#the rest will be from a multitude of fandoms that i know of and is a part of or if it strikes my fancy

[valenishere]

continuing from the self indulgent thing...

I have like... stories about that already. Like legit stories for the Fragments(its how i usually refer to the incarnations of this sona) in my notes and word documents. I have like... up to fragment six? It's really fun doing it. I'll post it once i clean it up a bit out of my notes. I'll probably make it into more of a headcannon writing style to make it easier to consume(and for myself becaue writing that many novel fleshed stories will kill me faster than college finals).

[orbch]

people talking about analogical and being like “their identities balance each other out really well” and im like NO KIDDING!!!! 😂🤣

anways heres an essay about their storylines and how they mirror each other

(everything im about to say is very mentally unconstructed and thought up in a 3am haze. and also i feel like all of my thoughts abt sasi are stagnant and surface level so please argue with me if you think im wrong..) (also these ideas have likely already been written a bajillion times. but let me do it anyway LOL)

^ with that being said i feel the need to set a definition on what makes sasi sides “dark sides” and “light sides” because like,, to me the only difference between them is the means in which they get the rest of the sides to listen to them

obviously.. none of the sides are actively trying to be evil. or trying to hurt cthomas on purpose. OBVIOUSLYY. because why the hell would they want to do that? they are all literally That Guy, and all of the sides have their own personal goals for thomas that they want him to follow. this is like. the plot. and very known information..

but remus, janus, and formerly virgil are the “dark sides”… like what? because janus manipulated and pretended to be the other sides because thats the only way he could get the others to really listen to and consider his ideas of self preservation and prioritization? and virgil would actively terrorize the others and thomas to get him to be anxious about the stuff virgil believed it was IMPORTANT for him to be anxious about? and remus. listen remus is a whole lot of “being awful for the sake of being awful” but evidently in DWIT he has a strong attraction to the idea of infamy and legacy. so even he is sort of looking out for thomas in. uhm. his own way i guess…

so obviously we know virgils storyline was;

purposely scare the others to get them to see situations from his point of view -> always get insulted and pushed away for being a “pessimist” (its his entire purpose) -> “duck out” and leave thomas and the others to discover the negative affects of zero anxiety -> only after that, finally become recognized as an important aspect of thomas

tw: mention of suicide [not in detail] (and on that note, i think its a little morbid that the light sides only fully realized virgils worth and objective after he attempted the sanders sides equivalent of suicide (which you can NOT convince me isnt what the concept of “ducking out” is. they are all metaphysical personifications of instinctual human traits. what the hell are they gonna do? become real and walk out of the house? bffr))

and whats logans journey?

be considered the [reasonable problem solver] of the group -> be placed in a MULTITUDE of situations where the range of solutions are emotions v. emotions v. emotions and suddenly be considered “cold hearted” and “uncaring” for your objective view points -> get excluded from discussions and ignored when you try and help in the only way you know how -> ???

i (and most of the fandom) fully believe logan (ESPECIALLY after WTIT) is going to start resorting to some pretty drastic measures to be acknowledged by the rest of the sides + thomas. some actions that are likely incited by a “dark side” (nudge nudge the orange guy nudge nudge). and if the harshness of the measures he takes in order to be listened to is all it takes for the rest of the dark sides to be considered “dark sides” in the first place. then uhh well… well!!!

but anyways yeah. yeah. logan and virgil kinda have mirrored character development and that is so fucking interesting. virgils path from dark to light and logans path from light to dark… sighhh.. good stuff

[myfandomrealitea]

ok I’ll be honest, I was one of the people who approached your safe space post with the mindset “yeah, but…” like, I now whole-heartedly agree that there should absolutely be fandom spaces devoid of real world issues. We all need our spaces to rest and relax. I think I just felt weird about your post because previously ive been in fandom spaces which did operate on the (perfectly fine) rule of ‘no politics’…but ‘politics’ would also include talking about a gay ship or any queer headcannons.

That obviously wasn’t fair to you because you obviously didn’t mean that w/ your post, but I can personally see as to why some people would feel that way if they were in similar fandom spaces. I do still want to reiterate I do agree with your post and I think some of the rebloggers took it…a bit far? Like Jesus Christ some of y’all need to eat a snickers. I also think some of the wording like “bitching about world issues” and “whining about their shitty parents” might’ve thrown me off but that’s not your fault and really a non-issue 🤷🏽‍♀️

you can delete this ask if you want I really won’t mind, I think I can just see as to why there were so many ‘yeah, but…’ rebloggers.

I actually really appreciate asks like this. For a multitude of reasons, but also because it gives really good insight and outer perspective for both me and other people who are aware of or involved in the discussion.

I think what a lot of people don't yet grasp about me is that while I may hold an opposing view to yours (general, not directed), in the vast majority of cases I still very much understand why people would think the way they do and where that thought process comes from and goes.

Its very, very easy to fall into the mindset of thinking that not helping when you have the ability to makes you a bad person or however in/directly causes suffering. Its very easy to be in the mindset of one single individual making a magnitude of difference.

I fully and genuinely understand and comprehend a lot of the points being brought up.

I just don't agree with them and hold a different outlook on those issues.

For example:

Talking about enjoying a queer ship to me is not 'political' in the sense that, personally, if you're a homophobe and upset by generic conversations about queer people, I really could not give a fuck. And if you raise objections to me talking about two dudes kissing, I'm simply going to remove you from my space because clearly it is not beneficial for either of us to share it. And I made it.

Its obviously very very much down to personal discretion to decide where that line is and what that bracket encompasses, but I think the most universal aspect of that safe space post was trying to get people to understand that forcing others to suffer in solidarity isn't activism and that strangers are not obligated to allow you to use them as support and a dumping ground for your needs.

Spreading around videos of people's dead loved ones isn't activism.

Spamming taglines and buzzwords on completely unrelated posts and videos isn't activism.

Relying on complete strangers for emotional and mental support and regulation while dumping vulnerable, graphic, personal information on them is neither safe nor healthy.

People are not obligated to smother or confine their happiness because of your misery. If you're having a bad day you have no right to tell other people they can't be happy in front of you.

A lot of people, mostly white knighters and people of color took the post as "a white privileged pig saying its okay to let racism slide because you want to play your video games" (actual hate mail I received) and that's so laughably and wildly far from the actual basis of the post.

I've had bigots in my servers before. Homophobes or racists who've slipped through the cracks.

You know what happens when they say something homophobic or racist?

They're immediately removed, blocked and reported, and their information is placed in a private document I keep. I issue an apology to the members of the server for their actions, and life goes on.

People are, of course, entitled to take the post as they see fit. They're entitled to their own perspectives and opinions. I'm more than happy to simply focus on the people who have taken support, guidance and solace in the post.

[midnight-pluto]

I have returned for the 400 followers event and humbly request for an x gn reader

Fandom: PJO

Format: One shot

Character: Grover underwood or Annabeth chase

Plot/Prompt?: Reader who is a monster, but is docile and when (character) encounters them, they think the reader is going to harm a demigod they're near in a school

(Idk if that made sense but you can avoid the plot and just have the prompt of monster reader)

- PJO asker

VIBES — annabeth chase

TROPES: crack, pining

PAIRING(S): book!annabeth chase x gn!monster!reader

UNIVERSE: canon-divergent

WARNING(S): swearing, can be read as platonic, reader has sharp teeth

A/N: i wasn’t entirely sure what kind of monster to make reader, so i left it as ambiguous as possible

IT WAS NEARING the end of the day when Annabeth looked out her classroom window.

She’s grown accustomed to the sight of monsters whenever she was simply attending to daily tasks, but the sight of a monster laying under a tree comfortably wasn’t one of them.

Normally she would pay no more attention than needed to the monster as school was about to end and she could easily take care of it, but this was around the third time she's seen this specific monster.

How could she tell?

Well, when she looked away from the window and continued to scribble down some more math equations into her notebook and looked back, it seemed that there was only another student on their break period.

A very familiar student, that she's seen a multitude of times. Like sitting outside an ice cream parlor, petting a nearby stray cat, and very ominously sitting on a swing set late at night in a park.

Monsters didn't have the ability to change their appearances that the mist showed, so it was obvious that it was the same monster.

Annabeth impatiently tapped her pencil against the desk in thought, wanting the day to end already so she can go deal with the monster outside. Her thoughts were no longer preoccupied on how to solve the equations on the board, but why the monster was behaving the way it was.

Usually monsters didn't have the intellect to bide their time or have any regards to the nearby surroundings, so why was this one just sitting there?

It could possibly be that they did in fact have the brains to observe her every move and study her, but then why would they choose to attack her in an extremely public setting?

Thinking about it just asked more questions than answered, which isn't what she wanted at all.

Silently sighing to herself, she just continues to try and solve the written problems in front of her as a means to distract her mind.

Clicking her mechanical pencil once, a voice interrupts the silence.

"The bells about to ring, so whatever you didn't finish in class will be homework."

Sighing outwardly, she begins to pack up all of her things into her backpack like the rest of her peers. Looking back out the window, she sees that the monsters position hadn't changed one bit and narrows her eyes in thought.

Thankfully, the rest of the class was busy conversing with each other or on their phones while the teacher didn't care enough about what she was about to do.

Cracking open the door, she looks both ways and walks out of the classroom. She could hear calls from inside the class but pays them no mind, her concerns and mind were elsewhere.

Stepping down the last step, the bell rings and she's the first one out of the building, making a beeline to the monsters direction.

Slipping a hand into her pocket, she grips the handle of her knife knowing what she's dealing with.

However, she did in fact not know what she was dealing with.

Hearing the sound of footsteps in your direction, you slightly open your eye to see who was approaching. Inhaling slightly, you could automatically recognize that it was a demigod, a daughter of one of the olympians no less due to the powerful aura surrounding her.

Observing the nonchalance of the "student" in front of her, she stares down at them, trying to figure out how to first start up a conversation with them.

"So, you come here often?"

Nailed it.

"Nah, just came here for the food," you lazily reply, tired eyes staring back up at the girl in front of you.

Eyes widening at your choice of wording, Annabeth speaks up again, "Food?"

"Yeah, the cafeteria here is shit though. Took a bag of apple slices and saw that they were expired," you yawned, unintentionally showing off your sharp teeth to the demigod.

Grey eyes stared at them intently, not bothering to soften her word choice, "I thought you were going to talk about demigods."

"Nah, I'm just vibin' man," you shake your head.

She pauses for a second, "Vibing?”

"Yup," you nonchalantly nod.

"How am I supposed to know you're telling the truth? How do I trust that you aren't actually here to attempt to attack me?" she takes a defensive step back.

Humming in thought, you reply, "I would've done so already, simple. If you want me to go I will, no hard feelings. I understand your perspective on things right now."

"So, just like that? You're just going to leave if I asked you to?" Annabeth asked incredulously.

"I ain't tryin' to mess up anyone's vibe," you simply state, standing up from under the tree, dusting off any dirt left on you.

"What's the catch?" she deadpans.

"No catch. No deal," you shrug.

Looking you up and down she scoffs, "That's hard to believe."

"Well, maybe it could be a deal," you trail off.

Stiffening up, she tightens the grip on her blade, "What's the deal?"

"Are you a child of Athena, by chance?" you inquire.

Hesitating for a second, she responds, "Yes, what about it?"

"What's your name?"

"What?" she furrows her brows, trying to decipher what you were trying to get at.

"Your name, I wanna know what it is," you explain, but not in a menacing way, more so casually. As if you were actually a new student trying to make a new friend.

"...Annabeth."

"Annabeth," you trail off, "Oh! The architect of Olympus?”

"Yeah, what about it?" she asks, not prepared for your sudden interest in her reputation.

"Nothin,' just thought that that was cool," you explain, beginning to walk away from her.

"Where are you going?" she inquires, shocked at your sudden actions, "What about the deal you wanted to make?"

Looking over your shoulder back to her, "That was the deal. I just wanted to know your name."

A/N: women.

[princesssszzzz]

a lot of people were upset at character parallels being pointed out especially between Rhaena and Sansa since fandom has made Sansa à controversial character. They were mad and saying Sansa bullied Arya so Baela and Rhaena can’t be like them

I don’t know why people would get mad at that, that’s just how the characters were written. And that’s how they were portrayed on screen, even if fans choose to ignore that. It’s not verbatim they are copy and paste the same character with the exact same interactions with people. Sansa and Rhaena are still two different characters, they just happen to be written with parallels like Baela and Arya, and a multitude of other F&B characters. A good example of this is the Vale arc. Rhaena was not mistreated in the Vale and show!Rhaena I think will also have a great relationship with Jeyne Arryn, and that’s different than Lysa’s crazy behavior towards Sansa. So it’s two different relationships and experiences, but the parallel of them being in the Vale and separated from their family is still there. Also with the Hound and Corwyn Corbray. The Hound is TOTALLY different but it’s still a middle aged knight twice the age of the girls and they have some form of bonding.

Corwyn actually didn’t even need to exist, I think he was really just created for that parallel 😂 My favorite parallel is with Rhaena’s dragon and Lady. The fact that they died at a young age and then Rhaena and Sansa go on without their house sigil’s animal while the rest of their siblings still have them. Ned is also one of the better fathers in asoiaf universe but obviously we know Daemon is not. Rhaena also loses her mother alot sooner than Sansa loses hers, and Laena doesn’t come back like Lady Stoneheart but her dragon is still flying around 😭 Show sansa kinda touches on Jon being a bastard but Rhaena is in a situation where she can’t question the hair color or parentage of Jace or “tongues removed”

So there’s also lots of differences

[yourfellowhuman07]

RIGHT'S AND WRONGS' WEEK 2024

Welcome to the first R&W week: A week-long fandom event dedicated to the sibling relationship between Hordak and Wrong Hordak.

These two never got to interact in the show, so we fans might as well pick up the slack!

Writing/Art Prompts

Oct 13th: First Meeting

Oct 14th: Sibling Bonding

Oct 15th: Human AU

Oct 16th: Free Space

Oct 17th: Sibling Rivalry

Oct 18th: Wingman

Oct 19th: Boy’s Night Out

First Meeting—This can either be when Hordak and WH met after the war or a time they met in the past. Perhaps WH is not as young as we assume.

Sibling Bonding- A classic sibling moment between the clones (to varying degrees of success).

Human AU- A look into our world that would catalog their relationship. Are they siblings, cousins, or just friends?

Free Space- Any random idea you have that doesn’t quite fit in with the rest of the prompts.

Sibling Rivalry- This could be a time of petty banter or soul-crushing angst—your choice.

Wingman- Depending on your headcanon’s this could go multiple ways. Does WH help Hordak with Entrapta, does Hordak help WH with his love interest, or do they both help someone else (either a canon character or an OC maybe)?

Boy’s Night Out—This can include a multitude of characters and OCs trailing our siblings, or it could just be the two brothers. It’s completely up to you, especially if the night is a failure or a success.

Ground Rules

No NSFW content! This is an event to celebrate PLATONIC and SIBLING relationships!

Also, please don’t have any shipping between the clone brothers. I know they are clones but still.

Honestly, that was it. LETS HAVE FUN, OKAY! Be creative!

Things I encourage you to do

Add your clone Ocs in the mix (I know I will)

Add characters from the rest of the cast (Entrapta, Horde Prime, Adora, etc.)

Tag me in your work (I’d love to see it!)

[audiblehush]

Listen, Polin has been my Roman Empire for months now, but this fandom is WILDIN’.

Chunks of this fandom who claim to be Polin fans seem to hate either Colin or Penelope and I’m just like… why are you here, then, if you refuse to empathize or even TRY to understand either critical half of the pairing?

“Colin can’t see what’s in front of him and he insulted her in front of his peers!! GROVEL; I hope Pen moves onto Debling!!!”

First of all, you’re not a Polin fan if you hate Colin so much you want her to move on to someone else. Second of all: yeah, no. Yes,Colin put his foot in his mouth, arguably in a big way because of status, but plenty of people in real life have experienced saying something that came off poorly to a group of people. Everything we know about Colin’s character tells us he is going to feel horrible about it; he’ll apologize, MEAN IT, and she’ll forgive him. She has her own apologies to make.

Believe it or, it is NORMAL for people to grow into romantic feelings slowly. Stop punishing Colin for discovering who he is by experiencing his own character arc with his own mistakes. He’s allowed to have flaws; he’s allowed to work through his insecurities!

Tbh, most of the criticisms I see of Colin are pretty surface-level and petty, so I don’t give them much real estate in my brain because they’re just… bad, lol.

On the flip side -

“Penelope feels entitled to Colin’s feelings; she’s selfish and the fucking worst!!”

S3 Penelope: *overhears Colin say he would never court her; BELIEVES him - decides she’s going to stop wasting her time, move on, and look for a serious suitor and marriage prospect a) as is expected of her in this era and b) so that she has security, especially considering her family’s dire financial straits.*

“Oh my GOD, this is so anti-Polin, how could she POSSIBLY even THINK about accepting a proposal from anyone but Colin?! GTFO”

SIGH, 1) we have NO IDEA how this plot line is going to pan out: Lord Debling may or may not be serious about her, we don’t know what that even looks like, or for how long. The show synopsis historically likes to play with the fandom expectations a lot. He may possibly propose… and if he does, it would clearly exist as a sort of parallel to S1…. but 2) GOD FORBID Penelope entertain the idea, despite very real fears and evidence that would lead her thinking it would likely be her ONLY proposal… or that even if Colin proposed post heavy-petting session, how on EARTH could she think that he would be doing it out of honor-bound obligation and not love. 🙄 Her potentially considering a proposal isn’t anti-Polin; it’s a realistic response and consideration to two (and likely an additional half) seasons worth of external and internal stressors that are tying into her character development.

Penelope’s heart is fragile for a multitude of reasons due to her home life, her prior experiences with Colin and Eloise AND the rest of the ton - it’s incredibly frustrating for people to ignore why she would potentially not believe Colin even if he DID confess / give her a marriage proposal, just like it’s frustrating when people don’t try to understand why Colin might struggle with his own feelings.

Some of y’all really don’t understand people like Penelope who have been told their entire lives that they are not enough, are terrified of putting themselves out there by being emotionally vulnerable and potentially rejected for the fundamental aspects of who they are��� even though some of y’all claim to identify with Colin when he has his OWN STRUGGLES WITH SOME OF THESE SAME FEARS. And it’s almost worse because Pen is painfully SHY: You don’t just magically become confident one day because you decided to be; it is a constant battle against negativity that eventually becomes heavily internalized… it takes years of work unlearn those thought patterns, especially when you’re surrounded by people insulting and rejecting your to your face (her family) or behind your back (the way the ton talks about her family… it’s likely Pen heard gossip about herself, whether individually or as an extension of her family PLENTY)… with an added dose of also being ignored when not actively insulted.

It would not shock me at ALL if Penelope genuinely considers a Debling proposal. All of Colin’s actions in S1 and S2 have ultimately taught her that he is never going to return her feelings; she is likely going to be pretty oblivious to his own romantic realizations this season because why would she look for or entertain those hopes again? Some of y’all complain that she is selfish about Colin’s romantic feelings (which lol, I disagree strongly, but sure hypothetically, I’ll allow it) … so then when she tries to move on by listening to him and his actions she’s suddenly… punishing him and undeserving of him?? When she would have every reason to be skeptical of these feelings coming from seemingly nowhere when he starts of the season trying to find her a husband? NAH fam, she’s doing what anyone with any sense of emotional self-preservation would do: move on and try to be content, even if she knows she’ll always love Colin in her heart.

AND even if Penelope develops potentially fond feelings for Debling… do you really think it’s unrealistic for a 19 year old young woman who has done nothing but pine over a man who is oblivious to it (or worse, finds a romantic relationship with you laughable… in her eyes), who has not had ANYONE be romantically interested her… to maybe get a little fluttery around someone who is reasonably nice looking and shows her genuine interest right off the bat? Spoiler Alert: that is probably exactly what would happen because it’s a heady feeling!!!

This entire plotline is either a parallel to the Marina situation, or a reference to the book line that basically has Colin going “Oh shit, what if I had never realized Pen is the love of my life?? What if someone else had seen how amazing she was and snatched her up??” - Maybe it’s even both! Deep breath: it’s a just plot device for Polin to realize they’re made for each other.

Colin and Pen are going to be on their own journeys this season that fly in the face of what the other is going through. Colin is grappling with newfound romantic feelings for Penelope (while likely struggling to trust them because he thought he loved Marina but lol no he didn’t, so how is he supposed to know???) while also battling against former (and potentially current) impulsive actions… and Penelope is fighting for her LIFE trying to bury her feelings and move on because she’s trying to protect her heart because Colin literally said out loud he’d never want her AND she’s likely thinking of her security. They are both grappling with internal conflicts that oppose the other and THAT is what is going to make the tension and development so good… and that’s without even addressing all the LW stuff that needs to get worked through!

I need y’all to flex that empathy muscle a little and realize that this isn’t about fucking fan-service, or you projecting your own experiences onto these characters (or even the weird self-insert “I am/want to be this character” or “I want to fuck this character”) - you can relate to these characters but ultimately it’s about the STORY - it’s about exploring these characters realistically in how they would react to their own traumas and lived experiences, and how what they think they want/need comes into conflicts with their counterparts.

This is a romantic DRAMA, and these characters are going to have their ups and downs… and it’s a Shondaland drama for better or worse, so you KNOW it’s going to get messy (good lord just look at S2 and how far that “love” triangle went… I’m hopeful for the new show runner because she’s a fan).

Polin will be canon because they unreservedly CHOOSE the other and it will be glorious, so everybody chill the fuck out and stop shitting on my imperfect, emotionally fragile yet beautifully relatable, evolving lovers. They are the BEST fucking ship, but most of this fandom doesn’t deserve them tbh. They’re both messes in their own ways, and honestly? If they were real, neither Colin nor Penelope would tolerate this slander y’all are throwing at the other.

LEAVE COLIN AND PENELOPE ALONE AND LET THEM MUDDLE THEIR WAY TO TRUE LOVE. 🤬

[lappel-de-vidd]

helllooo!!! tysm for sticking around for the creepypasta fandom!! i want to know what your hcs are for eyeless jack if thats okayy!? 🙌🏻😋

That is SO okay actually I love eyeless jack!! This is my first time ever posting headcanons so pls pls bare with me! My au personally is mixed with fanon and canon.

EYELESS JACK HEADCANONS

—

General Hcs

• Jack is very very antisocial. He strays away from the rest. This is for a multitude of reasons. He tries his best not to talk to other “pastas” because as a human, and to this day, he has very strong morals. This also ties in with wanting to maintain his humanity as best as possible. His current state wasn’t his choice, and he won’t accept it.

• He’s kind of gloomy, sort of like eeyore in a way. He had his whole life ahead of him, about to finally graduate and be on his merry way. He blames himself a lot for being so easily swayed back then, which obviously resulted in his current state. He still gets to be a doctor, sort of.

• He has a hard time trusting people, especially humans. He has a kind of superiority complex with humans, although he wishes so deeply to be a human himself. He’s very contradictory, internally. But that comes with being something he’s so disgusted with.He’s a monster, a murderer. He didn’t exactly want to be a doctor to help people, more for money purposes, but that was still a reason. He’s doing sort of the opposite now.

• He tries to maintain his humanity as much as possible by being very “proper”, and keeping his kills as clean as possible. He usually doesn’t even kill the person, just snatches the kidney up. When he’s especially hungry however he goes straight into a feral state. Chernobog is very hard to control.

• Adding onto that, he ranges from being very weak to incredibly strong. When he resists chernobog, he’s very weak. But there are times where he’s too weak to resist and experiences violent blackouts. After these blackouts however his strength is regenerated entirely.

• Although I’m not doing him any justice, Jack is not a complete bore or snob. But he does have bad social skills and is not very equipped to deal with things like consolation or true vulnerability. He’s found somewhat friends with the rest of the “pastas”, mostly because he’s the resident doctor. Although he does feel disgusted when he remembers his friends have committed violent atrocities, out of their own will too!!

[gffa]

Hi there! I’m someone who’s been following you for Star Wars for a while but I’ve become really interested in your DC comics posting recently, and I was wondering - since the franchise has been going for so long and has so many instalments - what you would say to someone who wants to start reading these comics/watching the shows/movies but doesn’t know where to start? Have a lot of the comics been retconned? Is there a particular order one has to read in? Where does one even find these comics…?

My interest in this franchise was literally sparked by the Jason Todd telephone poll so I’m definitely interested in reading more about him - he seems like a character I’d like - and the rest of like, the… Batfamily, I think they’re called? I just have no idea where to start lol - my knowledge of DC is limited to seeing bits of Teen Titans GO when I walked past my little brother watching TV, and watching the Lego Batman movie with him xD

Also! If I’m correct, after observing the fandom, Talia seems like an interesting, complex female character (with some bad writing), like Padmé or Bo-Katan? I always love those kinds of characters, just wondering if I’d got the right impression of her.

Hi! You've got a solid idea of things so far, so hopefully, this shouldn't be too hard of a climb to get used to the structure! And I'll do my best to explain the structure of comics without getting too lost in the weeds about it. 😂

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW: In my view, comics aren't meant to be a single coherent whole and it's helpful to drop that idea before you get started because otherwise you'll drive yourself around the bend in a fruitless attempt to make everything line up neatly, when it just never will. There is no one single "true" version of the characters, there is no one single creator who is the highest authority on a character, no matter who created the character or even who is most famous for writing them, these are shared characters being written and drawn by a multitude of authors and artists who all have varying takes on them. The characters should stay true to a core personality and traits, but the flexibility of an author to write a character differently from the last person who wrote them is a feature not a bug imo. I like to think of comics as stories being told by different authors playing with action figures and we're in the audience enjoying these stories, regardless of how some authors fit really well together and others completely clash with each other. You can try to make them mesh (sometimes that's fun!) or you can just shrug your shoulders and pick what you like out of the pile of comics that have been handed to you (you'll probably drive yourself less over the edge this way!). Jason is particularly difficult on this aspect, because he often doesn't have a regular book to be written in and his overall place/point in the Batman comics is murky at best somedays and so he is wildly different from author to author. I personally enjoy this, because I think it works for Jason as a character who has some core beliefs, but also is kind of a mess who doesn't really know what he wants, so he veers wildly from one reaction to another. You can read comics in a variety of ways, but I genuinely do not recommend trying to read "in order" because it's a nightmare to try to keep track of everything once it's been a few years and the numbering of these series is the most confusing thing you'll ever meet. Instead, I think it's better to focus on picking up trades (collections of comics that originally came out in single issues, but are put together in a single volume that tells the whole story of that particular run) that sound interesting or come recommended. (And, honestly, it's not even satisfying even if you did do all the work to read them in order. Throw out the idea that comics have a coherent timeline, because they do NOT.)

CONTINUITIES AND DIFFERENT ERAS: The ONLY context I think you need (other than a general sense of the Batfam, we'll get there in a minute) is to understand that there are sort of four "continuities" that you're likely to run into, and this is EXTREMELY simplified/streamlined, so nerds don't come for me on this unless you have a better streamlined and simple version. 😂 - Anything published before 1985-1986 is all "Pre-Crisis" and while reading a lot of the older comics can be super fun, they're generally not super relevant to current comics - In 1985-1986, there was a comics event (an event is where multiple different comic books are all written to be part of a bigger storyline, whereas normally, they don't cross over that much, each book usually has its own self-contained storylines) called "Crisis on Infinite Earths" (which is different from "Infinite Crisis") that was basically a way for DC to streamline all the different versions of the characters running around into one manageable universe. This ran up until about 2011 and I'll often refer to it as the "preboot" or "post-Crisis" continuity. (This is where Jason's death happened, in the storyline "A Death in the Family".) - In 2011, DC wanted to reboot their entire universe with an event called "Flashpoint", with the purpose of creating an all new lineup of 52 comics that new readers could jump right into, which isn't a bad idea in theory. The problem was that people were really attached to the preboot versions of the characters, a lot of the Nu52 comics were really badly written, and there was almost no collaboration. You expect a certain amount of contradiction just by the nature of comics, but there were major issues with "nobody is talking to each other, so everything is a giant mess".

- In 2016, for a variety of reasons (probably including that sales for Nu52 had dipped back down pretty far again), DC rebooted their universe again, with "Rebirth", which is the continuity we're in now. I'm still catching up (I left when Nu52 happened) but I think a lot of preboot events are leaking back into the continuity, but that's not the same as saying it's equal to the preboot continuity in total. This is also the era that I generally talk about the most because I've found it genuinely the most engaging to get back into! Generally, as long as you understand those four eras of continuity, I think you'll be fine in understanding how things are put together. If you want to know where something falls, just check the date and that'll tell you! But, honestly, yeah, background details change all the time, so even within a single continuity there will be retcons--just that there are MASSIVE differences in the Nu52 era that might confuse you if you're unaware of the reboot shenanigans. (Or if you want to understand how Jason returned--like, preboot continuity has the explanation that Superboy Prime (don't ask) punched reality so hard that it shook Jason back to life, even if they never found out about it, that's what happened. I think Nu52 said Talia dug him up and put him in the Lazarus Pit? Don't quote me on that. I flamed out hard on Nu52. Rebirth continuity, they have no idea what the hell happened and I'm not sure there's an explanation. I just assume the Reality Punch leaked back in or something.)

SO, LIKE, WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THESE CHARACTERS? AS SHORT AS I CAN MAKE IT: - Bruce Wayne witnesses his parents being murdered in front of him and this traumatizes him so badly that he withdraws from life to obsess over it, eventually travelling the world for several years to learn every kind of skill he can, until he comes back to Gotham at, like 22 years old or whatever and becomes Batman to fight crime. The only rails on this ride is his butler Alfred who basically raises him from the time he's eight and Alfred is working MIRACLES here, but there's only so much even he can do. He is absolutely Bruce's father figure, even if they rarely frame it in those terms, because Thomas Wayne (Bruce's father) is such an important figure in their lives and because Alfred is extremely British. - Bruce is Batman for a few years, usually depicted as being super grimdark because he's shut his heart against loving anyone ever again because the pain is too much. But then one night he's at a circus performance and there's a terrible "accident" where a little 9 year old boy (shhhh we ignore any other versions than that he was nine, dammit, it's important for the thematic parallels!) witnesses his world-class aerialists parents falling to their deaths. Dick Grayson's grief and loss spark something in Bruce and he takes on this grieving, angry, brilliant little boy as his ward. Now, not even God can stop Dick Grayson, who is going to get justice for his parents' murder, so eventually Bruce reveals that he's Batman and Dick basically barges his way into creating his sidekick persona, Robin. Bruce is not a fan of this, but seriously. He couldn't have stopped that kid, he tried. He could only put a leash on him. Dick brings light and joy back to Wayne Manor and they have the most fascinating relationship--they're father & son, they're brothers, they're best friends, they understand each other like no one else does, they fight like no one else in that family does, they love each other, they're so angry at each other, they're co-dependent and absolutely batshit about each other, they basically raise each other from the time Dick came to Wayne Manor. - Dick eventually grows up and starts clashing with Bruce more, especially as he gains his independence. Different versions happen differently in different continuities, but eventually it hits a boiling point and either Bruce fires him as Robin or Dick quits because he can't deal with this. He goes off to become Nightwing, while Bruce eventually meets another kid who (in the most common version) tries to steal the Batmobile's tires because he needs the money. Circumstances happen, Bruce eventually ends up adopting Jason Todd, who becomes the next Robin. Things are relatively stable for awhile, until Jason learns about his birth mother and runs off to try to reconnect with her, except the Joker's got his sticky fingers all up in this situation, and it results in Jason dying in the exploding building.

- Bruce is Not Doing Well after this, so in comes our favorite horrible little stalker gremlin Tim Drake, who hunts down Dick Grayson and says, hey, you gotta become Robin again because Batman's going to get himself killed if you don't. Dick is like, no, I fucking do not. Tim responds with, well, guess I gotta do it myself then and basically barges his way into being the next Robin. He bonds with Dick as a brother (who is far and way Tim's favorite, imo), he does his best to be as good of a Robin as he can be. - Things are better after that, they're fairly well into Batfamily territory by this point. Jason comes back and, originally, it was supposed to be a trick, it was a villain pretending to be him, but was later retconned to actually be Jason who came back and... it's complicated. I don't think they really knew what to do with him once he came back, so he kind of ping-pongs around with varying levels of villainy for awhile. - Then we get to the time around Batman R.I.P. where a lot of shit happens all at once, especially for Tim. Bruce dies fighting a Justice League villain, Tim also has his bio-dad die around this time, his relationship with his ex-girlfriend/good friend is kind of going to shit, the boy he's in love with (not canon at the time, but current day storylines basically confirm it was true) also died and it wrecked Tim, like he lost his MIND over Conner Kent's death, there's this annoying little shit Damian Wayne who has showed up as the bio-son of Bruce, and then suddenly Bruce also dies. And Dick has to become Batman because Gotham needs Batman and he's in mourning and dealing with Jason being back and everything OFF THE RAILS as various people are like, "No, I'M going to be Batman now!" and Dick has to shut all that shit down and take up the mantle himself despite that he doesn't want it AND deal with Damian being an emotionally traumatized 11 year old baby assassin who has been abused into being a killer his entire life (I mean, it's comics, don't take it too seriously) and he needs something to hold onto or he's going to leave and go back to killing, so Dick and Alfred give the Robin mantle to Damian, which pisses Tim off because he's not doing well and sees it as a betrayal (while Dick was asking for his help as an ally, that he was ready to graduate to being more than just Batman's sidekick) because he's lost so much. - So we have Dick & Damian as Batman & Robin (THIS ERA WAS SO GOOD), Tim as Red Robin (fandom way overplays Tim and Dick's tension, they come back together after their dramatic few months), and eventually they find Bruce who was lost in the time stream (don't ask) and then, WHAM, Nu52 happens. But basically, that's the Robins timeline. I'm skipping over Steph's turn as Robin because it was so short and it was clearly set up just to knock her down, as well as not touching on Cass much because this is long enough as it is and I'm trying to circle back to focusing on Jason-friendly stuff.

WHERE TO START: Ask a dozen different people where to start and you'll get a dozen different answers! I think starting anywhere is fine and it's going to depend on what you like--for example, I'm personally not that into the animated DC movies (not enough of my Blorbo) but "Batman: Under the Red Hood" is generally very well-regarded as an updated version of Jason's return and is nicely self-contained if you want to watch it without much other context. I also think watching the Justice League animated series from 2001 is fantastic if you want a funny, charismatic, streamlined adaptation of what the Justice League is like. (Batman: The Animated Series was groundbreaking at the time and a really good adaptation, but very dated by this point in time, so I hesitate to recommend it too much, even though it's beloved to me.) The Wayne Family Adventures is an absolutely adorable, delightful webtoon adaptation that is very light-hearted compared to the mainline comics! I like recommending it to new fans because I think it's super easy to start reading without too much extraneous context and gives you an idea of the characters' relationships to each other, so long as you understand that it is EXTREMELY soft and is much in the vein of LEGO Batman content--you're not supposed to take it super seriously, there are times it's deliberately crossing into something like parody territory, but that doesn't mean it's not genuinely funny, charming, and a great read. @fantastic-nonsense has an incredibly thorough list of recommendations for comics by character here, and you can scroll down to the Jason Todd section and start reading there! Or you can check out the "A STARTING POINT: BATMAN IN OTHER MEDIA" section because I pretty much 100% agree with everything she says about the various adaptations. I like recommending "Young Justice" as an introduction to DC, so long as you understand that it's a loose adaptation and that the team compositions and various relationships are not always going to be accurate to comics dynamics. I have my own comics recs tag, but I'm more Dick-focused, so your mileage is going to vary on how useful you might find my recs! But basically, you can't go wrong with starting with "A Death in the Family", then "Under the Red Hood" (movie then comics) and "Red Hood: The Lost Days". Basically, anything by Judd Winick has a good chance of being a solid read for him. It's hard to recommend Jason comics, because so many of them are either not great or require knowledge of the events that are going on around the same time--but, honestly, once you're familiar with the set-up, I do think you can pick up almost any trade and pick up context along the way. I personally also loved "Robins: Being Robin" series, because all five of the Robins working to solve a case together and being unhinged weirdos at each other is my jam. (But I like pretty much anything Tim Seely writes!) I also always recommend the 2016 Nightwing series because Dick is my Blorbo, but I also think "Robin & Batman" by Jeff Lemire is a fantastic story to understand who baby Dick Grayson is and his relationship with Bruce, and both "The Long Halloween" and "Dark Victory" are some of the best Batman comics I've ever read, but they can be tough to get through if you don't like Tim Sale's very stylized art.

WHERE TO FIND THESE THINGS TO READ? The movies and animated series should be on HBOMax and/or Netflix, and comics I always recommend hitting up your library to see what they have--so many libraries have a ton of comics available, especially digitally! And, if you have a library card, it's very possible that your library partners with Hoopla, where they have a ton of Batman comics! You can also check out DC Universe, which has almost all DC comics if you get a subscription.

TL;DR: If you want bigger context on how all this stuff works, start with either "Justice League" or "Young Justice", they're really cute, fun adaptations. If you want to get straight to the Jason stuff, start with "A Death in the Family" --> "Under the Red Hood" --> "Red Hood: The Lost Days" --> "Batman: Urban Legends vol. 1". (And, yeah, you have the right impression of Talia! She often gets written as a villain, but she's also often a lot more complex than that, it really depends on who you get to write her. The corner of fandom I hang out in is generally more generous to her, but some of the actual comics can be kind of rough. But she's complex and has a lot of sharp edges, so, you know, I love her, too. 😂)

[purpleqilinwrites]

only to us.

a/n: i went to play genshin for the first time in a while to see what's new, and i just ended up spending three hours walking around liyue with my wife ganyu! (what's new is wriothesley and his nice butt. 10/10.)

fandom: genshin impact

character: ganyu

genre: general / fluff

info: established relationship (can be read as either platonic or romantic); reader is an adeptus who fought in the archon war; this takes place pre-canon timeline

warnings: might not be canon-compliant

synopsis: it was time for new wine and new customs.

word count: 0.9k

part of the "yearning has hold of me" series.

Ganyu

The war was over, and a flurry of long-overdue celebrations brightened up the harbour.

While the people were busy making merry and drinking with the adepti, Ganyu found you among the rocks that formed the Guyun Stone Forest. Perched on one of the highest peaks jutting out against the bright blue of the sky, nestled in the shrubbery and trees that had begun to find a home on the things that were once weapons, you were lying on your back with your eyes closed and face toward the clouds.

The war was over, and it was the first time in a multitude of years that Ganyu had the pleasure – or was it relief? – of finding you in your human form.

"The crowds wore on me," you said, as a means of greeting, your voice echoing in the quiet. You beckoned her over by patting the patch of grass to your right, eyes still closed.

With the urgency that her experience in the past years has ingrained in her bones, Ganyu found herself running for most of the little distance between the two of you. She ran until she came close enough to take up room beside you, settling onto the grass and marvelling when she remembered it had not been there when she saw the Guyun Stone Forest formed.

The war was over, and she felt the need to keep reminding herself.

You rolled onto your side to face her, eyes now open. Ganyu mimicked your actions, shuffling closer and resting her head on a folded arm.

Your eyes burned into her, golden and unblinking, and she thought she might need to remind you, too, that the war was over.

"Rex Lapis was asking for you," she said, instead. "He'd like to share some osmanthus wine with everyone who fought with him."

The grass tickled her cheek as she spoke. A mass of clouds floated aimlessly in the otherwise empty blue expanse above the two of you. She waited for a response, alternating between watching a Geo crystalfly flit about some distance behind your head and watching you.

You kept your eyes fixed on her the entire time.

If it had been anyone else, Ganyu would have floundered under what felt to her like scrutiny. There had always been an intensity about you. It was not foreign to her, having been born and raised among full-blooded adepti and knowing the word would apply easily, believably to any one of them.

Even so, your gaze did not unsettle her the way that the eyes of others would.

"The mortals do make the best osmanthus wine," you said, finally. There was a smile teasing at the corners of your lips, a darting out of the tongue across your bottom lip as you imagined a taste.

She should have brought one of the smaller vessels from the harbour to share with you. There were too many offerings of wine to count at the makeshift shrine to Rex Lapis and the adepti in the camp at the foot of Mount Tianheng. Peacetime was new, and so the two of you could form a new custom of drinking out of the same cup of hammered iron. Perhaps—

You reached over to her and brushed a few stray strands of hair behind her ear, and it brought her out of her thoughts and back to the present with you. Before you could pull your hand away, Ganyu curled her own around the bone of your wrist and put your hand to her cheek.

It was cool to her skin, like the waters of the river in the Guili Plains of her girlhood summers. Familiar and always welcome.

"I found you," she said, echoing the words she spoke to you first, from a time long ago.

The breeze was beginning to pick up speed, ruffling her hair and then yours as it passed. A few amber leaves twirled about you. Your hair fanned out behind you, the breeze having run its fingers through the length of it, longer than it had been in years but still shorter than you were inclined to keep it.

Ganyu would like it very much if you would leave your hair to grow, for her. Selfishly, because she imagined you would be extremely attractive with your hair long. A little less selfishly, because seeing you with a blade in hand to trim your hair as close to your scalp as you could manage was a habit you had cultivated in wartime.

The war was over, and you could afford to live looking forward now that it was behind you.

You hummed, cupping your hand along her jaw, and stroked the pad of your thumb along her chin in tune with a song she did not recognise. "I knew you would find me," you said. "I know you, Xiao Yu. You always do."

Ganyu closed her eyes to better focus on the sound of your voice, on the touch of your hand. It was a folk song you were humming, one of the many that were native to the tribe of sea-dwelling adepti you came from. She could not remember if it was a lullaby, or if it was a hunting song.

The breeze tapered off, and the grass that sat between your body and hers stilled in their frantic dance. Your humming became louder as it filled the air, and this space that crowned the Guyun Stone Forest belonged only to her and to you. This space, where she was more alive than alive has ever been.

It was surely a lullaby, with how her eyes seemed to weigh heavier as her attention to your song began to wane.

[123puppy]

(Im)proper Meeting

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Characters: Angel Dust, Lucifer Morningstar, Husk

TW: Suggested/Implied sexual content, drinking

Note: Oh I'm sure there are mistakes in this, know that half was written while sleep deprived and the other half is me being out of it but trying to write something cool and coherent.

Angel Dust wasn't expecting Hell's King to be sitting at the bar. Well, he can't say he expected anything from the smaller man he's never met until the day he came to the hotel.

The spider isn't one to snoop into people's business or hang around to gossip unless he wanted to get drunk and lay down with someone to fuck his problems away, or make it worse.

He wanted to drink and harass his one and only favorite bartender, but he looks preoccupied. Okay, maybe he'll get lucky with the King himself.

He strolls on over and Husk glares his way.

"It's you..." He hissed.

"It's me~" Angel gushed. He takes a seat next to Lucifer, winking down at him. "Hello again, Short King."

Lucifer sputters and Angel just grins. The blush that's already there because of the glass he's nursing in one hand grows dark and the cutie even gets the hiccups. This man is irresistible without even trying.

"Don't call me that. It's Lucifer... please." Angel looks back in surprise, hearing the soft sad undertone to his plea. Something in Angel tells him to reconsider his advances if the pathetic state of said King is anything to go by. Why else would he be here?

"Alright, Luci. Whatevah you want." Angel says, coy but soft. The shorter male grumbles. "You mind pourin' me a glass, Huskie? I need a pick-me-up. I'll make it worth your while~"

"No."

Angel's eyes pop open, smile tight. "Come again?"

"Fuck. No," The cat raises the small glass in front of him, seeing Angel's angry expression morph through the glass. "Ya' used up ya' points this week."

"What!? Since when!?"

"Since now. Charlie's been seein' how you've been riggin' the points on the whiteboard. You ain't slick, Webs." Husk glares back at Angel's angry eyes.

Then the spider smirks. "My body is as slick as my-Ow!"

Lucifer blinks at the rag the cat once held get tossed at the Porn Star's face, the force throwing said spider off the stool and onto the pristine floor. He giggles at the display, nuzzling deep into his arms as the buzz of the alcohol begins to take hold of his senses.

Husker sets the clean cup down with the rest behind the counter, "Get outta 'ere. You'll get ya' overly sweet drink next week. I'm 'bout to close up."

"Aww come on Husk! Just one drink!"

No matter how much he begged, moaned or groaned, the cat was having none of it. Then he remembered the other patron and quickly snaps to attention, crawling seductively towards Lucifer.

"Ay, baby, you mind sharin' the goods with me?" Angel rests a pink gloved hand on Lucifer's thigh and the man jumps.

"Uhhhhh, I-I-I uhhh...!"

The drink Lucifer had in his hand disappears and the shorter man looks at his empty hand in confusion.

"Hey, that's-" Angel shuts his mouth when the serious look Husk throws him sends a shiver down his spine, and not in a sexual way.

"Don't."

"Killjoy...," The spider pouts, but blinks when the hand he had on Lucifer's thigh is peeled away, and held close to the King's face, eyes big and curious. Cute.

"How's 'bout you take His Majesty t' his room?" Husk's scowl gets dark, "An' no funny business. I'll tell Charlie you brought 'im up because he's wasted as shit. G'night kid. Sleep well, ya' highness."

Husk walks out from behind the counter with a bottle in his paw, downing the drink as he disappears to his room for the night, leaving the two patrons out in the lounge.

"Fuck me...," Angel says, begrudgingly getting to his feet. He gently coaxes Lucifer down from the stool and corales him upstairs and towards the elevator. He presses a button, hoping he's got the right floor, before letting said King mess with his multitude of hands as the elevator climbs up a few floors.

"Hey."

The spider looks down. Lucifer is staring up at him with wonder and Angel isn't sure how to take it, so he looks away, shifting nervously.

"Heeeyyy don't ignore meee...!" Lucifer whines, gripping the top set of Angel's arms and letting himself fall backwards. Angel grunts, surprised by the weight from such a small character that he has to use his bottom set of arms to grip the railings to keep from falling over.

"Ok ok, just get back up here! No offense, but you ain' lighta' than a featha', Kingie."

Lucifer complies and pulls on Angel's wrist to give himself the momentum to crash into Angel's stomach, quickly throwing his arms around his lithe waist.

"Jeez, clingy much?" Angel chuckles, resting one hand on Luci's head. The elevator dings and the doors open. When trying to move, Lucifer whines, feet planted firmly in place.

Angel sighs, "Y'know for a guy that rules ova' hell and considered' all-powerful an' shit, you're a clingy brat." He probably should never have said that to a royal's (especially one that rules all of Hell) face but the shorter man is wasted as fuck so he says what is true under the assumption of the other forgetting everything that's said tonight. With that said, Angel uses all four limbs to scoop up the smaller man. "It's fuckin' adorable~" Yeah, he won't remember any of this.

Once he finds Lucifer's room, having a golden plate on the door with his name literally engraved on it, Angel opens the door and marvels at the room. Nothing is less than expected of the King of Hell himself. Luxurious furniture, a large crimson bed with many pillows and soft-looking blankets, ducks(?) piled into all four corners, a workbench with duck parts strewn on it, and a door that no doubt held a bathroom.

If only he could get a feel for the bed, but alas, he mustn't. But he can dream, oh he can.

He attempts to put Lucifer down on the bed but the arms that found themselves around his neck won't budge when he goes to pull away.

"Is this you inviting me into your bed, Kingie?" Angel purrs, though his top set of arms are fighting to pull the arms off him. Christ on a stick, this guy is strong!

"Yes." Woah okay, not the answer he expected to hear from the King.

"Heh, such a flatterer." He yanks Lucifer's arms away from him. "I do appreciate your advances, sweetheart, truly an honour, but uh..." Angel jumps when Lucifer grabs his wrists.

"Stay." Angel blinks, shocked. The alcohol has a grip on the man alright.

"I can't, Your Highness. You're, well you're Charlie's dad and I don't wanna, y'know."

"Please." Angel looks at Lucifer, really looks into his eyes. They appear to be clearer, shiny. Big and pleading. Desperate. "Please stay."

"Fuck..." A groan from the spider demon is his answer and Angel rearranges them to get underneath the covers, "We're just cuddling, nothin' below the waistline, got it?"

A big dopey smile plasters into on Lucifer's face, "I love to cuddle~" With a shaky snap of his thumb and pointer finger, he's in nothing but a red shirt with a duck on it (what's with this guy and ducks?) and downy pants. They appear to be made of silk.

Angel chuckles, removing his shoes under the covers and throwing them on the floor, "I don't doubt it, suga'. So, big spoon or little spoon?"

Lucifer made his decision by crawling onto Angel and resting his head on the soft fluff of the Porn Star's chest.

"Held." He mumbles, eyes shut.

Angel snickers, adjusting the man in his arms and getting himself situated with the pillows around him. "I can't wait to tell Charlie about this."

[tired-old-men]

Hello! I started following this blog recently and couldn't believe it when I found it... I always loved The Brotherhood, but always felt so lonely on that. It's a dream to see all the love you give them on this blog! Thank you so much for this, really! This makes this fellow echidna lover really happy!

(I was also really shy to send an ask, btw haha)

Anyways, I wanted to ask something! How was Janelle-Li like? And how did you guys feel about her loss?

Comments like these really make my life to be honest! A part of me thought when creating this blog that a majority of this blog’s life would be me screaming into the void about these echidnas. After the end of the Archie comics they very much became quite the obscure characters, and granted they were already pretty niche in the comics to begin with. So it really warms my heart when people approach this blog with that “holy shit I remember these dudes!” feeling, because that was quite literally me a year or so ago when I slowly creeped back into this fandom, rediscovering this deep love for these characters. I’m glad that these characters still get a lot of love! I’m happy that my love for these characters can be felt in my art or in my writing and be shared with all of you. Thank you so much for your kind words PsychoAna, they mean the world to me and inspire me to continue on sharing the echidna love! ^^ 

Also never hesitate to drop something off at my inbox, trust I feel you on the shyness, I’m that friend that will be more likely to respond than to initiate an interaction lol but I can talk your ear off if you let me! No mater how serious, goofy, or chaotic your inquiry or interaction may be is totally fine by me! I’m just delighted by the fact you took your time to engage in my silly little blog. I swear I’m not a scary old man I’m just another silly lil guy on the internets lol ♥

⍟─────── ⋆ 。.・゜・✧・✦・✧・゜・。⋆ ────────⍟

Thunderhawk’s eyes soften “What was she like? She was… everything.. everything you could ask for in a Guardian in a child even. Headstrong, smart, resourceful, bright, incredibly athletic, she always found her own success in anything she did even in the most uphill of battles. She NEVER backed down from a challenge no matter how rough it got, she never got discouraged she just.. kept on going. 

She carried such an incredible sense of strength within her, she made a fine Guardian, better than I could ever be to be honest, like it was her destiny to do so.” Thunderhawk gives a soft chuckle reminiscing on a memory, then lets out a deep sigh as his face saddens. “She did a lot of good for a lot of people… And as a father I couldn’t be more proud of her… her absence is more than felt within us…”

Sabre places a reassuring hand on his grandfather’s shoulder, giving him a gentle squeeze to remind him he was there for him. “She… she was like a second mother to me… when I moved to Angel Island as a young boy she welcomed me with such an open heart. She um always seems to know what to do or say to brighten someone’s day. I appreciated her words of wisdom, she had a different way of viewing things that really made me think during rough times in my Guardian journey…She truly was the best of us and I… I miss her too…” Thunderhawk reaches to hold Saber’s hand resting on his shoulder, he looks back at him giving him a soft smile behind glossy eyes, appreciative of his words. “Janelle-Li was more than an outstanding Guardian in her own right, she was a valued member of our family. Her unfortunate early departure from this world is one that can be felt in our hearts and throughout Angel Island, by the multitude of people who’s lives were enriched by her, she inspired the best in all of us, and she is dearly missed by all who came to know her. She was a shining beacon of light, she took pride in her role of Guardian, and I could not have any more love and appreciation for my dear granddaughter.” Spectre speaks, even in his monotone expression his words are genuine. He gently pats Sabre and Thunderhawk comfortingly as he stands by them. 

[yellowloid]

i think one of the main problems of tumblr (and fandom culture, and the internet in general) is that people tend to forget as human beings we are made of multitudes. nothing is ever just black or white - there are infinite shades of grey in between and that is the very thing that makes us, well, human.

sometimes people have contrasting opinions within themselves and - guess what - even contrasting feelings. sometimes people feel strongly about stuff and that is okay. you can love something/someone so much and at the same time find yourself disappointed by something related to it/them. that happens. it's okay.

i'm not gonna talk about what's going on on twitter because tbh i haven't checked so i have no idea wtf they're on about there, but i want to focus on our little tumblr community - which is so special because of the fact that it is (mostly) conflict-free, and if there's something we share it's a kind of visceral love for the boys that i'm sure everyone here can understand.

this is not an indirect @ anyone in particular, but i've seen some posts going around talking about all the negativity on the dash after last night, and i wanted to share my two cents on that.

we all love them. we all fucking love them so much and we know every time they set foot on stage we're guaranteed to be blown away by how fucking good and special and talented they are. they know how to deliver a spectacular performance (even in emergency situations like yesterday, with alex's laryngitis which is definitely far from gone) and they know how to keep the audience's attention fixed on them. they're a special kind of hypnotising, and every show is unique in and of itself *because* of their incredible presence, regardless of what setlist they might give us.

we all know that, and yesterday's show was no exception. it was amazing, powerful and breathtaking like every show they deliver. mindblowing, as always. as simple as that.

and that's exactly what can turn disappointing real quick. they know how fucking good they are. they know how much potential they have, and that all this tour they've been using up to 10% of said potential. they're incredibly talented and smart, and still decide to stick to their comfort zone every. single. night. with few exceptions, obviously, and mostly never from the album they're supposed to be touring. that's what upsets people here - the fact that they're letting their own HUGE potential go to waste.

glastonbury is a milestone. they had nothing to prove, of course, having headlined it already and more than once in the past. everyone knows what they're capable of. but glastonbury is special, too, and instead if felt like just another random show they could then go and tick off their list. done, next. rinse and repeat.

and of course we also all know it was an emergency. alex has been straining his voice for a long time now - the three consecutive london gigs were the breaking point, and i'm so glad they took a bit of time to let him rest, despite the fact that they probably hated having to cancel the dublin show. but they couldn't ditch glasto, and so they showed up and they did a fucking amazing job. alex sounded so good and i think i can speak for all of us when i say i was so incredibly relieved to see he was okay. i was shaking and biting my nails worried sick about him for DAYS up to the moment they appeared on stage and seeing him get up there and kill it with a fucking crazy performance, putting in all that effort and dedication despite the fact that he's no doubt still recovering (no way his laryngitis is 100% gone, and i hope he gets some more rest because he needs it) made me so proud of him, so fucking happy and proud and i couldn't really love him more. i love him so much, i love them all so much and i know everyone here also does. no one here is blaming it on him for whatever happened yesterday. we're all just fucking glad and grateful he could show up in the first place. he's the most special most talented most beautiful little guy ever and we all love and cherish him so much it hurts. and he did so fucking well, as always. i hope he knows that, and i hope he knows he's allowed to be sick and he's not to blame for anything. i would personally fight anyone who dared say anything bad about him because no one fuck's with tumblr's most beautiful most precious babygirlboy. no one!!!!!

having said that, big changes in the setlist - especially a live debut of hello you or other new songs - were highly unlikely and we all knew that. they probably wouldn't have had the chance to rehearse due to alex's sickness. and that's okay! sure everyone would love to see those songs finally make their grand debut. but that can wait, because alex's health is more important.

and let's face it. i don't think it's that big of a reach to say that even if alex hadn't been sick, the setlist wouldn't have changed that much anyway. there's songs that simply cannot be scrapped, songs to which they're particularly attached and songs to which average fans are also particularly attached. then there's songs that have been on rotation, and songs that have finally already made a comeback during the sheffield shows. taking away all that, the songs that have an actual real possibility of coming back aren't that many - as much as it hurts me to say it, they won't be playing secret door or piledriver waltz or batphone or whatever more niche song anytime soon. and we know that, no one *really* expects them to. because they have to gather to the general crowd, and as repetitive as their current setlist might be, it works. could house more new songs - they skipped big ideas? and songs such as mr schwartz and iaqwitia haven't made a comeback in such a long while... but still. it's bomb. it works, and it works fucking well.

however, there were other changes that could have been made to make glasto special - changes that wouldn't have been a risk to alex's health; small things that could have made a difference, even a tiny one. @mrschwartz said it perfectly in her tags (i hope it's okay to show these sbfksjf i just think you put it into words really well):

it WAS a win. the sole fact of headlining glasto, in and of itself, is a win. a big fucking one at that. and little changes could have been made to make it memorable - to make it stand out when compared to every other gig they played this tour. there definitely were highlights - not only with alex's antics but also lyrically, with the jet skis/iwby/star treatment moment, which was OUTSTANDING - but for the rest nothing really spoke GLASTONBURY. nothing else *really* stood out, and that's a shame.

(not even gonna touch on the miles thing because yeah we all know they probably wanted to do it but couldn't for some reason; it's pretty clear rn that him showing up in london was to make up for him not being able to be there yesterday; we all had our suspicions and they were right. still bummed tho because them playing glasto together is a tradition!)

but considered all that, it is what it is. no one is gonna go around unstanning them because of last night. if anything, when they pull this shit they just make us want to follow them even more, to see what they'll be up to in the next shows. what aces they have up their sleeves - because we know just as well as they know that they have many. they're just too comfortable in their routine to pull them all out, and hopefully sometime in the near future we'll get to see more of what they can really do.

again, it was an amazing show. my heart was beating so fast and i kept grinning like an idiot at the screen, just because they were there. just because they showed up in the first place, with their talent and beauty and power and insane energy. just because i love them so much i can't even begin to explain it.

and i was a bit disappointed, too. because we know how much potential they have. because if they can put up an amazing show like that using only a crumble of that potential, we can only imagine how insanely spectacular of a performance they could deliver if they used even a little bit more of it.

but they refuse to, and that's what can be upsetting. but it doesn't take away the love we have for them. the two things can coexist, and they don't take away from each other. if anything, i woke up this morning with even more love for them than i did yesterday, exactly because they frustrate me with how legendary they are, and how bad i want them to show that to the whole world.

i love them, i'm disappointed, and that's not gonna stop me from loving them even more.

[lastweeksshirttonight]

Lee is re-watching Sherlock for some fucking reason - Season One

I'm well aware that the crossover between "currently popular and loved British comedian in the US updates, thirst, and accoutrements" and "BBC show that went so off the rails that people now like to pretend Andrew Scott's breakout role was the Hot Priest in Fleabag" is limited, but weirdly, returning to Sherlock was one of the few things that was keeping my brain somewhat grounded and whirring during Work Hell.

We're in uncharted territory here. You're gonna learn a bit about the things I do when I'm not tracking John Oliver obsessively. I am nervous about this but hey, I'm guessing most of you knew I don't solely live and breathe John Oliver. (I know. I have multitudes. This is a shocking revelation. Please take time to process it.)

Firstly, a content note - there's going to be discussion about queerbaiting and queercoding villains, and the beginning of this goes into some of James Somerton's absolutely disgusting claims about the AIDS crisis. This post will only be focused on Season One, as that's all I've finished at this point.

Let's go.

(above image sourced from Writing Tips and Memes)

My sudden re-emergent hyperfixation started because of the hbomberguy takedown of James Somerton, weirdly. I don't follow many YouTubers - I like Bright Sun Films because he goes urban exploring, something I've always wanted to do but have never managed to make happen, and also Todd in the Shadows, whose Trainwreckords series is very well-done and expertly researched. Seeing that name, you might know where this is going. Todd dropped a video about James Somerton, who I had never fucking heard of and now wish I'd known about before, so I could scream bloody murder about what an absolute fuckwad he is.

(I don't want to get too in the weeds here, but the things James asserted about WWII, Nazis, and the AIDS crisis are so vehemently offensive that I'm still struggling with them. Claiming that only boring gays survived the AIDS crisis in particular is so vile that I have gotten anger flashes thinking about it almost daily since hearing it.)

Todd recommended watching all four hours of the hbomberguy plagiarism video, and I ran that in the background while working about two weeks ago. Eventually I had to stop doing that because the plagiarism revelations were so distracting and shocking. Todd's video was even more of a goddamn mindfuck, and even the smaller, less offensive things have taken up far too much space in my brain. Californians, does anyone at all deify Bob Iger??? Like... what the goddamn fuck??? Bob Iger????

After watching one hbomberguy video, the algorithm did its thing, and gave me a video called "Sherlock is Garbage and Here's Why". Posting it here for posterity:

Because my brain works in mysterious ways (-cough-ADHD-cough-), watching this... made me want to rewatch Sherlock.

I initially saw Sherlock for the first time thanks to someone I met in my last year of college, 2012. At the time, Michael (a nickname) was my neighbor in the dorms; over the past ten years, she's become one of my closest friends and a true rock in my life. One of the first things we bonded over that I introduced her to was the San Francisco Giants and the ghost I will always be chasing, Tim Lincecum; one of the first things we bonded over that she introduced me to was BBC Sherlock. The show was in the early months of its extended hiatus after Season Two, at the height of its fandom, and we were both completely obsessed. I read all the Doyle stories, took in a truly wild amount of fanfiction, wrote a not-very-popular AU fic, became part of a strange inter-dorm ARG based on Sherlock orchestrated by Michael... it consumed a huge part of our lives.

When Season 3 dropped, I almost stopped watching after "The Empty Hearse". I don't want to get into why it offended me so much before we get to a Season 3 post, but just know my enthusiasm severely dampened there. The rest of Season 3 I think of with blase emotions, especially the ending, which I found just dumb, save one part of it. I recall going to see The Abominable Bride in theatres with my mom (and maybe Michael?), and I think I liked it fine - aside, again, from the ending. But I had no interest in a Season Four, and when it dropped, Michael's long rambling phone calls describing the absolute shitstorm of a plot cemented that I was never going to watch it again.

Until now.

I definitely don't think the hbomberguy video is perfect. His insistence that Doyle canon never had Holmes pull answers to cases out of his ass is... something, lol, as is his opinion that changing the solution to certain puzzles in A Study in Pink disrespects the original canon. (Bro, these stories have been retold a bajillion times, they need to mix it up to keep it interesting.) But he put a finger on something that I'd wrestled with regarding Sherlock for a long time - that the show's writing often teased something big and new and conclusive in the horizon, but almost never delivered. That wasn't an issue in early days when there was less invested in an increasingly convoluted mythic story, or when they weren't fully blowing off the resolutions to cliffhangers, but the flaw in writing a story where you promise something huge on the horizon and never deliver should be obvious.

The first season doesn't trade much in that idea, and going back to it was something I found exceptionally enjoyable!

Before I watched:

I remembered bits and pieces of "A Study in Pink" and the whole plot in summary.

I truly didn't remember anything about "The Blind Banker" except that I found it fairly 'yellow peril'-y when I saw it in 2012.

I mixed up huge chunks of Season Two's "A Scandal in Belgravia" with "The Great Game" in my head and somehow forgot the main plot thrust was Moriarty kidnapping people and strapping bombs to them.

I genuinely forgot Sebastian Moran was a character basically hallucinated into existence by the fandom and didn't appear in the show at all until a brief appearance in Season Three.

In a way, it was like I was watching the show for the first time all over again. My partner also watched the first season with me, and it was interesting to get his thoughts on the show as we watched.

To start, his favorite character is Mycroft. Watching Season One, I had to agree that Mycroft has a depth of character that I'd forgotten about. Mark Gatiss plays him perfectly, aloof and smarter than you but unsure of how to deal with his natural feelings of concern and fear for his oft-spiraling, danger-seeking younger brother - and how those feelings magnify with the influence of extreme danger-seeker (at least in this season) John Watson. The show wants you to believe so badly that he's Moriarty in "A Study in Pink", which I don't think works even if you know he isn't Moriarty - there's a warmth to Gatiss' Mycroft that, even while he's doing incredibly ominous things like shutting off all cameras in a busy intersection, still comes through.

My favorite character is Moriarty. I haven't mentioned this very much here, because why would I, but my favorite character type in media is "theatrical abject shithead". It's why I cosplay Bakugo from My Hero Academia and loved everything about Akechi in Persona 5. Hell when I was a kid, I told teachers that when I grew up, I wanted to join Team Rocket. I love the theatrical shitheads. And boy, is Moriarty some sort of theatrical shithead. I don't DISAGREE with hbomberguy pointing out that, as written, Moriarty is a complete mess of a character, a queer-coded literal terrorist with no motivations besides "I did that because I'M CRAAAAZY!"... but he's my queer-coded literal terrorist, ok? I could write a whole paper on all the harmful stereotypes inhabiting this version of Moriarty... but I can't deny that the flamboyance and violence pulsing just beneath the surface of Andrew Scott's performance was the beating heart of that show for me. Sure, Sherlock and John, at least early on, were a compelling duo, but the show was at its best with Moriarty pulling strings for inexplicable reasons in the background. I love him.

(An aside: watching Sherlock made me remember how hilarious it was to see basically every major actor from the show in one of my favorite movies of all time, 1917, to the point that I actually kinda laughed in the theatre thinking about it.)

The entirety of the first season also is more devoted to actual crime-solving and detective work than I remembered the show being. I think that works strongly in its favor, and as I recall things from later seasons, drifting from that element definitely hampers the show greatly. In particular, while the lazy and uncomfortable Orientalism of "The Blind Banker" is still incredibly glaring, the actual mystery at the core of it is very excitingly tracked and easily followed while watching. The fact that John is treated like an equal (mostly) throughout only enhances my thoughts on that. "The Great Game" is a little more slapdash (and hurt by the fact that the entire Vermeer section would be solvable with a smartphone nowadays), but you can still make connections mentally with most of the cases and deduction/investigation is being shown logically. (hbomberguy cites the Golem as a problematic logical leap akin to some of Season Two's dumbest, and I can't agree. It's a reasonable suspension of disbelief to assume Sherlock knows about assassins and is followed by some more sensible investigation and inspection of the Golem's victim. The sequence of Sherlock fighting the Golem, however, is very, very silly.)

Related to that... the autopsy doctors on this show are fucking AWFUL at their jobs. Like straight-up negligently awful. How in the actual fuck did they not investigate the puncture marks on Connie Price's body? How did they not notice a highly distinctive heel tattoo on three recently-murdered corpses? Is Molly the only vaguely competent person in the mortuary? My partner and I were extremely amused that, while Lestrade and his police force are thankfully shown with much more intelligence than in other Holmes adaptations and BBC!Watson wouldn't think jam is a clue, the writers seem to have shunted the stupidity straight to the invisible autopsy doctors.

The first season also does a good job of making Sherlock seem like an overly intelligent if socially stunted human being, instead of the condescending prickish intellectual Ubermensch he ends up becoming as the show progresses. "A Study in Pink"'s ending being Sherlock throwing aside his deduction of the cabbie's killer when he realizes it's Watson, unconvincingly lying to Lestrade and insisting he's in shock before rejoining the other man and genuinely bonding with him, is remarkably compelling as fulfillment of a promise we get from Lestrade earlier in the episode - "Sherlock Holmes is a great man. One day he may even be a good one." My memory is admittedly faulty, but part of why "The Empty Hearse" turned me off so viscerally was Sherlock's (and to an extent, Mycroft's) insufferable growing smugness, particularly where explaining plans or mysteries to John. We get told often that Watson humanizes Sherlock and that the two have a strong bond throughout the series, but Sherlock gets much more dickish in general as the series progresses. One thing I do remember with stark clarity is that after being utterly chastised at a Christmas party in "A Scandal in Belgravia", Sherlock does visibly treat Molly MUCH better throughout the remainder of the show. So, uh, why did we lose that energy with the show's central pairing?

Speaking of the show's central pairing, the queerbaiting starts SO EARLY on this show. I want to make it clear that obviously the benefit of hindsight and knowledge of how the show ends really colors a lot about the Johnlock relationship now, and as a society, we're more aware of what queerbaiting is and what it looks like, which will obviously alter how I perceive these interactions now. I also want to make it clear that I never really shipped Johnlock outside of just kind of assuming that it would be canon because everyone seemed really convinced of it. (I was an absolute degenerate that shipped John with Moriarty. On top of enjoying theatrical disasters, I enjoy ships with an abundance of chaos and impossibility.) There's some biases at play here.

Even so, we are not far into the episode where John is protesting that obviously he needs a second bed in 221B to Mrs. Hudson, he's not gay! The scene in the restaurant has such an aggressively shippy energy to it (despite Watson's consistent denials) that I actively commented on it to my partner as it was happening, saying "the queerbaiting happens WAY SOONER than I thought!" It's distracting and has aged absolutely terribly. The worst by far is John quipping, after being removed from a bomb vest at a pool in "The Great Game", that people will talk because of Sherlock ripping his clothes off in a darkened swimming pool. Why is Watson's heterosexuality so fragile that he's thinking about gossip rags as he's actively recovering from a near-death experience?!

(Aside: I'm aware that last point is not as effective when you think about the fact that I shipped two characters whose sole canonical interaction was one man kidnapping and forcing the other into a bomb vest. In my defense, a) I love mess and b) John never quips about thinking people will talk because he got kidnapped.)

Moriarty's first appearance in "The Great Game" sees him as Molly's fake boyfriend slipping a phone number to Sherlock, which lead to my partner commenting about how distracting it also was, on top of the queerbaiting, that almost every single person on the show has some sort of deep metaphysical attraction to Sherlock. Those people aren't on the lighting and cinematography team for sure; Benedict Cumberbatch is lit ominously and sometimes demonically throughout the first season, highlighting his antihero and brusque nature effectively. But many, many characters in the show - just in season one, Molly, Moriarty, multiple characters of the day, the Cabbie, and John - are all drawn to Sherlock and his very special brain and his very sharp cheekbones. Signs of a big future problem come through in this way, where the show starts sidelining Watson as our central figure and puts Sherlock squarely at the center of everyone's universe and makes lesbians fall in love with him.

(My partner also laughed pretty hard at how obvious Moriarty's pratfalls were as Molly's boyfriend, noting that the show was pretty bad at hiding who Moriarty was every time it came up.)

Some of the seeds of Sherlock's destruction are sown in this first season, obviously. The big one I haven't touched on is the ending cliffhanger itself. Moriarty has John and Sherlock trapped in the pool, tens of sniper sights trained on them, and says that he can't let them escape. Amazing cliffhanger here! It is not fulfilled on at all, but because Andrew Scott can carry anything on his back (including Spectre, which I cannot start talking about because we'll be here all day), the scene doesn't feel like a total waste and makes you want to hang on to find out what happens later.

But there was so much here that was delightful. All the acting is uniformly excellent, and the overt physical tics that come to define Sherlock's mind palace and mental prowess being showcased are barely evident here. The actual detective work, like I said earlier, is really involving! I don't feel like I figured out the solutions for the mysteries I couldn't recall the answers for too easily and thought Sherlock's deductive reason largely followed and wasn't too obscure. I'm still such a sucker for the show's style - that opening credits sequence is so perfectly put together, the text messages that interact with the scene and at the time made this show feel so fresh and modern to me, filming the character's faces in taxis through panes of glass and obscuring material in "A Study in Pink" to give everything an obfuscating sheen... give me all of it.

The music, too, was something I'd forgotten about and truly ended up adoring. Taskmaster (and The Horne Section's score for it) really owes a debt to Michael Price and David Arnold. So much of Sherlock's score could probably be dropped straight into a Taskmaster episode and I would have to think pretty hard to notice a difference in the show's usual musical palette. I've been eyeballing the vinyl on eBay, to give you an idea of how much I love this score. "The Game is On" is a perfect piece of music, clockwork spinning noises emphasizing the jauntiness of Sherlock as he drags Watson on his latest case before sliding into the more subdued, vaguely ominous thrum of its second movement descending into the madness of the third part, violins shrieking as the action reaches its apex.

Normally, with such a degree of pleasant surprise, I'd be eager to move forward to Season Two. Unfortunately, I know the first episode of Season Two is... a doozy. To say the least. A doozy that may get its own essay because of how doozy-ish it is.

In any case, I ended up really enjoying going back to Season One of Sherlock! Super down to talk further about the show, future write-ups, and my horrible taste in fictional ships and men - shoot me a message, reply to this post, wherever, I'll be here! <3

[cardcaptorsakura96]

A Christmas Miracle-Chapter 3

Fandom: Supergirl

Characters: Lena Luthor, Kara Danvers, Ruby Arias, Santa Claus, Streaky the cat, Lillian Luthor, Alex Danvers, Cupid

Summary: After her last two breakups, Lena doesn't think there is love out there for her. However, will Ruby's wish to Santa make Lena a believer in miracles?

Chapter 1, Chapter 2

Kara sighed as she walked with Streaky with a leash in the park. She was dressed in pink sweats and a pink hoodie. It had been several days since she had seen Lena and wasn’t sure what to do still. She knew she needed to speak to her, but wasn’t really sure how to approach the situation. She wasn’t sure if she should tell her if she was Supergirl or not. She thought it was obvious, but realized that she never called herself that during the encounter, and she wasn’t dressed in costume. For all she knew, Lena could have thought that she was one of any multitude of metahumans that had popped up all over the city the last couple of years. She was jostled out of her thoughts when she noticed that Streaky had suddenly stopped walking. She looked down to see that he was staring at her expectantly. 

Kara sighed and said, “I take it you want to be carried instead of walking around.”

Streaky nodded his head.

Kara looked down at her Fitbit and saw that she and Streaky had walked about 5 miles already.

Kara smiled and said, “I guess we had enough exercise today.”

Kara opened her arms and Streaky pounced into her arms. Kara cuddled Streaky against her chest and continued down the path in the park. 

Streaky made a loud purring sound. 

Kara chuckled and said, “I know it is almost dinner time. I take it you would want your usual tuna.”

Streaky purred loudly and rubbed his head against Kara’s neck. 

Kara chuckled and said, “Why am I not surprised? Well, we are about 10 minutes from the park exit. It has enough trees and shrubby there that we can hide in to change and then fly home the rest of the way.”

Streaky purred against Kara’s neck in contentment. 

Kara smiled and said, “I am glad we have a game plan here.”

As Kara and Streaky rounded the bend, Kara noticed a man dressed in a black sweater, pants, and black mask over his head knock over a Santa and take  the red collection box he was using to collect funds for the Salvation Army near the park’s exit.

Kara sighed, shook her head, and said, “Do people not have any shame?”

She noticed two rocks on the ground near her. She picked them up quickly and threw them towards the thief. The rocks hit the thief on the back of his legs causing him to fall and then hit his head on the pavement knocking him out. 

Kara shook her head as she ran up to grab the box and then take it back to Santa. The Santa tried to get up to greet her but winced as he tried to put weight on his foot.

Kara frowned and asked, “Are you okay?”

Santa smiled at her and said, “I’ll be okay. I think I may have hurt my ankle though. Do you mind helping me over to that bench over there?”

Kara nodded as she helped him up and guided him to the nearest bench. As he sat down, she used her X-ray vision to analyze his ankle. She didn’t see a sprain or any type of breakage which is a good sign. Given on hard he fell, she wouldn’t be surprised if he was maybe sore for the next day or two. 

Kara sat next to him and gave him the Salvation Army box. 

Santa smiled at her and said, “Thank you so much for retrieving this. The funds mean so much to families in need, especially during the holiday season.”

Kara smiled and said, “It is no problem. I just want to help.” She looked at his ankle and said, “You seemed to have difficulty walking. Did you need help to get back home or would you like me to call someone for you?”

Santa chuckled and said, “No, I will be just fine. I think my ego is more bruised than anything that I let that young man get the jump on me and the lady earlier.”

Kara frowned and asked, “What lady?”

Santa sighed and said, “There was a lady that was going through her purse about to put funds in the Salvation Army Box when the thief took us both by surprise. He took her money and car keys. He was about to attack her when I pushed her away and she made a run for it. Then the thief turned his focus on me and tried to take the money box.

Kara frowned and said, “I hope that lady is okay.”

Santa nodded and said, “I hope so too.” He held up his hand, revealed the car keys, and said, “The idiot dropped it during the fight and I was able to get them back. I was hoping to be able to find her since my shift ends in a couple of minutes and she said that she was heading to the parking lot near the park after making her donation. However, I am not sure if I will be able to catch up with her with my ankle bothering me like this.”

Kara smiled and said, “I can try to find her. It shouldn’t be too hard since there is only one parking lot within walking distance from here. Do you remember what the lady looked like?”

Read the rest on AO3

[kandisheek]

Hey friend!! I hope you’re doing well! I wanted to let you know how much I adore your works, and how your presence in fandom has always been a delight. I love your year in fan recs—it’s so wonderful to see so many names I haven’t heard of before, giving folks a chance to read something new and giving less well known authors a chance to shine!!

How about some fun asks now?

If you were suddenly a billionaire and could quit your job and fully engage with fandom for the rest of your life, would you?

What’s a fic you’ve been dying to write but just haven’t gotten to yet?

Why do you love Tony Stark?

Oh my god, you're the absolute sweetest, thank you so much <3 I can only return the sentiment, your fics are a constant source of joy for me <3 And I'm so happy that you found some new authors through my recs! As for your questions:

If I were suddenly a billionaire I'd probably try to take over the world Tony Stark style and (most likely fail to) fix all the agregious wrongs, so I might actually end up not having time for fandom stuff anymore whoops 😂 But in all seriousness, if I could live off fandom writing and arting, I absolutely would. Although I'm fortunate enough to love my real life job as well.

I've been planning to write this fic for ages, in which Tony is with Ty and due to their relationship troubles (which are solely Tony's fault, of course, at least according to Ty) Ty signs them up for a couples retreat. Turns out its a tantric fix-your-sex-life thing, which Ty knew but Tony didn't, so that's great. And guess who Tony runs into on the first day? His ex that got away, Steve Rogers, and his lovely fiance Sharon. Seems like Steve's gay crisis after his stint with Tony led him right back to the straight life, which is just the cherry on top of Tony's shitty sundae. However, it turns out that Steve and Sharon's relationship is far from perfect, just like Tony's. And Tony does remember how happy he used to be with Steve. He highly doubts that Steve thinks the same though. Right? -- I swear I will write this eventually, but the outline alone is like 4000 words long and I just know this fic will be the longest thing I've written yet, and I'm just... yeah. Eventually, I'll get there :)

And I love Tony Stark because to me, he's the human embodiment of mind over matter. Even when all odds are against him, he finds a way to come out on top, despite his multitude of issues. He always pushes for the perfect solution, reinventing himself time and time again. He has flaws, but he wears them like armor. He has trust issues but is fiercely loyal to his inner circle. He's charming and hilarious in the best possible way. And of course, it doesn't hurt that he's hot as hell.

So yeah, Tony is incredible, and I love him. And I love YOU for asking me these questions, thank you so much <3 I consider myself incredibly lucky to count you among my friends <3