. It did occasionally, every time someone would remind you both of the fact the baby was arriving on your due date he would go silent. Get lost in his mind again. Only to be brought back by a softer comment from you or your touch. The same way you would normally bring him back after spending years with him.  

When getting himself coffee or ice chips for you; he would make sure to avoid the ER, the screams triggering his flashbacks. You were proud of him, he never let it show. Despite the circumstances, you knew he would be the best partner you could get in this situation. 

You tried to hold back from making any sound but the more you needed to push the louder you got. He didn’t blame you, he could see that you were trying for his sake. The hospital was already proving to be challenging with all of the other mothers throughout the day going through the same process just a few rooms down. Leon could feel your attempts to be silent in the way you gripped his hand. You saw Leon wince at every moan and flinch at every scream you made. It didn’t help the baby was progressing slowly meaning the process was dragged out. It seemed like the entire day was attempting to make this harder for him. 

Yet despite everything he still helped you through it, complimenting your progress and how well you were doing. “You can do it, You are doing so good” He whispered in your hair, placing kisses not caring for the sweat that coated your skin. His kisses were cold and welcomed against your sweaty skin. You shook your head exhaustion lingering in the corner ready to take over. The final moments were the hardest for him. Leon tried so hard not to let it affect him but the room was suddenly too loud as it now filled with the baby’s cries, the nurses praising you as you also cried. The wails reminded him of all the distant ones he heard as he ran around the police station, of all the people he couldn’t save as he was trapped inside. Your deeper groans of pain sounded similar to Marvin’s as he spoke helping Leon out of the station. 

You felt his presence, but he wasn’t there, his eyes watching over you with that hazed look again. You wouldn’t hold it against him; it was enough that he was here physically. You knew he hated the hospital, the sounds of everyone injured and in pain. You’ve spent countless times trying to force him to get his sickness checked out by doctors instead of googling the symptoms. However, you knew that once the noise reduced, he would come back, and he would enjoy the moment. 

Guilt washed over him as he held the baby the small bundle watching him with curious eyes. You were asleep, having some well-deserved rest. The machines beeped around him, the noise of the hospital fading as he looked back into those blue eyes. They were so small in his arms, their head cradled perfectly in the palm of his hand. This is what he endured and fought for that night, the chance to have a life at the end of it. To have happiness and love surround him in even the smallest ways. Leon didn’t know he was going to be tracked down and blacked mailed by the government for just surviving the events of Raccoon City. Neither did he know that he was going to have to sign his life away putting what he assumed as pure luck into training. He had just watched you champion this for 9 months, endure days of morning sickness, all of the growing pains without a complaint. Looking forward to the future when you can finally hold the baby. He supposed in his own long-winded way he did the same. 

All the nightmares suddenly didn’t matter anymore, not when a positive thing overtook them. Soon to be interrupted by softer cries in the night. The small bundle he held in his arms wasn’t just a new birthday to celebrate for them but for him as well. For the new Leon that wouldn’t let that one night dictate the rest of his life, haunt him forever. It was his chance at a rebirth, at a new beginning. Not only as a husband and father but just as himself. 

[cherry-smokes]

Don’t you want me baby?

AKA Steve doesn’t want you to meet his parents and you start spiraling Pairing: Steve Harrington x bassist!reader Word count: 1.2K Warnings: hurt/comfort because Steve is just too into Sugar to let her hurt too long.

You’ve always known you weren’t a ‘bring home to the parents’ kind of girl. Frankly you took a lot of pride in it. At the end of the day you didn’t want to meet the people who created the assholes you’ve dated before. Them not offering just took the pressure off your shoulders. Relationships were always just a fleeting, sometimes fun thing. Most guys got bored after realizing they prefer to be the rockstar instead of the groupie.

You’ve denied yourself the desire for love for a long time. It didn’t feel tangible before. So why would you plague yourself with the disappointment of not being enough for someone. It was easier to live that way.

Steve made you feel different. Steve made you feel like that part of you which you had locked away for so long finally had a space to run free. That you weren’t an idiot for thinking that there truly was someone out there who would love you unconditionally. It feels too soon to say that but you couldn’t stop the freight train that was Steve Harrington from crashing into the brick wall you had built around your heart.

That’s probably why this all hurts so much.

It hadn’t even felt like a big deal to you at the time.

“I could just meet you at your place?”

“Oh…no, no I’ll come pick you up.”

“You always pick me up, let me drive. I wanna take care of you this time.” it came out teasingly. With that goddamn smile that made Steve’s knees buckle and his heart beat so strong he could feel it all the way up to his shoulders.

“No just- I’ll pick you up”

“Do you think I’m a bad driver or something?”

He chuckled at that. “Considering the fact that Eddie taught you to drive, I’m doubtful of your abilities.”

“I’ll have you know I’ve never gotten a single ticket. So you should let me treat my pretty boy to a night out and let me make him my passenger princess for once.”You grab his face and kiss him sweetly. Teeth against teeth as you both smile, but his fades faster than yours does.

“My parents are home this weekend, you don’t want deal with them.”

“Who said I didn’t want to deal with them?”

“They’re a lot.”

“Well, so am I.”

“I just think it’s better if I pick you up, yeah?”

You’ve never had a smile wiped off your face so fast. You nod and lean away from him.

“Sure, whatever you want.”

Steve makes you feel…soft. Had it been any other guy this would have never bothered you, but Steve wasn’t any other guy. He was someone you had grown to really care for. Someone you actually saw a future with, or wanted to at least. So him not wanting you to meet his parents felt like a bad omen.

If we’re closer to your family, physically and in any other sense, you would have introduced Steve to them in a heart beat. The closest thing you had to that was Eddie and the guys, and Steve had already met them.

So yeah. This was a pretty big fucking deal to you. You know the kind of girls he’s dated before. Prim and proper. The kind of girls who go on to be beauty queens or valedictorians. That never bother you before, but now you’re thinking about every reason why he wouldn’t want you to meet his folks.

Your reputation isn’t…polished. You’re abrasive, and overwhelming to some people. You hang out with ‘freaks’ and you make a living off of playing in dive bars and bartending. None of that really screams ‘life long partner.’

Maybe that’s what he’s looking for. Maybe you’re just a stepping stone for him. Some crazy story he can tell his Wall Street friends one day when he finally decides to give into his father’s wishes.

You wish all of this wasn’t running through your mind right now. Sat on your couch with Steve’s arm around you. You feel tense. Like you don’t really fit next to him. It’s been this way all night. At dinner, in the car, even at the door step to your apartment when he asked if you wanted to watch a movie instead of calling it a night.

You know what’s coming. He’s too attentive to not notice. You’ve seen how he’s cowered into himself all night and the way his eyebrows have drawn together as you brush off his affection.

You don’t want to be cruel, but you get mean when you’re hurt. You’ve never known anything else. You wish you knew a better way to deal with it but you don’t and you can’t look at this man who makes you burn and lie to him like you have to others.

So when he asks you what’s wrong you can’t bring yourself to say it’s nothing.

“Are you ashamed to be with me?”

You feel it then. His arm tenses up and it moves away from around your shoulders as he leans back to look at you.

“What?”

“I know you heard me don’t make me repeat myself.”

He looks genuinely confused. Like he can’t understand why you’re asking this.

“Why would I be ashamed of you?”

“I don’t know Steve, you tell me.”

He looks you dead in the eyes. The weight of his gaze makes you feel heavy, like you’re sinking into yourself.

“I’m not ashamed of you I l-you know how I feel about you.”

You want to believe him. You want to so badly. You want to nod and agree and curl into his side so he’ll kiss your neck and whisper sweet nothings into your ear until you forget every horrible thing that’s ever happened to you both. But you can’t.

“You don’t want me to meet your parents.”

“No. I don’t.”

He’s like one of those Greek statues you see in museums. Gorgeous, and strong. The way he says it is…steadfast. One of the loveliest things about Steve is that he is stubborn…now it feels like one of the worst.

You don’t want to cry in front of him. You don’t want embarrass yourself so you choke it down like everything else and turn towards your television screen.

“Ok then.”

You rack through your brain trying to decide if you want to kick him out kicking and screaming or just let him go on his own. Before you can decide, his hand is on your face and he’s turning you towards him. His grip on your chin is tender but strong. Just like him.

“I can see those gears turning in your head. It’s not because I’m ashamed of you.”

Your eye twitches like it always does when you’re confused. He fucking adores it.

“You’re stubborn, and loud, and probably too honest for your own good. You’re…vulgar, and brilliant and you drive me fucking insane and you’re too goddamn good for my parents. They wouldn’t know what to do with you, I don’t know what to do with you but I’m so fucking thankful you’re letting me figure it out. I just want to keep you to myself so I can woo you long enough to not run away when you do meet them.”

Your bottom lip trembles. You’re thankful he doesn’t point out the quiver in your voice when you finally speak up.

“I’m not that stubborn.”

His smile is golden. You let him drag you into him as he presses his lips against yours. You want to savor it and keep him there forever but you can’t stop his hand moving from your chin and grabbing at your hair as he pulls your head back so he can he trail sweet pecks against your cheek and down your neck.

“Whatever you say Sugar.”

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Tiny little angsty blurb for you guys<3

[kanansdume]

I don't know if you wanted a legit answer to this since it's in the tags, but the answer is "It depends on whether you consider the books canon or not" I guess.

For me, I tend not to. Books are, at best, supplementary material that things like the films and even the TV shows often ignore. I know Lucas certainly did. More often than not, especially pre-Disney, the books worked like officially licensed fanfiction. They played in the same sandbox with some of the same toys, but the real story was whatever Lucas decided it was (even if he pulled something out of Legends and into canon, he often never included all of it and/or changed it to suit his own purposes because he didn't feel an obligation to fitting his story into the continuity established in the books). The books themselves don't even try that hard to keep to the same continuity with EACH OTHER, and Disney's newer content definitely doesn't care all that much about any of the books that came before the buy-out.

So, with all that in mind, what I consider "canon" tends to be the first six films and the first six seasons of TCW (and even TCW is on thin ice some days). The highest level of DISNEY canon would include all of their films and generally all of the shows released on Disney Plus (while Disney kinda tries harder to keep more of a coherent continuity between the films/shows and books/video games, there's still a clear hierarchy between them). And you can make a solid argument that everything produced by Disney at all is just more officially licensed fanfiction since it's no longer being made by the original author/creator. The Jedi Apprentice novels, which someone else mentioned in the tags as well, have never actually been canon. They were written between TPM and AOTC and several things within that series have already been overridden by higher canon stuff anyway (the aging out at 13 thing got overridden by Ahsoka in TCW, the idea of a lightsaber shorting out in water got overridden immediately in AOTC, etc etc).

So when I consider whether the concept of the Jedi walking silently is "canon" or not, I am NOT looking at the books at all. I am looking at the films, I am looking at TCW, and I might even be willing to look at some of the films and shows in Disney canon to see if they're choosing to bring it in anywhere. As far as I can recall, the Jedi can certainly walk QUIETLY if they want to, when they're sneaking around, but there hasn't been an indication that they walk silently so often that they regularly sneak up on other people without even meaning to. There's DEFINITELY no indication that this is something they've actually trained in.

This is why I called it a headcanon, although since I'd forgotten it had shown up in the Jedi Apprentice novels somewhere, you could argue that it's not really a headcanon but more accurately a piece of Legends canon. However, it's a piece of Legends that still works within the more official canons. Just because it's never actually showed up within canon doesn't mean it's been contradicted there entirely (there never seems to be any indication that the Jedi are regularly accidentally sneaking up on non-Jedi, like the clones, the way you see happen in fics sometimes, but it doesn't mean it couldn't have happened occasionally off-screen).

One of my favorite Jedi headcanons is that Jedi walk so quietly that they basically don't make any sound. Whether it's intentionally trained to the point that it's become a habit and they never think about it, it's intentionally trained and they're DOING it intentionally (either for practical reasons or just to fuck with someone), or it's some weird side effect of being Force sensitive that they can't control and everyone just has to figure out how to deal with it, I don't care, I love it all.

10/10 headcanon, 5 stars, no notes.

[perfectlysanexd]

I just want everyone to know, that at this precise moment in Remake...

They were legitimately standing THIS CLOSE together.

(I was looking to take screenshots of their feet for that holiday mainpulation I did, and thought this would be a good moment for it, but Square actually has Sephiroth slightly sunken into the ground, which is something they do frequently to get specific angles for their cutscenes.)

One of my favorite things to do in this game is taking screenshots. To view new angles, see new things, catch glimpses of expressions that you otherwise wouldn't see. Sometimes, those expressions can tell a different tale than the "official" angle did. To give an example, at the Edge of Creation, the camera looked up at Sephiroth. It was meant to be from Cloud's point of view, and it almost gives an impression of like...smugness??

But let me show you...Sephiroth's true expression. It's actually tender, and full of affection.

Amazing, isn't it? How seeing it from a different angle tells an entirely different story.

That's why I'm sad to inform you guys that my older, 2017 computer probably can't run Rebirth. I checked out the minimum requirements on Steam, and although I have enough RAM, my graphics card and CPU are too old, much more PS4-ish than PS5. It's a shame. Maybe someday I can get to it, but not anytime soon. 😭 I didn't come to this conclusion lightly, and I thought about it for a long time, but...$50 is a lot to spend on a game that may CtD constantly, especially when I try to run it at higher resolution for screenshots. So I'm sorry to say that I won't be able to do that for you guys, or create manipulations from anything other than the couple hundred screenshots I took during gameplay. Of course, if any of you are running it on PC after it comes out and want to learn how to take screenshots like these, let me know. Or if you already intend to and want to post them up for free use, please do. I'd be happy to make manipulations from them. 🥰 Anyway, that's enough out of me for today.

[dragonsoulage]

Dancing on top of the roof…

feat. Alucard

How haunted romantic could it be when the bloodthirsty gentleman of a vampire is asking the beautiful lady to dance under the moonlight? Two shadows caught up in a dark waltz of love.

Hello guys, Alucard was like my first…the first anime crush I ever had. So we all feel the feminine urge to just dance with a vampire on top of the roof under the stars, right? I have the feeling it would literally fix all my problems 💀👀 so here we are with a little cute story. Nothing really long since this was just a little idea, but stay tuned I have another Alucard story to tell 🌚

Wordcount: 976

Warnings: romantic and fluffy because sometimes my heart needs that ✨👌🏻

Thinking about Alucard and how much it probably would fix you when you dance with him on top of a roof in the middle of the night.

„Beautiful and eternal." you heard a cold voice appearing right behind you. You didn't even hear him to join you. Your gaze drifted from the beautiful starry night sky to the handsome, pale face of the vampire behind you.

Oh, was he beautiful. This face in perfect symmetry. These crimson eyes that gleamed through the curtain of thick raven hair that the wind made blow across his face. The imposing height, the whole aura he presented that seemed to be softer and more inviting when you were around. He had taken off his glasses and hat, simply looking at the woman in front of him.

„Indeed the sky is incredible tonight, just as you described." you agreed with him with a soft voice before you watched how a smile tugged on his lips. Endearing. So oblivious you were. „It was not the sky I was looking at, my dear." Alucard let you know, a subtle hint, that he talked about you when he joined you on the rooftop. Your expression faltered for a second, before you brushed back a strand of your hair behind your ear.

You were such a haunting beauty. You wore a white dress, looking like a historian vampire beauty, that ethereal glow of the moonlight right onto you. Making your skin glow, highlighted your perfect features. Your skin looking so invitingly smooth, yearning to be touched. Around your waist, a corset in a white beige color, with the strings hanging down. You reminded him of something he didn't want to give everyone.

You looked lovely, indeed, so lovely it made his cold vampire heart feel a little bubbly.

„You are a charmer, Alucard. But I still appreciate it. Thank you." you spoke lower, your voice carried through the slight cold wind on the rooftop. Before he then stepped closer, standing beside you, next to your smaller frame. His gaze now turned to the sky too.

„I may be, but what would life be without a little charm? And you deserve to he appreciated." he said with his silk like voice. His heart yearning for your attention and not even being shy about it.

„But you are right, the night is beautiful. I understand why you like to come here." he pointed out. For once, the calm and ethereal sense was more fascinating than the bloody beauty he usually carried with him.

So much blood about him, and yet he appreciated the other finer things in his undead being. Things like you, you captivated him with your own endearing charm, you didn't even know you possessed.

„It is calm here, the stars are eternal, they remind me of you." you let your words sink in. Before you heard the faint sound of a chuckle. Not many complimented him like this. No one ever compared him to the stars.

„They are eternal like you, always existing and shining brighter than any sun ever could with an admirable and softer glow I like so much more than the sun in the day. So...haunting but so bright." you added a little shy before you took your gaze from the sky looking at him and his crimson eyes met yours.

„You flatter me, much more than I thought. Being compared to something so...nice. Remarkable, my dear." he let you know. But before he or you could say anything, suddenly some music started to play.

A romantic but haunting melody of a classical song. Sweet and dark, just like the combination of you two. The music sounded like as if it was played from a gramophone. So old-fashioned, but so good.

Probably Walter was playing some and left his window open so you two could hear it on the top of the roof.

Alucard didn't even hesitate. Simply going after his instinct when it was about you.

With a curt bow and a hand he reached out to you, he spoke with a devoted voice. „Would you allow me this dance, my lady?"

Your heart beat faster, made a small jump before you nodded, and your delicate hand laid into his.

„I would love to." you replied before you were pulled close to his chest. Your hand laid on his shoulder and the other in his large hand. It was so romantic. Dancing on the rooftop under the star sky with the moonlight shining upon you.

„I need to admit it's quiet to the moment. Never thought I would dance on a rooftop with someone like you." you added when you felt how he guided you with safe steps over the straight part of the roofs. Effortlessly twirling you and catching your form. Making you gasp when you suddenly landed in his arms.

„Why not making this beautiful not more memorable? How should I not want to dance with the eternal beauty like you?" he asked you before you were picked up gently again. You two caught up in a waltz under the stars. With smooth movements just for yourselves. No one to see, no one to tell. Just for you and the vampire. You felt like it would fix everything that was happening right now. When you were caught up in his eyes, his face, the way his voice wrapped around you like silk. The way he made you feel so special.

No matter how bloody he could be how much he would kill, to you, he was soft, a true gentleman. A true vampire, that expressed his affection toward you, because who was in the position to make him feel light? Who made him feel a rush without having to hunt? It was you, only you. And you were all his under the moonlight right now....

[bellisima-writes]

Fluff or Smut or...Plot!?

So, we hear so much in the GO fandom about whether you're a fluff writer or a smut writer. And we are SO well fed, amazingly fluffy and unbelievably sexy works (sometimes at the same time) being published to Ao3 every day that leave us not for wanting.

But there is another type of fic that doesn't get as much attention - the middle child in our little fandom that actually tends to be my personal favorite - and that's the plot based fic.

They can contain it all: emotionally healing moments; fluffy domestic moments, scorchingly sexy moments, but they're not defined by any one of them because - behind it all - is an ongoing plot that drives the entire thing. They tend to be longer and, sometimes, will receive a lot less attention than their flashier siblings.

SO, in celebration of these types of fics, here are some recs of plot based stories by smaller authors (we all know the Icarus's, the Factory Settings, the Demonologies of the world, plot based fandom staples that don't need mentioning) that could fill that void if you're in the mood for something a little meatier to read:

My Heart Was Always Yours by @addledmongoose - M 144K - A plotty and fully flushed out "let's save the world" story without all the angst and weight of the Final 15? Yes please.

This one is a what if they never met story: Aziraphale and Crowley are their usual selves but have no knowledge of the other on Earth. They are both individually tasked, by their respective sides, with stealing Raphael's trumpet from an auction in NY in order to kick off Armageddon. They form an arrangement to pretend to be a married couple in order to steal the trumpet, all the while believing the other to be human. If you've not read an addledmongoose fic then you're missing out. Their clear and crisp prose are a delight to read, vividly visual and painting the action so dynamically you'll feel like you're actually there.

Undone by @itsscottiesstark - T 122K - What if Aziraphale and Crowley discovered that they botched the baby swap right after Warlock and Adam were born and tried to influence the actual Antichrist from the beginning? This is a clever, sweeping and gorgeously written story that spans across the 11 years leading up to and through the Apocalypse. This story shines because of the author's unique ability to weave canon into an original story, tilting it slightly and breathing new life into every reference.

Wrong Turn by anticyclone and art by D20Owlbear - T 37K - If you know me, and you've read anything I've written, you know I love playing with time. Stopping time, going forward, backward, sideways with time; I love it all. And then, right behind that, I love a multi-versal story. And this one is really special.

This story (which was written before season 2 and is void of all final 15 angst) follows Crowley being pulled into an alternate dimension where the other versions of Aziraphale and Crowley have yet to confront Armageddon and are actually enemies. I never ever tire of seeing the different takes on who these two would be without the other, nor how their love, no matter what, is always there right below the surface, ready to burst forth.

All of the other ones I've read that fall into this category are extremely popular, so I am going to stop there and ask you all to reblog and self-rec or share your favorite plot based fics with all of us!

[littlemisssquiggles]

Alright, I need to gush about Dandadan for a hot minute…

So this squiggle meister has hopped onto the Dandadan hype train. Ever since its anime adaptation release last year, I’ve been riding the high of my newest anime craze.

Not only am I all caught up on the anime (eagerly awaiting season 2 coming out this year) but I’ve also taken to following the manga; which I’m all caught up on too.

Speaking of which, the newest chapter of Dandadan dropped today - Chapter 181- and I’ve got some things to say about:

Firstly, the return of Unji Zuma. It’s nice to see that the Danmanru Arc wasn’t the last time we’ve seen our Umbrella King.

Zuma’s a cool character. I basically see him as a male Momo since the two share the same stubborn, headstrong yet surprisingly compassionate and loyal personality traits that make them really fun characters to watch further develop. In this squiggle meister’s eyes, Zuma is as much as cool older brother character to Momo as Jiji is.

However, judging by Zuma’s new look in the upcoming arc, I have a sinking feeling the manga is setting us up again for yet another wrench in the ongoing development of the Okarun and Momo love story.

I already made this point over over Twitter but ---

It CANNOT be a coincidence that Zuma, who was described as “Momo’s ideal type” cause he bares a resemblance to her celebrity crush Ken Takakura, now with his hair grown out and sporting a pair of glasses looks like a punk tough guy version of Okarun.

That can't be a coincidence, no? Like I said, I think the manga is setting us up yet again for another fake red herring love triangle and misunderstanding to further push the Momokarun ship into official couple status.

After all, we’re already half way there with Okarun’s recent confession.

Not to mention that last time, during the Space Globalist Arc, after the whole misunderstanding with Vamola, the first time Okarun actually admits to being in love with Momo is while “rejecting” Vamola.

I feel like Zuma is being set up to be Momo’s Vamola, y’know what I mean? I don’t know if Zuma is going to be confirmed to secretly like Momo.

I mean I hope not cause like I said, they have way more sibling energy to me than that of Momo and Jiji and Jiji is literally her childhood best friend and first crush).

But I do hope that Zuma’s presence will provide the catalyst to Momo professing her love for Okarun.

I mean, Zuma did over hear Momo whispering “tell me you love me” in her sleep and he gave her a look.

Surely, that’s got to come back sometime later just as how Momo’s “Lova Ya” note to Okarun came back, right?

While I doubt this will mean that Zuma will develop a romantic interest in Momo, if so is the case then I hope it will lead into Momo turning him down cause she will FINALLY admit that she’s already in love with Okarun.

THIS HAS TO BE WHY ZUMA IS BACK!

Outside of him bringing in a new arc, Zuma is here to be the FINAL PUSH for Momo to admit she loves Okarun. He has to be!

Zuma is literally the embodiment of everything Momo wants in a potential boyfriend. He looks like Ken Takakura. Underneath his tough exterior, he is genuinely courageous and has a benevolent spirit that drives him to go above and beyond for others in his care. Zuma is such a “good guy” that he got a whole school gang of delinquents to rally behind him. He is such a “good guy” that he’s even willing to help the poor Daiki kid with his curse.

I mean Zuma is just a really cool character.

And him being around again rocking dem big glasses and fluffy hair like Okarun is definitely gonna be confusing for Momo. At least that’s what I think.

Either way, I stand by what I said.

I think we’re entering the home stretch to Momo x Okarun being official.

I don’t know how many more arcs and chapters again it will take to get us there but we are getting there.

Zuma is the key.

If he isn’t gonna be yet another lying ass fake "potential love interest" like Aira, Jiji and Vamola all were then at least let him be a “real bro” to Momo.

I know he kinda blind right now but please let Zuma have the emotional wisdom to see through Momo’s BS of stalling her confession to Okarun and give her a firm kick in the ass with dem big Geta sandals he’s got on to get her to FINALLY return her feelings.

Bruh, we are almost to 200 chapters.

We need to see Momokarun canon before Luffy finds the One Piece. While we’re still young and our shipping hearts are still beating.

- LMS (2025)

[scariusaquarius]

rehab. 7.

Avenger! Bucky Barnes x Winter Soldier! Fem! Reader

Summary: While on a mission to find any more possible super soldiers that were a part of the Winter Soldier program, Steve and Bucky make a discovery in an abandoned HYDRA base that was cleared out a few years prior to their mission. They discover the Reader, a long-forgotten soldier that was still asleep within a functioning cryostasis pod; still awaiting orders. While Bucky isn't happy about it, he is put up to the challenge of helping to rehabilitate the soldier in Wakanda where she may be able to become a person again.

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A/n: Now we're getting into the nitty-gritty! Soldat is ready to start carrying out her mission, but will it be successful? Will Bucky catch on to what she's doing? Who knows! BTW, you can read it here on my archive account as well!

This is an au where Bucky joined the avengers but still rehabilitated in Wakanda (sometime before Infinity War [canon divergent cause NOPE]). I am NOT fluent in Russian, so I did use google translate cause I couldn't find a good translator that I trusted. If anything is wrong, PLEASE let me know!! Also, I tried to list as many warnings as possible so you know what the story will contain as chapters are posted. Stay safe!

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Genre: Slowburn, Enemies to Lovers/Friends to Lovers, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Humor, Drama, Dark Content Rated: Explicit Warning: Angst, Dark Content: Graphic Depictions of Sexual Assault, Blood and Gore, Mentions of Manipulation, Kidnapping, Canon-Typical Violence, Body Horror, Nonconsensual Body Modification/Scarring, Emotional and Physical Abuse, Mentions of Murder, Mentions of Suicidal Thoughts/Ideation, Graphic Depictions of Human Remains, Mentions of Sexual Coercion/Manipulation, Death, Misuse of Drugs/Forced Drugging, Self-Harm (Graphic Depictions and Mentions), Nightmares

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Author: ScariusAquarius

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rehab masterlist. chapter 6

The next few hours had been relatively uneventful. After the soldier had pledged her compliance, the people surrounding her within the lab had slowly back off. The Fist and Shuri were exchanging seemingly heated words just outside the lab behind sound-proof glass that the soldier could not hear through.

While the Soldier could read their lips partially, she couldn't discern exactly what was being said. The only thing the soldier could comprehend was that the Fist was seemingly offended by Shuri pledging to help finish the mission.

When they were done exchanging words, they both came back into the laboratory and stood in front of the chair that the soldier was sitting in. Shuri greeted the soldier, asking politely despite the frustrated furrow within her eyebrows.

"When was the last time that you ate a meal?"

The soldier immediately frowned, glancing down at her knees as she tried to remember. There were no memories that came to mind, and when she couldn't answer, the soldier clenched her fists.

"I...don't remember."

Her voice was shaky, unused to the English that slipped from her tongue, but Shuri's shoulders relaxed with hope as the soldier spoke. The Fist squinted his eyes, however, and the soldier almost winced.

He was not convinced.

Truly, it was to be expected. Just hours ago, the soldier told him that he was her mission. The Fist was right to be cautious, but it did not matter to her.

She would complete her mission no matter what the costs were.

"That is alright. Would you be willing to eat?"

"How does this help me to complete my mission?"

The Fist and Shuri shared a look with each other before the Fist stated, making the soldier look up at him with an unconvinced sneer flashing across her face.

"You want to take me in, you need to be strong enough to do it. The more you starve, the weaker your body becomes."

His voice was slightly annoyed, his posture revealing his unease, and the soldier glanced back down at the untouched food. It was a different meal than what Shuri had attempted to give to her before, and it was extremely simple. The Soldier tilted her head slightly, and she leaned forward slightly to sniff it.

"It is called Isidudu. It's just porridge with some brown sugar, butter, and sweet milk."

The soldier simply frowned at it, and Shuri hummed gently, crossing her arms.

"You have permission to eat."

Flicking her gaze to Shuri, the two of them shared a look before the soldier glanced back down at the food. Slowly grabbing the spoon, the soldier scooped up the creamy food and began to hesitate.

Her hand was hovering over the plate, some of the porridge dripping off of the spoon. The soldier's body began to stiffen; her hand trembling as she held the handle of the spoon tight enough within her grasp to bend the metal.

There was a lump in the back of her throat, nausea beginning to plague her, and the soldier couldn't help but to glance at the door; waiting for her Handler to come in and punish her for even touching the spoon. She was unsure of why her tongue felt so heavy and thick-as if it did not belong to her, and the soldier became nervous.

The soldier could not help the tears that filled her eyes as she stared at the food, shaking and unsure, and she was slightly startled when Shuri sat down across from her; her tone gentle like a mother comforting their child.

"Isithunzi, it is alright. You do not have to be afraid. We will not punish you for eating."

The soldier was confused and unsure, her brows furrowed, and the soldier glanced back down at the spoon within her hand for another long pause.

The soldier could not deny that she was waiting for the reprimand; the hand raised in warning to strike her for having the audacity to even acknowledge the hunger, but her stomach was rumbling painfully to the point the soldier could no longer refuse.

The soldier swallowed thickly before she slowly took a bite, and flavor burst upon her tongue. The porridge was sweet and creamy, the milk adding a flavor that the soldier could not describe, and she carefully swallowed.

Despite the taste and enjoyment that soldier found from the meal, there was guilt eating away at her; cutting through the fog of her mind. She shouldn't have done that. She shouldn't have eaten this. The soldier began to tremble more, and Shuri encouraged her.

"You're doing great, but you don't have to eat if you don't want to. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

The soldier glanced up at the Fist briefly, and she noticed that he was gazing at her with a slightly far-away look within his eyes. When the Fist noticed that she was looking at him, though, he seemed to tense. The soldier looked away, and she slowly began to eat despite the guilt that was eating away at her like maggots eating an infection.

"Isithunzi, I would like for you to answer some questions for me if you can. Are you up for that?"

The soldier was quiet, rolling the food around within her mouth before swallowing; warmth blooming within her belly as the food began to satiate and ease the hunger and pain. She nodded, then, making Shuri smirk at the Fist with a haughty look that made the man roll his eyes.

"Do you have any memory of who you were before you were with HYDRA?"

The soldier paused, shaking her head slowly after careful consideration of her answer.

"I was...born into HYDRA."

Shuri tilted her head slightly, and the Fist sat down after a moment, asking her instead with a sassy tone to his voice.

"Is that what they made you believe?"

The soldier could tell that he was frustrated and becoming hostile, making alarm bells sound off, and Shuri scolded the man in Xhosa before glancing back at the soldier.

"He has not had his daily bottle today, I am sorry."

The Fist shot Shuri an annoyed look, but Shuri did not pay attention to him. Instead, she brought up a couple holographic images that made the soldier pause in eating, eyes wide with wonder. It was a list of CIA emblems for every directorate the agency had, and there was one that stood out to the soldier, though she did not indicate as such.

"Do any of these emblems look familiar to you?"

The soldier frowned for a moment, perplexed by the question, but slowly pointed to the emblem of the Directorate of Science & Technology. The Fist became intrigued, asking her as he leaned forward.

"What do you know about this?"

The soldier looked away, whispering shakily.

"I...dreamed. Places...a-and people...I...I don't...know..."

Her voice trailed off. She was not supposed to dream; to remember. She was frightened; afraid to mention this in fear that they would take the memories away, and the soldier became closed off. Shuri noted the way that the soldier became uncomfortable, and she praised her gently.

"That was good. You did well, Isithunzi."

"This is not relevant to my mission."

The words were almost robotic, and there was a strange feeling of shame that came from the words. Shuri and the Fist shared a look together, and Shuri shook her head.

"Oh, but it is relevant. We will explain to you why in due-time. Would you...be able to explain to me why it is difficult for you to eat?"

Traumatic memories flashed through the soldier's mind, and the tears welled up in her eyes again as she stared down into the porridge below.

"Hunger...is weakness. It serves no purpose to the mission. It is not to be indulged in unless given permission. It is strictly allowed only due to performance decline. There are...consequences...for displaying such weakness outside of absolute necessity."

Shuri shook her head slightly, and the soldier could see the Fist clench his jaw. The soldier could not tell if her answer pleased or upset the woman, but the soldier was aware that Shuri was becoming heated by the way her lips pursed.

"Well, you are allowed to eat whenever you would like to. In fact, eating more will help you to become stronger, which will allow you to complete your mission when it is time."

The soldier stayed quiet, staring down at the empty bowl in front of her before she whispered, her tone shy and unsure.

"I...am allowed to eat...whenever?"

"Yes. Whenever you want to."

The soldier then slowly pushed the bowl towards Shuri, which made the princess smile with amusement.

"May I...have more?"

Shuri nodded, and she stood up along with the Fist.

"Of course. Sergeant Barnes and I will be right back. It should not take long."

The soldier did not respond, however. Instead, the soldier was gazing long and hard at the emblem she had pointed out; looking perplexed as she tried to place the symbol within her memories.

(Y/n).

Who was (Y/n)?

Who was she?

-WITH BUCKY-

"I'm not really convinced."

Bucky was standing with his arms crossed as him, Shuri, T'Challa, and Okoye stood within a room just beyond Shuri's lab. There was a live hologram of Steve, Natasha, and Tony situated across from them, the three Avengers looking annoyed.

Tensions were high as the group discussed the soldier; topics ranging between her rehabilitation to her apparent mission and how Bucky wasn't entirely convinced by the soldier's behavior.

"She went from trying to throw knives into our heads and fighting to suddenly being complacent and accepting of our help. Seeing as I used to be her, I can tell you that she is bluffing. She's only trying to win our trust so she can strike when the opportunity arises."

Natasha nodded gently, quirking her eyebrow up as she responded.

"It's a good strategy."

Steve gave Natasha a dirty look before turning it towards Tony as Tony spoke, the man looking nonchalant and shrugging as he popped a couple blueberries into his mouth.

"Okay, then why not just call her out on that? The woman's already in captivity, so you might as well pop that cherry."

Shuri shook her head, muttering.

"I am the only smart one here. What a burden!"

Bucky did not miss the way Okoye snorted to herself, and the princess spoke firmly to Tony, stating.

"If we call her out on her lies, there is a possibility that she will become hostile enough to retrigger the programming. While I have placed blocks to ensure that it won't occur so soon, it would be senseless to place safeguards for nothing, and I am not wasting such complex yet delicate work."

She then huffed, crossing her arms while popping her hip out sassily; glaring at Tony with no hesitation.

"The best plan that I have is to rehabilitate her enough to give her a sense of self outside of being a Winter Soldier, and I am doing that by manipulating her into believing that what we are doing is to help her complete her mission."

Steve asked, frowning.

"What exactly is her mission?"

Bucky answered, shrugging.

"We don't know. She didn't say. She just indicated that I was her mission and that was all."

Bucky didn't miss the recognition that came across Steve's face, and the Captain asked.

"Do you think HYDRA put a hit on you before they disbanded and she's following that blindly? Is she aware that HYDRA is mostly eradicated?"

T'Challa cut in before Bucky could respond, shaking his head slightly.

"If she was given orders before she was put under, then it is possible that there is someone else that is waiting for her return. This is the best way to gain information without giving Sergeant Barnes to the enemy."

Bucky nodded, adding with a clench of his fist.

"In one of her memories, I recognized someone: Jack Rollins. He seems to be her handler."

Natasha and Steve shared a look together, and Tony stated.

"Okay, that's a start. If we can find Rollins, maybe we can find out who our Winter Soldier actually is. Do we know where Rollins was last seen?"

Natasha replied, shrugging.

"At the World Security Council at the Triskelion when Fury and I busted Alexander Pierce for being HYDRA. He was supposedly arrested, but given HYDRA's amazing ability to be everywhere and nowhere at once, I wouldn't be surprised if he was broken out."

T'Challa nodded, an expression of dread ghosting across his face before he quickly corrected himself, giving the three Avengers a determined face.

"I shall have Shuri run her biometric recognition programs while we continue to monitor and rehabilitate the woman. We now have confirmed that she knows the Directorate of Science & Technology, so that narrows our search down considerably."

Natasha muttered to Steve quietly, not realizing the mic was still able to pick up her voice.

"Scientist from the CIA? That always gets HYDRA's rocks wet."

"Natasha, we can still hear you."

Bucky was annoyed, and Natasha just made a face of mock surprise before shrugging, a ghost of a smirk on her face.

"I'm sorry, I thought I would lighten the mood."

In the back, Okoye muttered to herself.

"Americans."

Tony clapped his hands together, swallowing a large portion of blueberries as he surmised.

"Alright, so we get to Rollins, see what the deal is with this woman, get our Manchurian Candidate 2.0 no longer wanting to kill people, and we live happily ever after. Sounds like a good plan. Good talk, everyone, your participation is greatly appreciated."

Tony left the frame, and it was only Natasha and Steve left. Shuri couldn't help but to ask.

"Is that what he is like all of the time?"

"Unfortunately."

Steve replied before sighing, rubbing his temples before he said.

"While getting to Rollins is a good idea, it's not likely that he will talk when we do find him. If HYDRA is good at anything, it's keeping information as hidden as possible. I don't doubt that Rollins would be willing to do anything to make sure the information about the Winter Soldier, and any other possible ones, is kept quiet. We'll go ahead and keep looking through the data that we have here while Tony runs his facial recognition programs as well."

Shuri nodded before offering as well.

"If it's any consolation, we did make some great progress with our soldier, so I do believe that we are on the right track. We just need to be careful about how we move forward. If we can just establish some sort of trust, then perhaps the road to rehabilitation will be easier."

Steve nodded and he praised gently.

"You're doing amazing work, Princess Shuri. I really appreciate what you're doing, and what you did for Bucky, too."

Shuri smiled and waved her hand dismissively.

"Please, this is not only fun but a learning experience as well."

T'Challa nodded before he added.

"As we stated: we must move forward carefully now that progress has officially been made. While Shuri's safeguards are in place, they will not last long, and we do not know what will happen if they disintegrate before Isithunzi is rehabilitated enough to understand that what she is doing is wrong and HYDRA is not the good guy here."

Natasha then asked, a curious look upon her face as she stared at the King.

"Okay, then how long do we have until those safeguards disappear?"

"Without extreme emotional duress, the safeguards will be active up to a month. However, if the soldier experiences any duress during her time here, it can weaken the safeguards enough to last only a few weeks. Truly, it is dependent on Isithunzi...as well as a few other factors."

Bucky knew that Shuri was referencing him, and he could feel his shoulders drop slightly. Natasha just nodded along while Steve responded with a hopeful expression.

"Hopefully it doesn't have to come down to a fight. I just know that we're going to be successful....we have to be."

"What if you are wrong, Captain?"

T'Challa challenged Steve with a pointed look, and Steve sat back in his seat a little.

"What if you are wrong, and there is nobody beneath the rubble? What will you do then?"

"Keep digging."

Steve was firm, and though Bucky wanted to disagree, he knew that Steve was set in his plan. That's just who Steve was: fighting for the little guys. Bucky couldn't help but to shake his head, muttering affectionately and quietly.

"You're such a punk."

"Right back at ya, pal."

The video feed disappeared, and T'Challa glanced back at Bucky. Bucky looked up from his feet to meet T'Challa's gaze, and T'Challa sighed slightly; relenting his gaze to look at Shuri.

"While you work with Isithunzi, Sergeant Barnes and I will work on finding Rollins. Okoye will stay with you."

Okoye immediately stood next to Shuri while the princess hummed, raising a brow.

"You mean you are going to use my programs without me in the room? Am I nothing to you?"

"Oh, stop."

Shuri and T'Challa shoved each other gently before doing the Wakandan salute, and Shuri glanced at Bucky.

"I will let you know if there is any progress or issues alike."

Bucky nodded before he shrugged.

"Alright, let's get to work then."

-

STORY NOTES: After pledging her compliance, Shuri and Bucky seem to have a heated discussion about Shuri agreeing to help the soldier with her mission. When they both reconcile and come to an understanding, they decide to try to get the soldier to eat a meal again. When Shuri questions the soldier and asks her when she last ate, the soldier cannot answer. The soldier retaliates, asking how eating would help her with her mission, and Bucky replies that she needs to be strong if she wants to bring him back to HYDRA. The soldier then relents, trying an Xhosa meal called Isidudu.

The soldier then attempts to eat, though her bites are filled with hesitation and regret for her actions. She becomes afraid, unable to hide her fear of eating, and Shuri comforts the soldier before beginning to question her about her previous identity before HYDRA. The soldier indicates that she was born into HYDRA, which Bucky quickly quips about much to Shuri's chagrin.

Shuri then shows the soldier a list of CIA emblems for each branch, asking if any of them are familiar to the soldier, and the soldier points out the Directorate of Science and Technology emblem. Bucky becomes intrigues, but when he further questions the soldier, the solider becomes withdrawn in fear of being punished for remembering.

She becomes hostile after Shuri praises her, stating that what they are talking about isn't relevant to the mission, and Shuri vaguely replies in turn. Shuri then asks why the soldier is nervous when it comes to food, in which the soldier explains that HYDRA has instilled into her that food is a luxury that must be earned. Shuri encourages the soldier to eat whenever she wants to, indicating she has autonomy and freedom to eat, and the soldier shyly asks for more food after.

After retrieving another portion of food for the soldier, Bucky and Shuri attend a meeting with T'Challa, Okoye, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Natasha Romanoff about the soldier. Bucky reveals that he isn't convinced by the soldier's act, and points out that the soldier is only bluffing so that she has an advantage to complete her mission. Tony then asks why they do not call her out on the lies, and Shuri reveals that she is manipulating the soldier as well. She explains that if she can establish some sort of trust and get the soldier enough rehabilitation to formulate a sense of independence and autonomy from HYDRA, then the soldier may be more likely to leave HYDRA.

Bucky recalls the man from the soldier's memories as Jack Rollins, who Natasha and Nick Fury had run into during the Project Insight incident with Alexander Pierce. Since he was last known to be alive, Tony and Shuri elect to run biometric recognition programs all around the globe to try to find the man.

The avengers further discuss the safeguards that Shuri has placed, and she reveals that as long as the soldier doesn't experience extreme emotional duress, the likelihood of her programming being triggered is low. However, the safeguards are not meant to stay active for long, and there is a maximum of a month until the safeguards wear off.

TRANSLATIONS:

Isidudu - a creamy porridge made with mealie meal. It is a common breakfast in Xhosa and Zulu households.

Isithunzi - Xhosa for shadow/shade, the Soldiers nickname

TAGLIST: @mgchaser @tilldeathripsusapart @vicmc624 @aash3

[fictionfixations]

ive been going through the artbook with like a translation app

slowly because i keep hitting low battery

but so

ive learned like. a lot of things. (feel free to correct me, i dont know korean me is using translation from translator app that sometimes translates different things depending on how focused the characters are in the image)

this is really more for my sake so i just have a list of this compiled for me to go back to instead of hunting down the pages all over again with my phone out cause the app drains my battery FAST 😭

there is stuff ive glossed over tho or didnt include

mainly ivan focused because he's my favorite

for some reason i started adding stuff about round 6 while i was in the middle of stuff for round 3 💀??

also ive only just realized that when it says unknown its probably referring to mizi so im just sat here like how many times has it referred to 'unknown' earlier and it was actually mizi i cant remember 😭 i was just rolling with it like unknown? sure

(1) apparently theres like a 'crack' that happened in like the wall. there are ghost stories spread about it so not many go there but theres like a hidden passage. but so ivan was very curious about till and led him to that crack. seeing him get back up over and over to protect mizi made him realize the uniqueness of till, that he couldnt be till or understand him so it led to that curiosity turning into obsession. also the monster there is for security purpose)

(2) when till was being discounted (sold) and ivan had been like sold(??) or something in the slums they saw each other once. then they forgot that was their first meeting im going insane i remember reading this but i cant remember what page and i cant find it??? i want to recall what circumstances ivan was in 💀 cause like for all i know he was taken out for a walk or something IDK MAN 😭😭😭

(3) ivan having had a rough childhood in the slums was able to get the upperhand on fighting till (when they beat each other up and ivan was smiling), to which till unaware of his past and just thought ivan was naturally good at it also to ivan, hitting till was expressing his feelings, and that till was someone who accepted those feelings, which attracted him. ..?

(4) ivan having been underfed in the past, made him smaller than the other kids but as he grew he ended up catching up to till's height (also i dont think he had his fang when he was younger. if you look at ivan at (2) there was like a note about his tooth not there yet or something in the artbook)

(5) He also kept close to Till like he wanted him to know he existed, and as his expression as a child was blank, Till couldn't understand him at all.

(6) The way Ivan looks at Till is a little too creepy to be defined as love, and that his one-sided feelings for Till eventually became an indescribable concept.

(7) Kissing was an unfamiliar act to modern humans. There'd been a time where kissing on the cheek was popular in Anakt Garden, which lingered in Ivan's mind and gave him an idea. It shouldn't be just a kiss, Ivan concluded. It's a section where various emotions were driven to act. ("Thank you for being the victim of my shallow emotions" still has me breaking im) (I would also like to mention there was like a comic or something about Ivan asking Till for a kiss on the lips, and that other people have been doing it) (I'm relying on the translator app but I also saw this translation first so)

(8) It's described as Ivan acting like a child, unilaterally pouring out his feelings to Till 💀 (when kissing him)

(9) his outfit on round 3 has symbols of the brands that he's sponsored by, and show that he's 'being sold as a product'

(10) in the slums, when being held over like the edge due to the anger of a dealer, he faced the fear of death at such a young age that it stuck with him, that death was always near him. the shooting stars that then appeared stayed with him unconsciously (the translation it gives me is "the ecstasy faced with death took place intensely in Ivan's deep unconsciousness.")

(11) ivan gradually feels anger and affection towards till to where its hard to tell when his feelings started and eventually it turns into obsession

(12) the lyrics of black sorrow dont fully explain him. in the last chorus he recalls the start of his old emotions, showing affection for a brief moment before returning to reality

(13) originally the relationship between ivan and till overlapped too closely with mizi and sua so it was changed to be about like possessiveness control and obsession

anyway the only thing i havent checked so far is like pages 240+

other things: ??? when was i gonna learn freddie(?) apparently was a father to two wtf till did you just orphan children 💀

in the sort of like detention room(??), the only sound you can hear is your breathing

tills clothing in round 6 is meant to signify that hes become kind of more obedient? he doesnt believe mizi died but he is like a lot more subdued. also tills shoes are apparently made of metal wtf (which shows urak's lack of care for him)

SORRY??? WAS THE SONG TILL WAS MADE TO SING BE MY CLEMATIS????

if i look at whats in in <> are and compare it to the korean characters of My Clematis.. yeah. thats my clematis alright. oh damn.

he refused to though and i guess we have more context why but holy fuck man.

originally started because i wanted to share my findings about till being told to sing my clematis, and also apparently that we couldve gotten mizisua but ivantill and i need someone to make an au of that so i can live in denial that its one-sided 💀

then i just ended up compiling a good chunk of the stuff about ivan from the artbook

[cripplecharacters]

Hello! I just found your blog and I have a lot to ask. (So. Sorry about the upcoming wall of text)

I have a few questions for writing a character with disabilities

I am attempting to write a character in his teens (around 16-17 years old) with joint problems (most likely osteoarthritis, although I haven’t fully decided yet.) I have done some research on my own, but I am physically abled and therefore cannot fully get into the headspace of this character. Are there any small details or common experiences that might be useful for me to add when writing this character so I portray their disability better? (So their experience with disability feels more realistic and less like the checklist of common symptoms from various medical websites? )

As well, the story leans more towards the genre of action and as thus, this character would have been very athletic before developing this disability, and would probably still be after. Do you have any tips for writing an physically active character with (joint problem based) disabilities?

And finally: are there any stereotypes, misunderstandings or other common issues that occur in writing disabilities I should know about (so I can avoid accidentally using them) I do not want to unintentionally promote misconceptions or anything harmful in my work, but I also am aware that I am physically abled and therefore will have unconscious biases + will not be as good at noticing issues in how I write disabled characters as I would like to be. So. Essentially, what common problems with writing disabilities should I know to avoid?

(Additional information: this character would have had this disability for a few years before the story began, it isn’t new; he would be a part time cane user and have knee braces.)

- overexcited anon

Hello, lovely anon! So, a couple of things that I think are important with something like arthritis, whether osteoarthritis or inflammatory arthritis, is that arthritis is a dynamic disability. Some days it may be more severe and disabling than others. It is always around - your character will have a baseline level of pain, but your character will also likely have "flare ups" as well where the pain and symptoms such as swelling or stiffness are more severe. Arthritis also changes how the joint looks so that's something to keep in mind. People can have arthritis in certain joints or in multiple joints, or an inflammatory arthritis that affects significantly more areas.

I will also say that osteoarthritis is rare in someone younger unless it is connected to another disorder, such as a joint misalignment or a connective tissue disorder. I personally have Osteoarthritis at 25 due to a connective tissue disorder in my hands and knees. I would think about what joints are affected primarily and how the person may accommodate that - if it's their hands, that affects a lot of fine motor skills. If it's their back, how do they deal with sitting for long periods? If it's their hip or hips, how do they accommodate themself? You mentioned knee braces, so I assume it mainly affects his knees, so that would affect stairs and walking especially.

As for being physically active, it's mainly remembering that sometimes being active has a cost - light physical activity is recommended for arthritis but more severe activity could cause a flare up in the days after. We have a #combat and disability tag that may help to look through, as well!

The main stereotype for arthritis is that it mainly affects the elderly or is not something that young people get. There are so many types of arthritis as well - osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, etc. There's also a stigma or belief that arthritis is not disabling - it absolutely is and can be. It's a disorder that has levels of severity as well, with some minorly affected and some majorly affected. It's important to decide where on this spectrum your character is.

I hope this helps and happy writing!

-Mod Bert

[acatinabox]

A collection of cultural and food suggestions related to Antiva

From an Italian amateur writer.

Big disclaimer: I am not trying to claim Antiva or his characters as Italian, if you want to see it more Spanish, be my guests. Things in the setting are ambiguous so let's make the most of this vagueness and make space for each others' headcanons.

That said, I'm Italian, and these are the things I can relate/speak about confidently, so I will. I do write Lucanis more Italian in my fanfiction because he was written as such in the Wigmaker Job and it was such a boon to feel represented in a piece of media I loved but I support fan creativity so do whatever you want.

Also these are generalisations. People are not a monolith, goes without saying.

Nobody asked for this, but I hope maybe it helps someone or is interesting.

With that out of the way, here's a collection of themes/suggestions that speak to me, and that might be useful if you want to write them in in your fanfiction and that aren't coffee or organised crime related.

The smell of soffritto at lunch time in the streets. People cook with their windows open when the weather allows it, and the smell of their food permeates the air. You can smell it from the street. Soffritto is the base of many Italian preparations and sauces, so it's a very familiar smell at lunch and dinner time. It's a mix of onion, celery and carrots minced and put in a pan to stir fry with olive oil. If you add a little bit of tomato sauce you make the most basic pasta sauce. Congratulations.

The smell of freshly made bread is fragrant and unique. Every region has its own type of bread and you can easily find a variety of them in most cities. Italian bread is fluffy and light and sometimes a bit dry. Potato bread is made in mountain areas. In the south, bread has a thick dark crust and an airy centre. We eat bread almost at every meal, it's just as iconic and pasta.

I can easily see Lucanis make his own pasta sauce and bread from scratch.

Speaking of bread, I can also see Lucanis make "scarpetta" after he finished eating, which means scraping the sauce from the plate with a bit of bread.

People make small talk in the streets or in the stores, sometimes with complete strangers. It's not a strict social rule but it happens quite often.

The Lucanis/Illario conversation in wigmaker job about not eating Antivan food abroad is the quintessential dynamic between the expat and the relative visiting who expects to not go out of their comfort zone. It happened to me more times than I can count.

Family functions can last all day, we can meet for lunch on a Sunday and spend the whole day together. If you get out of the table before 5PM on a holiday like Christmas or Easter frankly it means you failed as a host (harsh but true). More often than not you'll find yourself staying for a lighter dinner too.

The usual composition of a big meal is antipasto, first course, second course with a side, dessert, fruit, caffè ammazzacaffè. On normal days we only have a main, though.

Ammazzacaffè is the sacred ritual of the digestive after coffee (it literally means coffee killer). I mention it because it's mentioned in the game and in the short stories. It can be I think any strong liquor. We have it after a big lunch or in the evening, usually not at lunch on a working day. It kinda resets you, closes the meal.

Drinking wine has a big convivial function. Drinking alone is not something most people do often, we reserve it for social occasions and usually with a meal.

Dressing up is kind of expected in certain family functions and situations. Not in all families and not at all occasions but I can see it would be expected especially in high society.

Veneto, where RL Treviso is, is known for their creative swearing against god. I can absolutely picture Lucanis shout "by Ghil'an'ain's saggy boobs" or "by Elgar'nan's dried balls" when angry. Honestly go wild, please make up some insults for them and tell me about them (also sorry for the apostrophes, I don't know where they go).

We have a chocolate bonbon, Baci (means kisses), that have paper slips with sappy, romantic quotes in them. Some of Lucanis's phrases remind me of that. I think he'd be a fan and note down his favourite quotes. It's a dark chocolate bonbon with a soft heart and a hazelnut inside.

I said I wouldn't mention coffee but I lied. In some Italian cities there's the tradition of caffè appeso (hung coffee). Someone pays for coffee for themselves and for someone else they don't know that might want one and not be able to afford it. It's adorable and I can see Lucanis do it exaggeratedly all the time because he seems quite generous.

I think I'm done for now and maybe more people will jump up in the mentions or the replies to add their own useful things. I'll try to add some if they come to mind!

[weveseenallthegreenery]

Mel Medarda seeks out Viktor after discovering her arcane talents — Filler Smut

I was originally contemplating having this part be an archive of our own exclusive considering it has a different tone from the rest of the story and doesn't contribute much of anything to the plot, but my friend convinced me that you FREAKS would probably like it since most of you don't read the fic in order anyway.

nsfw | filler content | 1438 words | light smut | shortfic | basically not edited | won't be linking the rest of the series on this post

A few days ended up turning into a few weeks, and I could tell that Jayce fell into the same trap that I did. I had come here for comfort and ended up liking the interaction so much that I couldn’t leave. Jayce had come here to do something uncomfortable and ended up not being able to do it because he knew that the people around him loved him. He hadn’t intended to stay long but ended up falling into routine with us, the same way that I had when it was only Viktor and me.

The three of us had even started to sleep in bed together. Before now, Viktor would occasionally cuddle me if one of us was in a bad mood. He initiated affection often when I was tired or uncomfortable, but other than that, he wasn’t much of a cuddler at all. However, ever since Jayce came, we had all been inseparable. Jayce usually slept in the middle—sometimes swapping with me—and held onto Viktor as I held onto him. It was nice. It was comfortable. It did, unfortunately, remind me of our old trysts, though.

This was one of those days that I had woken up before the others. It didn’t happen often as Viktor would usually rise early to finish a lot of the simpler chores and make sure that we had enough food for breakfast. However, I was grateful for when it did happen because I got to look at the two men next to me and just… think about the situation I was in. I had found out some of the most horrible, traumatizing information about myself after being kidnapped. I ran away to find the only person who could understand me. I told off my mother. And then my ex-lover had found his way to us and joined us in our little community.

Things had come about in a rather awful way, but I couldn’t say that I wasn’t content with the way things were going. I really liked being reconnected with Jayce. He and I ended on the wrong foot, but I never truly stopped caring about him—I cared about him a little too much, actually. And I wasn’t quite sure if his decision to stay was a testament to his still having affection for me or his liking for Viktor. I feared that it may have been the latter, but I didn’t mind.

I had also started to feel myself become drawn to Viktor. I had realized this before Jayce joined us at the commune, but the feelings definitely became more potent after watching the man I had grown to be affectionate with caress the man that I had bedded in the past. Although the interaction was never anything but wholesome, it made a pool of warmth fill my gut.

I’d been left wanting a lot lately, not having much time to myself. Although I was still in bed with the others, I figured that maybe it would be okay just this once, since they were asleep and all. I held my hand in front of my face, wondering if I should really go through with what I was thinking… My nails had gotten quite long since coming to the commune, and the color was starting to chip. I would have to ask Viktor to get my nails done when he woke up.

I slipped my hand under the blanket, trailing it down my stomach before reaching the hem of my shorts. I played with the fabric, still a bit nervous about my actions. I used my other hand to tug my shorts down a bit, making them feel less tight on my stomach before slipping my other hand under my shorts and into my panties. I couldn’t help but make a small noise of discomfort as I found my clit effortlessly, rubbing in a slow circle as I attempted to get myself off.

I knew that it would be difficult for me to cum without anything inside of me, but I didn’t have any toys at the commune and my nails were so sharp that I worried I might cut myself. This just had to do for now. It didn’t take very long for me to get wet, making it much easier for me to glide my fingers along the skin. It started to feel much more comfortable as I sped up, breath hitching as I tried not to move closer to either of the men—of course, this was the one time they had decided to let me sleep in the middle. I was two seconds away from release where I felt a thin arm wrap around my stomach under the cover and grab my arm. I halted my movement as Viktor hummed, “What’re you doing?”

I didn’t know what to say. I felt like I couldn’t breathe as the heat rose all the way from my core to my face. This was possibly the most embarrassing thing I’d ever experienced in my life as I attempted to roll over so that I was facing The Herald.

“Don’t you know it’s not polite to touch yourself next to someone’s sleeping body?” The man raised an eyebrow at me, but he didn’t actually look all that mad. In fact, he looked almost amused to have caught me. His voice was low and teasing as he hummed, “You weren’t even hiding it well. You were moving your hand so fast that your whole body was practically squirming.”

“Well, not all of us are able to go months without release,” I huffed, trying to get my hand out of my pants, but Viktor pushed it back.

He hummed and closed his eyes, “Don’t stop on my account. By all means, do whatever you need to do.”

“You are not asking me to masturbate in front of you,” I scoffed and rolled my eyes, tugging on my hand once more. He didn’t fight it this time, clearly not wanting to make me uncomfortable despite the playful banter.

“Unless you want my help…” He started.

That’s all it took for everything to snap into place. Less than five minutes after he uttered those words, he was on top of me, kissing my neck as I tried not to moan. He had completely taken off my shorts and panties, fingers moving inside of me with ungodly precision. I dug my fingers into his back, “Fuck… you’re gonna wake up Jayce. Slow down a little.”

“Hmm, maybe we should wake him up,” Viktor mumbled against my skin. “You didn’t seem to mind playing with yourself next to him, so what’s the difference if I help you out a little bit?”

My eyes rolled as his fingers sped up, pressure building up in all the right places, “Viktor—Stop, I’m gonna…”

I gasped, legs spasming as I came around his fingers. A string of moans left my lips as he rode me through my orgasm. I was trying to be quiet, but it was practically impossible at this point. I wasn’t surprised when Jayce’s eyes opened.

At first, he was just tired and confused about what all the noise was for. He rolled over and tried to wrap his arms around my stomach before he realized there was an extra body on mine. After a little bit of grumbling, his eyes widened. He was fully awake almost as soon as he realized what happened. He sat up quickly and asked, “What the fuck?”

“Good morning,” I hesitated. I felt so floaty and calm but knew the situation was bad. “Sorry.”

He frowned down at me before staring at Viktor with narrowed eyes, “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“You’ve already slept with her,” Viktor shrugged. “Besides, she was being all needy… it was probably best to give it to her right away.”

Jayce huffed and laid his head on my shoulder, “You didn’t have to leave me out…”

“I can make it up to you later,” Viktor rolled off of me, laying his head on my other shoulder as he moved his slick hand to Jayce’s bicep. “You know you’re not mad at me. Not really.”

Jayce leaned over me to place a gentle kiss to Viktor’s mouth—which was the first time, to my knowledge, that they were physically involved. Viktor didn't hesitate to deepen the kiss almost immediately. A moan escaped Jayce’s mouth as Viktor reached his hand to the other side of the bed to grab Jayce’s ass, pulling him close to my side and forcing me to feel his morning wood press against my skin. This was going to be a long morning.

[bonewaryreblogs]

I know it's very soon after my last post, but I think I've mostly got a working timeline

There are more specifics I could get into, but I tried to limit the info in this particular timeline to what's super important and identifiable. Like, I have a whole other post I could make about the Justice Society of America and how it led to the creation of the Justice League, or how Amity Park was founded and by whom, but trying to put it all here would be too cumbersome.

My main sources for general info is whatever I can find on the DC Fandom Wiki, as well as my experiences watching various DCAU media growing up and my favorite Batman show, The Batman from 2004 (good god, I didn't realize it was that old). I tried to fit Young Justice in here too, but it actually conflicts with the first two timelines more than I thought it would, so I might just use it for story ideas for after Danny gets adopted. The Wayne Family Adventures webtoon mostly just supplied the template for how I want them to end up by the time Danny enters the picture, leaving the "how did we get here" up to me, which this timeline hopes to solve.

Also, I couldn't find a good source for it, but supposedly Danny Phantom might have taken place in 2014? Which would've been the future for when it came out in 2004. I considered going with that, but ultimately I decided that DP happens in 2004, taking Danny about a year to establish himself before he gets adopted by 2005.

A big part of why I made this timeline in the first place was to make sure I know how old everyone is when things happen, which is why I put their ages everywhere.

1920s - Martha Clark and Jonathan Kent are born sometime in this decade.

1939 - Alfred Pennyworth is born.

1940 - James “Jim” Corrigan (30) “died” and became the Spectre with Aztar, the Vengeance of God. The Justice Society of America is formed, though they are sometimes called the All-Star Squadron when working with those not formally inducted as members of the JSA (including those with and without superpowers).

1952 - The Kents (~30s) are told they cannot have children biologically. Shortly thereafter, they find the Kryptonian baby Kal-El, rename him Clark Kent after Martha’s maiden name, and adopt him as their own son.

1957 - Alfred (18) joins the British military.

1960 - Bruce Wayne is born. Vlad Masters is born.

1961 - Jack Fenton is born. (Google says his birthday is October 2, 1971, but that would make him like 10 when the Ghost Portal Prototype fails, so I’m just gonna set it back an extra decade lol)

1963 - Maddison Elliot is born. (Google says her birthday is March 16, 1973, so same deal as Jack)

1964 - After many misadventures in England, Alfred (25) takes over as the Wayne Family’s butler from his late father. (Bruce 4)

1968 - 8 year old Bruce’s parents are killed. (Alfred 29)

1970 - After 2 years of flailing, Bruce (10) decides to travel the world and learn martial arts, among other things.

1971 - Barbra Gordon is born.

1974 - Dick Greyson is born.

1977 - Jason Todd is born. Superman (25) debuts in Metropolis, inspiring Bruce (17) to change his plans to become a superhero rather than a crime boss. Obviously there were other superheroes around at this time, but none gripped Bruce like Superman did. He will never, ever admit this.

1978 - Superman (26) is quickly inducted into the Justice Society of America.

1980 - Stephanie Brown is born. Cassandra Cain is born. Bruce (20) returns to Gotham and starts his career as Batman. He begins cutting through red tape to regain control of Wayne Enterprises. Meanwhile, Vlad (20), Jack (19), and Maddie (17) are all at the University of Wisconsin and build the prototype Ghost Portal, which fails catastrophically, causing several important chain reactions; Vlad is blasted with Lazarus Water, the Ghost Zone comes into existence, Vlad falls ill, Amity Park’s Lazarus Pit dries up, Pariah enters the Ghost Zone and declares himself Ghost King, etc.

1981 - Tim Drake is born. Disenchanted with the JSA, Superman (29) starts figuring out how to create his own, international superhero team.

1982 - Bruce (22) adopts Dick Greyson (8) after his parents die publicly.

1983 - Vlad (23) discovers he has “ghost powers” and starts figuring out how to use them. Dick (9) discovers Bruce’s (23) secret and Bruce begins training him.

1984 - Bruce (24) finally lets Dick (10) join him on the streets as Robin. Batman and Superman (32) meet for the first time (which plays out similar to how they meet in “The Batman”).

1985 - Bruce takes over Wayne Enterprises just in time for his 25th birthday. With the company secured, Bruce no longer has to prove himself as responsible and plays up his image as a playboy philanthropist to throw off rumors that ditzy but well-meaning Brucie Wayne couldn’t possibly be the dark and brooding Batman.

1986 - Superman (34) approaches Bruce (26) with his plan for the Justice League, hoping Wayne Enterprise would agree to be the “secret” benefactor. Bruce says he’ll think about it. Barbra Gordon (15) takes the name Batgirl for the first time. (Alfred 47, Bruce 26, Dick 12)

1988 - Jasmine Fenton is born. Cass (8) kills someone for the first time, is horrified, and runs away from her assassin father.

1989 - Duke Thomas is born.

1990 - Daniel Fenton is born.

1991 - Jason Todd (14) tries to steal the Batmobile’s tires after his father is sentenced to prison time, putting him on Batman’s radar. (Alfred 52, Bruce 31, Dick 17, Barbra 20)

1992 - Dick (18) decides to strike out on his own as Nightwing. Jason Todd (15) catches the eye of Talia Al Ghul. Shortly after, Jason’s (step-)mom dies of a drug overdose while his father is still in prison so Bruce adopts him, making Jason the second Robin.

1993 - With Nightwing (19) established and able to take over many of Batman’s (33) responsibilities in Gotham, Bruce asks Clark Kent (41) if he’s still interested in his Justice League idea, which he’s now had 7 more years to refine. Global threats had become more common (which threatened Gotham vicariously and he wasn’t confidant he could take them on by himself) and the JSA had become too entangled with the USA government for anyone’s liking. Now was prime pickings for upcoming talent that had grown up with the idea of superheroes as a necessary force in the world that could see the limitations of government funded (and therefore government controlled) superhero teams.

1994 - Stephanie Brown (14) became Spoiler to “spoil” her father’s criminal career as Cluemaster. After his capture and imprisonment, Bruce (34) “convinced” Spoiler to “retire”, though Barbra (23) kept in contact, as did Dick (21) and Jason (17) to a lesser extent. Steph continued to train on her own, planning to rejoin the hero scene when she was a bit older. The Justice League debuts, led by Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman, along with half a dozen other members, though their ranks would quickly expand.

1995 - Jason dies at 18. Talia Al Ghul seduces the grieving Bruce (35) to get Jason’s body, accidentally-on-purpose getting pregnant along the way. Jason had unfortunately been dead for a few months by then; however, he was too angry and stubborn for his spirit to move on, which allowed him to be revived via Lazarus Pit. He still came back pretty zombified, though, so Talia used magic to help restore the connection between his mind/soul and his body, and had him train with the League of Assassins to keep him sharp. Part of Bruce’s grief spiral was to throw himself into Justice League work. (Alfred 56, Dick 21, Barbra 24)

1996 - Bruce (36) is spiraling from his loss when Tim Drake (15) basically forces himself onto Batman as the third Robin.

1997 - Cassandra Cain (17) arrives in Gotham, trying to keep a low profile but couldn’t help but save Commissioner Gordon from her assassin father, putting her on Batman’s (37) radar. After Barbra (26) is paralyzed and forced to retire as Batgirl, she asked Bruce to offer Cass the title in her stead, taking on the role of “man in the chair” with the name Oracle. Barbra also pressures pretty much everyone to train with Steph (17), since she can’t anymore.

1998 - Jason (21) returns to Gotham as the Red Hood. (Alfred 59, Bruce 38, Dick 24, Barbra 27, Tim 17, Cass 18)

1999 - Cass (19) takes on the name Black Bat, giving the title Batgirl to Steph (19) as she (re)makes her superhero debut.

2000 - Settling into more of an anti-hero role after getting rid of (most of) his hatred for Bruce for not avenging him, Jason (23) has turned his sights on Crime Alley, doing whatever he feels is necessary to make it safer for the families (but especially the kids) that are forced to live there. He unknowingly is fulfilling Bruce’s original plan of becoming a crime boss and dissecting Gotham’s crime problem from the inside out. (Alfred 61, Bruce 40, Dick 26, Barbra 29, Tim 19, Cass 20, Steph 20)

2001 - I’m going to modify his story, but Duke Thomas (12) ends up on Bruce’s radar.

2004 - Danny Fenton (14) has an accident that gives him “ghost powers”. (Vlad 44, Jack 43, Maddie 41, Jazz 16)

2005 - Damian Wayne (10) becomes the fourth Robin, pushing Tim (24) to move out and become Red Robin instead. (Alfred 66, Bruce 45, Dick 31, Barbra 34, Cass 25, Jason 28, Steph 25, Duke 16, Danny 15, Jazz 17)

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Damian’s first, big, world-ending crisis is barely a month or two after his arrival, when Cris Allen enlists the Batclan to help him fight Pariah Dark and they join Danny Phantom’s resistance.

I haven’t quite decided what will happen next but Batman figures out Danny isn’t fully dead like the rest of the inhabitants of the Ghost Zone and looks into it after Pariah is defeated. From here, I want it to take less than a year for Danny to be in Bruce’s custody. Duke (at 16) is recruited around the same time as Danny (still 15), so both of them begin training together. I’m sure Bruce wouldn’t mind pulling some strings to get Jazz (17) into a college in Gotham, potentially getting her to study under Barbra/Oracle.