#there's a version of this with an ice background but i'm still not happy with it as is

[felassan]

Notes and thoughts on the Companion Week day 1 screenshots

This screenshot of Harding looks like the same scene as this one. why are there so many screenshots of Harding injured? this is at least 4 now 😭 In this one it looks like she's had some of her injuries for a while - the big cut on her forehead has stitches.

as always the texture on her clothes, like the fur collar, and the raindrops on her clothes and things like that, look incredible. she has cute lil spiral patterns on her collar. the green lighting coming from stage right is ominous.

This screenshot of Davrin we first saw here, it's a crop of that one. he is so ears.

This screenshot of Bellara I think is new. she looks happy here and I'm eyeballing the details of her vallaslin. in the center of her forehead it almost looks like a sun or a sunburst.

This screenshot of Taash we first saw here. it's a crop of that one. thoughts on that one at the bottom of this post.

This screenshot of Lucanis is new - the background looks like a wall of ice? Are they in a very cold place at this point, or has a mage (perhaps Neve? :D) cast a wall of ice spell not long before this shot was taken? in this screenshot we have a better view of the bird skull adornment that he wears at his collar, and the two on his jacket. I'm still really curious about what are the five purple vial-looking things on his chest? he looks like he would have Crows feet when he smiles, and is that a knit-wear jumper he's wearing under the jacket?

This screenshot of Emmrich is new. adorable Manfred photobomb. in the background it looks like shelves with [?] goblets and rolls of parchment/scrolls - maybe this shot is from Emmrich's area in the Lighthouse? Manfred is so cute here and Emmrich looks super charming. Emmrich has a skull pin at his collar. (the slim cropped version of this screenshot is criminal as it cuts out Manfred hhhh nooo)

This screenshot of Neve I think is new. I'm not sure if it's inside or outside, but I think the background looks like Docktown. in the background, someone is cooking some kind of animal over a fire, and there are links of sausage (how do you call them?) hung up behind them. the general vibe makes me think of inside or just outside this Docktown tavern.

This screenshot of Davrin I think is new. he's so handsome, I trust him immediately. idk, something about this screenshot feels like 'hey we are meeting them for the first time' vibes. there's greenery in the background, so this looks to be outdoors somewhere. I wonder if it's the same scene as when he appears at around 1:09 in the release date reveal trailer. like he jumps down from the rock and this shot is from the subsequent conversation or something. there are some neat thoughts on the design of Davrin’s armor here. :>

This screenshot of Lucanis is new. with the ice in the background and general atmosphere, it looks like it's from the same scene as the Lucanis screenshot above. after rewatching the release date reveal trailer, I'm thinking this scene is the "I'm ready" scene. in the background of that moment in the trailer is a big wall of ice. the vibe is 'this is Lucanis during the conversation you have with him after the Venatori are dead' or something.

This screenshot of Bellara I think is a different crop of the one of Bellara above.

on the flaming cards.

lastly, from the flaming cards, the fire on each companion's card was a different hue. it seems like each companion has a color.

Harding - green. compared to Emmrich's green it's more limey Davrin - blue Bellara - red? I don't know how to describe it but it's a slightly different shade to Neve Lucanis - purple Taash - orange Emmrich - greenish. compared to Harding it's more turquoise/cyan Neve - red? I don't know how to describe it but it's a slightly different shade to Bellara

it looks like the flame colors correspond to the colors each companion pin was at SDCC. (you can see the companion pins from SDCC here). there, Harding was green, Davrin was blue, Bellara was red-red, Lucanis was purple, Taash was amber/orange, Emmrich was a slightly more tealy green, and Neve was a pinky-red or magenta kinda vibe.

[marshallpupfan]

My Weekly Wipeouts~

Back in April of 2020, I not only started posting daily pics of Marshall, I also began my routine of using clips from the cartoon to post "Weekly Wipeouts". Admittedly, I wanted to call them "Wednesday Wipeouts", but I noticed that was used quite a lot already on Twitter/X for various other posts, so I changed it to Weekly Wipeouts. Ever wonder why I always post these on Wednesday? Now you know!

I haven't missed a single Wipeout since I started (unless you count the ones that got blocked on Youtube... thanks, Viacom). In fact, since that day, I've posted well over 230 of them! Even more, if you count the ones I revisited to extend them with extra clips. Just for fun, here's a peek at the documents I use to keep track of them all.

When I first came up with this idea, I didn't want to just post a clip and call it a day. I figured I'd also create an intro and outro card to place on each one, just to add a little extra flair. I'll admit, this was directly inspired by the official PAW Patrol Youtube account, since they often did something similar.

This is what I initially came up with for my intro. The thing is, I wasn't happy with just using a still image for the background, so I replicated that animated background (common with the franchise) from scratch and made it red. Actually, at first I used the one from the video game, "PAW Patrol on a Roll", since it was easier for me at the time. I later replaced it with one that's more accurate to what you see behind the logo during the official cartoon's intro, only... red.

I kept this for about sixty Wipeouts until I finally decided I wanted to go back in and change those letters to something that looked nicer. Going back to Photoshop...

This is what I came up with. I think these letters just look way better! And this is when I updated the background animation, too. What you see here is what I'm still using now, although I've swapped out the render of Marshall for another a few times since then.

Admittedly, I was slightly tempted to use a render that uses his new season 11 animation, but I don't have any that can work that's also transparent. Besides, I still prefer his old look more, anyway. Maybe I'll try to edit one eventually, if I ever use a wipeout from the latest episodes with that new animation... but I'm pretty sure those will just immediately get blocked by Youtube anyway.

I've also updated my intro for some holidays, such as Halloween and Christmas. I usually work on these ahead of time, since I always make a bunch of edits and modifications to them until I get something I really like. In fact, the Christmas one received quite a few edits.

The first one, we'll call it version 1.0, used a lot of blue, such as the background and letters. I felt this didn't mesh with Marshall's red aesthetic, so I was like "I can't keep this".

For version 1.1, I reversed my edit and made the letters red again. It still didn't look quite right, so again, I went back in to modify it.

For version 1.2, I decided to ditch the blue background and go with the usual red. I also decided, for fun, to put some snow and ice on the badge, just to sell the winter theme even further. I felt it was all starting to look better… but there was still something about it that wasn't meshing for me, particularly with the trees and snow field I drew up. Back to Photoshop.

For version 1.3, I decided to see what it might look like if I made the mountains in the background a bit more blue, to give them a more cold temperature look. I felt this was what it needed for everything to mesh better, so I went with it. This is ultimately what I used!

I later modified this one to use the updated new letters, too. A version 1.3.1, if you will. I had to redraw the Christmas lights around said letters to make it work, but it was worth it to improve the overall look.

Honestly, this stuff can sometimes be a lot of work, especially when the Wipeout clip requires some extra editing (including audio editing to merge clips and/or remove portions for time), but it's something I like doing for you guys. I like my content to look and appear nice, and hopefully unique enough to stand out... even if some of this just involves a brief clip at the start. The effort is often worth it!

Well, I hope you all enjoyed a brief look at some of what goes into my Weekly Wipeouts. I just figured it might be a fun thing to talk about... and to continue procrastinating from working on rearranging my Marshall collection (I haven't worked on it much since my last post about it. lol)

[not-the-dum-e]

Definitely gonna need to read lyrics for these songs, the music is so interesting.

Drum Beat

Straight off, great choice for title track, it's such a catchy, feel good song that sets up the pace for the rest of the album.

Onew's rapping is so good in this, it suits the song perfectly a highlight on a song full of great moments.

I love the outro, that kinda talky bit at the end sounds so nice I don't even know why but hm, hits just right.

I wish it was longer, I could listen to a five minute version of it, but I will have to settle for looping it ┐⁠(⁠￣⁠ヘ⁠￣⁠)⁠┌

Hola!

The vocal melody in the beginning of the verses reminds me a lot of latin american pop from the 70s and 80s. It's such a strange thing to me because the song instrumental itself (sans the percusion) is very different, taking sounds more specific to bosa nova, at least that is what it sounds like to me, I had not heard that combination before and gives me a strange sense of familiarity and nostalgia (at this point I was interrupted by Onew's live lol)

Made me wonder if the latin influence is on purpose, since the title is hola, if so 10/10 executed perfectly. Why haven't i heard any latin american artists do something like this?(if anyone has any recs for something that has this same kind of sound, in any language, but specially spanish please let me know)

Maestro

Contender for favorite on the album from the first listen, the bass line, the syncopation and how spacious? the chorus sounds. Floaty, idk you get what I'm saying?

The robotic voice too just fits the mood, the entire song is full of so many textures and layers, pulling forward and falling back, it's so engaging.

It reminds me a little of MGMT's Little Dark Age, but with the added charm of melodic breaks that are more grounded.

To say that I love it is just not enough.

Shape of My Heart

There is this sound in the background, that sounds to me like someone is carving/shaving ice? or perhaps sharpening a blade, i need lyrics for this one haha.

Either way the piano chords sound kinda out of tune at times, like a really old piano; or perhaps it's like a distortion —like the piano is coming in and out of focus, some chords are rattly, out of tune. This song has a lot of interesting stuff going on in the background.

The outro though, it feels like suddenly everything is finally sorted out, every element fits together by the end, the vocal melody, the chords on the piano stop sounding distorted, and it all sounds melodic and sweet. Also those backing harmonies to boost that feeling of order and peace, where before everything was extremely chaotic, going in and out of focus.

It sounds like resolution, i really need the lyrics for this one. I looped it a lot just to get this down, it's such an interesting sounding song.

월화수목금토일 (All Day)

Now I've been listening to this one quite a lot since it came out, and it still is such a feel good kinda song, which seems to be a thread through this whole album, it's so catchy no wonder he picked it for a pre-release.

It showcases his vocals beautifully, what else can I say?

Focus

The synths, the dramatic rests, come on.

I think Shape of My Heart took most of my brain power cause I'm struggling to come up with more than that, but it's a great song, great closer.

The instrumentals in the whole album compliment his voice perfectly, I can't imagine how hard it was to pick the title, half the songs in the album could be strong contenders for title.

I do wish the songs were a bit longer though, but that is just a teeny tiny thing, really.

I keep thinking about it and there is a lot of joy in this album, idk why i got that impression, because it's not like all the songs are happy, maybe it's just Beat Drum, All Day, and Hola!.

I love it so much.

It is just as 'Onew like' as Circle, even though it is so different.

I hadn't really realized how much I had missed him during this hiatus, and it seems to have hit me all at once now. I'm so happy that he is back and maybe that plays a role on it too.

It does seem like the ten months of rest did wonders for him and I can feel a huge amount of joy in the music. He seems to be really happy to be back making music again, and it shows in every second of this album.

He really seems to know how to express himself through music, and it's just wonderful to be here to witness it💖

[strawberrypinky]

Writer Interview Game

Thank you for tagging me @heyitszev 💕 I love yapping.

NPT: @legacygirlingreen @goodgirlgonebard @gufu-vire @nyda-the-tav @seluneschosen @autistichalsin & anyone who wants to participate 💕

This is a long one, lol

When did you start writing? I think I've been writing stories for as long as I have been able to. My first-grade teacher supported anyone in the class who wished to be creative, so whether it was writing, crafts, or painting, she supported us in our ambitions. I think I may have even read out my first story attempts in front of the class back then. I could be wrong about that, though - It was twenty years ago, lol.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write? I read quite a few non-fiction books, which is something I don't think I'll ever do myself. It's just not my personal vibe or strength. I also enjoy books with bittersweet endings or even tragedies, and whilst I have tried time and time again to write a full tragedy, I always end up with a happy ending instead.

As a queer woman I'd also love to write queer stories at some point. Whilst I love reading queer stories, I haven't ever written one. I suppose that comes down to oftentimes not feeling queer enough.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often? @heyitszev semi-recently said reading "fire & ice" was like reading an evil version of Pride and Prejudice, and I have never recovered from that. Jane Austen is my favourite author of all time. I've pretty much read all of her books, and if there's someone I look up to, it's her. I also love Thomas Hardy and the Brontë sisters, but I don't find myself emulating them as much as I do Jane Austen.

While controversial, I also do find J.K Rowling inspiring - or rather, what she has created with the Harry Potter series. While I am in no way, shape or form condoning or supporting the things she has said in regard to especially LGBTQ people (!!), I admire the fact that she has created a lasting legacy with the Harry Potter series, which has managed to bring people from all ages and all backgrounds together. To create something so universally beloved is admirable.

Shame she's a raging cunt though.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space? I usually write on my living room couch with my dog next to me, lol. For some weird reason I cannot focus at my desk. At all.

What's your most effective way to muster up a muse? I wish I knew, lol. My ideas come to me at random. Sometimes I listen to a song and I'm suddenly hit with the best idea I've had in months. Other times I simply need an hour away from my laptop to do anything but write, and I'm back writing at neck-breaking speed.

If anyone's got great ideas to muster up a muse let me know though, lol.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you? My writing has changed drastically over the years, and I can't compare recurring themes from five years ago to recurring themes now. My stories used to focus much more on romanticism and being in love, and while I still adore love stories, I do think my focus has shifted to more complex storytelling.

Feminism, especially "first wave" feminism, is a topic I broach quite frequently lately. Women trying to challenge the entrenched structures that deny them basic rights and autonomy. Deeply personal and often overlooked struggles of women trying to define their own narratives within a society intent on silencing them. Women being controlled by the men in their lives – fathers, brothers, husbands (or, in the case of fire and ice, also a god) – and a struggle for autonomy amidst operating within set boundaries. Personal aspirations versus societal expectations. Fire & ice is touching on these subjects more intensely in the next chapters, particularly chapter seven, which is entirely from Elodie's perspective. The first chapters were entirely from Enver's perspective, a man who has been intent on refusing Elodie any choice whatsoever.

Another topic that I have written about more frequently is the question of destiny and whether or not the choices one makes can impact one's life one way or the other, for better or worse. The concept of destiny versus free will, whether the events of one's life are predetermined by some cosmic force or if one, through making different choices, can shape the course of one's existence. I often try to grapple with the tension of determinism versus agency - particularly in "fire and ice" with the coexistence of divine omniscience versus human free will and, ultimately, Enver and Elodie's different outlooks on this.

Does that surprise me? Truthfully – yes and no. I am, and always have been, an advocate for the right of a woman to choose her own path in life. I support a woman wanting a traditional lifestyle as much as I support a woman choosing to have a career that fulfils her. The debate around divine omniscience versus human free will is more surprising to me. I grew up as an atheist and never gave much thought to divinity until much later in life. I'm an Anglican now - perhaps my personal journey played into this.

What is your reason for writing? Truthfully, I have just always loved writing. As a child/teenager, it was a way for me to express myself because I struggled to do so otherwise. Nowadays, I know that's because I've got the tism, lmfao. We love a good ol' late diagnosis. I have always loved immersing myself in different worlds. It's simply a creative outlet for me - just how others draw or craft things, I write.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating? "It's like I'm reading an evil Pride and Prejudice" - @heyitszev GETS A DOUBLE MENTION BECAUSE I WILL NEVER RECOVER! EVER! Will forever yap about this. Might even get it tattooed.

Otherwise I just appreciate people telling me that the stories I write have them invested in the storylines and characters. I think that is the greatest compliment anyone could give me. If my silly little stories stuck with you in one way or the other, I feel like I've accomplished everything and more.

I also like personal highlight comments, lol. But yeah.

How do you want to be thought about by your readers? Hm, that's a difficult one tbh. I suppose if someone reads my stories I'd hope they understand I pour a lot of love, time and energy into what I publish.

Beyond that, I'd like to believe that my stories are understood to have depth beyond any romance or smut at the forefront. That anyone who reads them understands they are personal commentary on certain issues and viewpoints.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer? I have been told I am wonderfully descriptive. That the way I write is beautifully illusory and that readers can immerse themselves into the story through the descriptions of sounds, smells and whatever else surrounds the characters. So yeah, I guess that.

How do you feel about your own writing? LMFAO that's subject to change like... daily. Sometimes I have the biggest god complex, but mostly I hate everything I write and would like to burn it as soon as I hit publish. It's usually kind readers who make me feel good about it, ngl.

The few moments I actually like my writing, I appreciate how far I've come and that I thoroughly enjoy being able to express myself this creatively.

I can't wait to get a MA in Creative Writing in the coming years. Maybe I should do this tag again afterwards 🤔

[magicalwarriordiamondheart]

Episode 11 (Zacharie and Alex) and Episode 13 (Liam) Now available!

Happy Valentines day! Well... It's still Valentine's somewhere while I'm typing this. And my gift for you is more content for the public demo!

Those of you waiting on the private KS update hold on tight because you guys will be getting new content as well!

Like last time this build contains quite a few differences from the last:

New CGs to collect. this includes older, previously uncollectable ones as well. Chibi CGs are now collectable. And so is the title card. Go back to previous episodes to add them to your gallery! Unlock the title card by viewing the completed version of it in episode 7

Speaking of title cards: The title card has been redone entirely :3 Writing credits are now on each card

Episode 12's slumber party CG is finally in. I couldn't decide which scene to add it in. (And I didn't. It's in two scenes lol)

Episode 11 has been updated with Alex and Zacharie's plot. Just as Liam and Clover, you can collect a new CG with high enough affection with the two of them.

You can hang out with Liam and Alex during the Halloween Party in Episode 10. This scene comes with a new CG image so go back and collect it!

Liam's story in Episode 13 is now available! Some of you might have played it a few months ago, This update does include more scenes and extra variations to Liam's dialogue depending on your affection with him... As well as your relationship with his best friend Alex.

General bug fixes, grammar and typo fixes, and Art tweaks. Sophie's bedroom and the Ice Cream parlor have new backgrounds by the talented BackgroundTK. Zacharie's home exterior is by them as well <3

Major UI adjustments, especially for the gallery. Mobile players no longer have to worry about getting trapped in there. ;w; Also the font toggle for Open Dyslexic now effects all the fonts and not just the text box. More accessibility adjustments to come soon <3

Again some episodes might be missing sounds or music... And there are potential bugs with the gallery as theres been a ton of adjustments. as well as the help pages.

[localsharkcryptid]

*stumbles onto your blog, tripping over various tree root and covered in leaves* Hi! I heard you have a Dragon Rider AU!!

Is everyone humans? Are some people dragons? It’s it angsty? Do you have a general plot? What kind of location is this based on? What kinds of dragons are there? Is dragon riding widely accepted? Can everyone do it or just a select few? How do people get their dragons?

Well hello there! :D

I've gotta say this is a LOT of questions but I do not mind at all!! Just this gonna be a long post, and speaking of which onto the answers!

---

Is everyone humans? Are some people dragons?

In this case everyone is human for this au!

Is it angsty?

Mildly?? I personally would consider it, bittersweet I suppose? The bit I'm working on currently is very focused on the shattered nature of DTeam's dynamic so I'll say good mild angst rating with a happy ending eventually (Angst may also be higher for the dnf enjoyers)

Do you have a general plot?

I have quite a few plot notes actually!! Currently I'm focused on what is a prequel to my original idea, which is shelved temporarily for reasons, so now this part of the story is focused on Dream and how he's dealing with his choices - and his attempts to run away from his role in everything.

The short version is basically: Dream is heir to his brother's (DreamXD) throne and well he wants absolutely nothing to do with it, this leads to a lot of rash decisions and unfortunately attempts to shove away his friends. A spiral very similar to canon dsmp just different motives. Inevitably though when he finally claims a dragon he at last has his ticket to freedom and makes a break for it to have his freedom. Shennagains then ensue, including obligatory Drunz cause I eternally love their character dynamic, Rivals Duo being rivals, XDnf in the distant background, and various other things I'm working out still!

What kind of location is this based on?

In general I am taking a lot of vibes from Westeros from A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones, a very very classic medieval fantasy vibe along with the actual layout and environment of things being loosely based on the actual maps of the dsmp!

What kinds of dragons are there?

At the moment just wyvern style dragons, a lot of my inspiration for the dragons comes from House of the Dragon as well as the works of Sawyer Lee (Sawyerleearts on insta/da he has some AMAZING work)! Effectively all the same 'species' of fire breathing beast but they all have their own unique features and looks! Though I am considering maybe adding ice and lightening breathing dragons as a fun little reference to the Ice & Fire mod - not much would change design wise, just kinda mixing up the breath abilities if I do go with that.

Also have some of my current concepts (newest to oldest, since I'm still in the process of changing designs)

Is dragon riding widely accepted?

Dragons in this case are rare, and dragon riders are rarer - when dragon riders usually come about they become part of a kingdom's greater military force or some similar high standing rank. Dragons are tickets to power if you don't already have it pretty much, they are after all the fantasy equivalent of a multi use nuclear weapon! Though there are some outliers who have dragons but don't align with either kingdom in the realm, these being sell swords/mercenaries like Punz or just lords who wish to remain independent and not everyone uses them for war. In general I'd say it's a very respected position to have.

Can anyone do it or is it only a select few? How do people get their dragons?

The criteria for someone to bond with a dragon varies a bit, pretty much anyone can bond and develop a link with a hatchling - if the wyrmling imprints on them after hatching it's a free ticket pretty much! Though hatching dragon eggs is not easy, and the hatch rates of them are very low. The other option to get a dragon is claiming a wild one. Bonding with wild dragons though, is more difficult, no one is exactly sure how it's done but the rider usually has to have some recessive magic genes effectively (magic is a long dead art but remnants of it's influence remain, i.e potions & enchantments). When it comes to claiming a wild dragon what also matters is the dragon also choosing and accepting the rider, things can turn a bit- nasty if they decline the bond. Gaining a dragon is in general no easy feat, adding onto that sort of instant status boost dragon riders can gain if they succeed in getting one!

---

Thank you for the questions btw!!! It thoroughly made my day to see a full list of stuff to answer about this project ^^

[deepautumncolors]

Book Review

I knew I wanted to read this book in December so I should have grabbed it when I saw it at the library before Thanksgiving, but it was gone when I went back to get it. I put it on hold so I could read it when it was returned, but a week went by so my husband bought it for me and surprised me with it as an early Christmas gift!

Kate Turner lives in the close-knit community of Blexford, England where everybody knows each other. Imagine a British version of Stars Hollow, Connecticut from Gilmore Girls. At age 34, she is tired of being single so her best friend Laura encourages her to sign up for the Twelve Dates of Christmas, which is a dating service through a website called Lightning Strikes. Throughout the month of December, Kate goes on a variety of twelve blind dates with a different man at each one - ice skating, salsa dancing, an escape room, making a gingerbread house, and wine tasting to name a few. Which of the twelve men will be Kate's soulmate? Or will it be someone else entirely?

I was a little skeptical at first because there was a typo on the very first page - a missing quotation mark at the end of somebody's sentence. So that was a turn-off right from the start, but once I got into the story, I grew to like it. There were several other errors as well that I noticed throughout the book - for example, "Kate wondered what Richard had had to do get one at such short notice" on page 265 and "I don't it want it hanging in the air above our heads" just two pages later, among a few others. If I was able to catch those mistakes, then a professional editor definitely should have. Maybe I should have become one - I have excellent attention to detail and I'm very picky about grammar and punctuation, just ask anyone I work with!

The book has twelve chapters, one for each date. I like this idea, but that structure means that the chapters are longer - usually about 40 or 50 pages. But they could have been shorter because the author gave a little too much description at times - I know what snow is, you don't have to go into a lot of detail about what it looks like lol. I also thought there was too much background information about the side characters and maybe a couple too many of them - I kept forgetting who certain people were and had a hard time keeping track of everyone. I thought the excessive details and backstories slowed down the pace because we had to keep stopping from what was happening in the present moment. Some additional editing could have eliminated the unnecessary information and corrected the typos that I mentioned above.

My favorite parts were the different dates; I liked those better than the scenes with the townspeople. This book was a closed door romance with some cheesy moments and a happy ending that would make a good Hallmark movie! It was easy to tell early on who Kate would end up with, but it's not like rom-coms are supposed to be a mystery. However, he came off as clingy and possessive of Kate even though he was dating someone else.

Despite these grievances, it was still an entertaining story with cozy vibes that will put you in the Christmas spirit. This is the author's debut novel from 2020, and she's written several other Christmas romances since then. Maybe next year I'll read another one, but I'm going to read something else next.

[lonita]

100 Things About Me

I am legally blind.

I prefer identify first language over person first, because person first makes it sounds as if I can take my disability off as if it's an attachment.

I don't like abled people telling me how to refer to myself or my disability.

I like to drink room temperature water in the winter.

I have three main hobbies: buying art supplies, organising art supplies, and using art supplies.

I love binge-watching old TV shows as background and comfort noise, particularly Cadfael, the first four seasons of Babylon 5, and Veronica Mars.

I have seen Gary Numan live six times.

I love singing jazz.

Cooking is a monumental bore.

I am childfree by choice.

I have had surgery to render myself incapable of pregnancy.

I have zero regrets about either of the above two things.

The only car I've ever driven was an F2000 racecar.

Aside from various locations in Canada, I've been to the US, England, France, Hungary, Germany, and Cuba.

I don't know how to swim.

The older I get the more politically and socially angry I get, and the "leftier" I get.

I like systems that benefit people collectively.

I cannot abide the smell of mutton cooking.

My favourite colours are warm greens - like grasses, leaves, and olives.

Celebrity and influencer culture bore the shit out of me.

I have no real desire to own a home. I'm content ro rent.

I love abstract art.

I am an atheist and antitheist.

I haven't watched a sitcom in so long I don't even remember the last one I watched.

I have five tattoos.

I haven't watched any mainstream Canadian broadcast news since the second week of October 2023.

When I have tea, I only like milk in it.

My favourite songs to listen to loud are Gary Numan's Hope Bleeds version of Are Friends Electric?, Led Zeppelin Nobody's Fault But Mine, Fugazi Waiting Room, and Gang of Four To Hell With Poverty.

My love for loud music has not blunted as I get older.

I didn't know my blood type until about five years ago.

Songs that mention luxury brand names annoy the shit out of me.

Things that other people seem to like which I don't: the movie Titanic, Taylor Swift, wine.

Things that I like which other people seem not to like so much, include: pigeons, spinach, communists. Only the middle one for eating. I don't want to eat communists. Although I've had pigeon once, and it was delicious.

i prefer micro-fine black ink pens over any other kind.

My first name apparently roughly translates to "ready for battle". Anyone who knows me is going to find that funny.

Crunchy peanut butter is superior to smooth.

I like collecting postcards.

Some things I like include tea, navel oranges, speculative fiction, loud guitar, corn bread, black pepper, leaf scuffing, ruby grapefruit, exploring abandoned buildings, surprise bags, milk chocolate, puns, warm spring days, a seriously good mindfuck, comfort films, the Oxford comma, constrained writing, ice cream, and costume drama.

My favourite mindfuck film is probably still Altered States.

I'm starting to come around to the term apocalist as opposed to bucket list.

I prefer pre-Moonratker Bond films.

I like to sing, preferably jazz standards or things of that like.

I think the reason most people who say they don't like jazz think they don't like jazz, is specifically because of scat and bebop.

I am grossed out by potato eyes.

I don't like people watching me do housework.

I truly believe that Frampton Comes Alive! does have restorative powers.

I like the sounds of wind in the trees and rain on the streets.

My household theme song is Tim Curry's I Do the Rock.

My favourite Beatles' song is Dig a Pony.

I don't like having my picture taken. No paparazzi!

I believe that you should work to live not live to work.

I believe that if life hands you lemons, you should make pie. Everything is better with pie.

I once cut myself with bubble wrap.

For years I've been keeping a notebook in which I write a list of things to be happy about.

I like attention. I don't like being the centre of attention.

I never learned how to put on any makeup other than lipstick.

I think best days ever include: Gary Day (any day on which I get to see Gary Numan live), New Toothbrush Day / Dentist Cleaned My Teeth Day, New Art Supplies Arrive in the Mail Day, The Day I Learned About Server-Side Includes, and Friday.

I like when there's enough of something.

For a long time when I was a child I wouldn't walk right up to my bed if the lights were out. I'd get about a foot away then jump onto it. I blame this on the movie Blackbeard's Ghost and that scene where he's looking into the mirror and the ghost appears behind him.

Sometimes I eat oranges because I like the sharp sweet smell more than I'm desirous of actually eating it.

One of my favourite things in the world is the tenor solo in the Ode to Joy, and the way it creeps up on you every time, like how Brain Damage/Eclipse creeps up on you and surprises you every time at the end of Dark Side of the Moon. I never get tired of that.

I like the film Lawrence of Arabia.

I believe in the right to choose.

I like to eat sweet things, but I don't like the smell of it on my hands afterwards.

I once volunteered to participate in a psych study just to get one of the perks of doing the study: copies of MRI scans of your brain.

For years I wouldn't get in an elevator first or get out last, because when I was five I got stuck in an elevator during a hydro company-oriented power outage. They decided that a school day's lunch time was the perfect time to do some testing. Boy did they get an earful from a number of people.

I get an enormous charge out of location-spotting the city where I live in films and TV shows.

My hair used to be a lovely golden red when I was young. It got blonder as I got older. That bums me out. I want the red back.

My current favourite vulgarity is halve poes.

I don't enjoy magic shows, sitcoms, Star Wars, or superhero movies.

I prefer 1% milk. Homogenised is too fatty and skim is like water.

I like making lists.

I own a green bass guitar.

I have never chugged maple syrup.

I don't like drinking carbonated drinks on hot days.

I like anise in candy but not with meat.

One time my mother ordered me groceries as a gift, but she accidentally doubled everything so I ended up with 20lbs of potatoes.

I hate wearing pink. I don't own anything pink.

Shrimp are too creepy to eat, as are snails.

I have no interest in jewellery and don't like white diamonds.

The skins that sometimes form on top of hot chocolate drinks are gross.

When I was five I had an imaginary friend named Charlie Brokentoaster.

I rarely drink alone. I come from a long line of alcoholics, so I just didn't want to get into the habit of drinking by myself. I want to enjoy alcohol, so I keep alcohol as a social thing.

Coloured pencils are one of my favourite things.

I just realised I've been playing Candy Crush for over a decade. That's just weird.

I never figured out Double Dutch when I was a kid.

Sometimes I miss ringing telephones.

I bought the kid version of a Waterpik because it was green and came with stickers.

My first Doctor was Jon Pertwee, but my favourite Doctor was Tom Baker.

Places I still want to visit include Uluru, Death Valley, and Kilimanjaro. None of these things is likely to come to pass.

I don't mind long bus rides. Good reading time.

I believe everyone has a creative capacity.

My favourite scents include the sharpness of lemon, orange, and grapefruit rinds, pine, and cooking soup.

Boomer thinkers annoy the shit out of me.

I like found object art and found poetry.

I wish cereal wasn't so carby. Sometimes a body gets a craving.

I can't eat bananas unless they're still a little green, because they're way too sweet when they're all the way yellow.

I still don't understand how I can not touch the lenses of my glasses and they still get marks on them. What the hell's up with that?

My cousins and I used to sneak fresh rhubarb out of their grandfather's garden when we were little.

Racism and bigotry are deal-breakers for me.

[cmiray]

*crickets*

would it even be me if I wasn't very late to the party

when did you join ? what made you join ? what do you remember from the plotlines that were current at the time ? where were you in life when you joined and where are you now ?

I believe it was the end of 2016, but I havent been able to find Lis original blog in a bit to double check. At the time I joined I hadn't roleplayed in forever, and was just getting over my first break up and needed a distraction. I had found chambord around before but never joined it. I believe I first saw chambord when I went back to an old rp blog and someone from that group had been using their blog for chambord. Even in Hshq i was not known for my consistency in activity but honestly this rp was the longest period I ever wrote anything. From highschool through university to now being almost done with my masters in a whole fucking continent is trully insane. This rp saw me through most of my 20's and the last of my teens. That's crazy.

which characters have you written over the years ?

Oh god, so fucking many. I know I will forget some. Lis will forever have a specially place in my heart. She went through so many changes but she was always a fucking mess and I love her for it. I'm not sure how long it would have taken all 3 of her iterations to be happy but she would be fighting tooth and nail the whole time against it I'm sure. You can not say she was not determined (to be fucking miserable).

I loved all of Lis's versions, and I tried to keep her core the same but I'm not sure if that sucessed. She came from very different backgrounds and was in so many different situations. I will never forget that original Arnauld murdered their parents in cold blood just for that crown.

Lisvent was so so fun and I was so happy when Hailee came up with him. As many have said in the past my like for Levente showed up to much in Lis by the end. I don't know if they would have found civility at any point, but maybe Lis would have grown cold and mean and meet him halfway. This Lis was much harder to write as sad and misserable because the spanish were such a - not functional maybe but loving family. It's hard to be the saddest gay when your sister loves you i guess?

The last Lis was probably the most deranged. I do not regret her though, but I think she had straid to much away from what Lis was at her core. She was older, and much more manipulative and I think i never quite got her right. but her and Stela were very fun while they lasted <3

Miray <3 my sweet. I do regreat I never finished her bad bitch transformation. But at least her and Hafiz made up and were happy by the end of their days together. Who would have through. I like to believe by now her and Layla would have made up too because anything else would be to painful. Daisuke is still on thin ice however. She will forever be Aslan's first born, and I think this fight at the end just shows that. She was finally rebeling against her real father.

A surprising third on this list perhaphs will be Arthur Sr. I know I never did much with him ( and I loved seeing C's take on him, she brought him to life in a way I never could.) but the english siblings plot, even if it has been over for a while specially for me, was one of my favorite things.

That brings us to Reha, who is 1000% living with Bruce's in his country house, she has sheep and has a long term lumberjane girlfriend. I will not take questions. I don't think she's talked with any of the siblings for a while, but maybe one day she will grow a spine and appolagise for all she did to all of them. Face her errors and all that.

Petro was a wild mess but I enjoyed my time with him. I will never forget the one word to one gif sibbling thread. I've said this in the fam chat already but Petro is a girlfather now, he co-parents with the mother but they're not together. I don't think he will ever grow up enough to be a good husband but I like to think he will be a good father at least. He may still be after claude or whatever name Inna has for him this week.

I would also like to talk about nic tho i don't know if anyone remembers him. He was very fun to play and I'm sad I never did more with him. The protest t-shirts are a fun memory.

There are a few others I never had much time to do much with, valentina, seonhye, Genoa, Ariel, a bodyguard from galicia, Rhea sister of Gaia not to be confused with Reha, probably more

I can't forget andrés in all this mess. Him and Lis are probably my most recognizable characters of hshq, Bandrés was so fun and I can't believe we started this with Dani being 5 years old and he's almost a teenager now. That's insane. There are a lot of inside jokes coming from Bandrés and ASS and I don't think I'll ever forget this ragtag team of MeanGirls wannabees (MeanCatalans). Thanks Evy for making Andrés so fun to play with both Barbie and Sergi, and thanks Dee for entertaining our crazy with Simó after so long of these two being unsupervised <3.

what is your favourite plotline that you've been part of ?

Probably Catalonia. It became such a big part of hshq and I enjoyed it very much. But I'll be honest - I was always a fan of making up the wildest craziest shit up possible but I rarely could make it to the end. So Catalonia was only my favorite cause Evy took it on and made something real of it. I was a very bad political player.

I really enjoyed the "Everyone hates Andrés" gag too. This man has had 2 friends his whole life and no one else can stand him.

All of the other plots mentioned above were so fun too however. I'm truly so grateful to everyone on this rp for putting up with my bullshit.

what about other people's plotlines ?

I loved all of Arnauld's shit tremendolessly and I'm forever in awe of Martha and her caraterization of him.

who is your favourite character from the ones you've played ? why ? what made you love them ? what made them so fun to write ?

I love all of them very differently. I think it would likely be a tie between Lis, Miray and Andrés. This will likely not surprise anyone as they are the i've played the longest. They were very fun to write because I could dip my foot in politics without having to be too involved. I think that was always my downfall in this rp - I was not good at the political plays.

if you could relive a plotline, which would it be ?

Early Bandrés fighting was so fun to write. They became so very friendly by the end (good for them of course but still). We tried to shake them up a little but never will quite be like those early Bandrés threads where they couldn't keep their hands off eachother, nor stop arguing.

is there a plotline that you'd edit now if you could ?

I don't think so. I would like to finish some things I never did but fully change something? I would have maybe made Lis 3.0 her own character so I could have explored her more mean spirited, manipulative vibes more.

what's a plotline you wish you would have been able to finish before closing or just write more of ?

I would have loved to give Miray a more finished storyline. Have her figure out her place in the family and the world in general. She was to immature by the end and too lost, I wish some of that had been fixed before I lost all my time with my masters.

what is your favourite ooc memory ?

I have so many. I enjoyed the group discord very much over the years. I also love the verb naomi'ed until the end of my days.

My favorite might be the day everyone posted voice posts of the characters names in the correct language- it was so fun to hear these characters names correctly!

There is so much of my growing up that is tied to this group. My mom knows about some of you guys. "I'm talking to my brasilian friend" "Oh I know someone who lives in Northern Europe"

where can others find you if they want to get in touch ?

Discord is probably the easiest. I have a tumblr I use for little but if you'd like it @glitradora and if anyone would like it please feel free to ask for my whatsapp number either here by message or on discord <3

what else would you like to say ?

I will miss this rp so much - and surely I will lose track of some of you guys because of it closing. If so I hope to find you at some point in the future. I've know some of you for 8 years - that's longer than some of my irl friends. It's going to be wild to not have an hshq to come back too. but I will be bothering you all in the discord as long as it stays open. <3

ps. speciall for serre: 🍅🍅🍅

[sirenjose]

What's your favourite Norton jose Robbie lore skin?

If this is based on Appearances:

Captain Hook >>>>> Everything Else

I am extremely biased and have no shame over saying Captain Hook is my absolute favorite skin of any skin for any character and nothin else (so far at least) from anyone tops it.

Jose's Night Patrol is a very close 2nd, as I love Sheriff Jose/Office Jose from Truth & Inference, and if he ever got an A-tier, I'd be so happy.

Robbie, I like his Edward Mason skin with the Angels of Death crossover, though I'm biased since I really like Angels of Death, but if I really had to pick just one... Maybe his logic path, Prince on Ice. In part because I like the ice theme for the skin as well as the blue coloring. Wail is probably a close 2nd with Edward.

Norton is trickier... Soul Catcher and Orphan of Goetia are easy picks... Ronald of Nice is another for the Truth & Inference connection... Everyone enjoys Black Tulip... But... If I could pick any Norton skin, even if it wasn't available for Global, I'd pick Puzzle Solver in a heartbeat. If I had to pick a skin actually available in Global, I might pick Puzzle Solver, which is the closest thing I have to Puzzle Solver (and I still theorize Patchwork and Puzzle Solver are the same person based on similarities between the 2 skins, including the magnifying glass which is in the same place for both). But I also like Patchwork just because of the design and style.

I REALLY want a Detective Norton Truth & Inference skin. I've been wanting it since before DM was first announced. I'll try not to ramble about my reasons.

If this is based on the lore of the skin and/or lore for that essence, I'd still pick about the same.

Puzzle Solver, especially as I worked really hard to do a summary/transcript as well as an analysis of the entire Missing Player game (since it's only in CN).

For Norton, I'd probably pick Soul Catcher or Ronald for 2nd and Highway Cavalier for 3rd. Soul Catcher as him and Magic Item Keeper took FOREVER to figure out while I was working on their essence. Ronald because of Truth & Inference with his connection to Mr. Inference as well as his connection to him and DM due to their shared military background/past, which I STILL want to learn about. Highway Cavalier because, even if his appearance isn't my favorite, I love the lore NE made for COA 4, especially when you listen to the theme song Overdrive.

Captain Hook because of his connection to Lost Sailor and Sirens (to understand, just see my name or my siren jose theory ^_^'), the comparison between the real Captain Hook from the book vs the Jose's essence version of Hook and the parallels between that difference and Jose vs his father (Joaquin), and finally what this essence implies regarding Jose's dreams/desires in canon.

Night Patrol and Farfara are still 2nd due, as I said, I love Sheriff/Officer Jose in Truth & Inference.

For Robbie, I might pick his Wail skin instead because, even if simple, the implications and theme behind that skin, even if it's a charity skin, are sad but applicable to Robbie in a way.

[mellowdiplomattrashpsychic]

I dont like how he can't stay with him :(((

It's like- so bittersweet or just plain sad.

So let's just- have Damian change that.

Just like JJ bonded with Damian, Damian has bobded with him. Damian was not only protected but also taken care of. JJ stole parenting books and thought about Harley (who im making into a villain to sort of proper mother. Maybe it's like split custody sorta with Ivy and Harley kidnapping him every so often and Joker just going along with it because he doesn't want to be responsible for a kid).

JJ was a genuinely good parent aside from the times Joker would hurt him and he'd end up having an episode that Damian helped him through. JJ was hesitant to give affection, feeling buzzing on his skin and remembering the nails digging into his arms or shoulders, but he dealt with it because he needed to be a good mama bird to the baby bat.

It started like a bit.

Joker had made up little background stages to act like they were on a picnic or fishing or enjoying a nice sunny day as a family.

Junior tried to do something similar, but more genuine and without all the horror and pain he had gone through.

Being a parent who came from a bad family taught you to be better. So he was better. Plenty of times, better meant not having a kid at all. He didn't have that option, so he had to do better in taking care of the kid.

So they went outside, Junior gave Damian proper affection and not too much of it.

Damian had gotten used to it. He got used to hearing words of affirmation, the clear cut "I love you", and the "I'd do anything for you, baby bat."

He tried to use the last one to get Junior away from Joker. He tried to remind him that he was Tim Drake. But Junior only smiled sadly at him.

"I'm not Tim anymore, Baby Bat. I don't want to be. Think of me like your Harley. Never like before, but reformed with a little crazy."

And Damian did. He did because he couldn't recognize Tim in him at all. And thinking of it, he probably shouldn't try to get him back. The way he'd act would be devastating. He killed bats; he killed the people he tried to restrain and save.

So Damian focused on reforming him. And Junior had really stopped thinking it was some kind of game a long time ago. They both knew it. And when it was time to prove it, Junior delivered.

"No, he's not going to be like me or the fun little bird! He's mine, and I'm not letting you take him from me!"

BANG

That wasn't it. There were plenty more gunshots that went off. But Damian could only focus on being held by Junior soon afterwards. Held tightly as Junior moved them to a bathroom to clean off the blood Damian hadn't noticed.

Junior hummed all while long. A little nursery rhyme or maybe an actual song of some kind that Damian didn't recognize. It was an episode, but it was different. He acted like everything was normal and treated Damian like a toddler. Damian recognized this as Harley's influence on him. That he was acting like this world's version of her by using her coping mechanism.

Then the batfam came. Damian's family. His real one. And Junior tried to let go of the kid. How could he join a family when he killed them? How could he not do it again? He could relapse, he could have some episode that ended badly. Because while he was insane, he still kept a good amount of intelligence from before. He had even gained some from the Joker, who was much smarter than he was given credit for.

Damian wasn't happy about that.

Damian had built a life with Junior and had seen him as a guardian figure. He got so used to Juniors unconditional love that was similar to Dick's, just not as over the top but also definitely more so.

Junior had killed his vile father figure for Damian. Junior had looked into parenting books and taught him about who Damian was allowed to take down without major consequences for enrichment. Junior had taken them outside and taught him "better" versions of childish games (playing freeze tag with ice bombs that froze people was fun, especially when Junior was kind enough to give a target list full of really bad criminals).

So Damian refused to part ways with him in that dystopia. And he convinced Junior the only way he knew how.

By committing to the bit as a baby bat.

"NO!"

Everyone one jumped and turned to him. Damian, in which, forced tears to come forward, but not letting them fall.

He threw himself forward and onto Junior, grabbing onto his stupid tail coat that was once used to comfort him during a small anxiety attack. Junior staggered backward but kept standing.

"I'm not leaving without papa! I'm not going anywhere!"

And the batfam was in complete shock. Did they have the right dimension??? Did another Damian get kidnapped?? Was that their Damian?

And Junior had froze up, eyes wide as he owlishly blinked, completely confused.

Cause wtf?

Papa?

When the fuck did that start up?

Junior placed his hands on the back of Damian's head and his back, rubbing his back awkwardly before looking up at the flock.

"Well? Do something!"

And they're still hung up about it all.

Dick and Bruce were shattered by the fact they were his parents (Dick raised the kid more than Bruce, I will die on that grave), and yet he called Junior Papa? Choosing to give him that title?

Jason and Duker were concerned. Very concerned. What happened that Damian had attached himself to the makeshift son of a much worse version of a clown that looked like a mini him? But also, they felt like this was more like a Harley situation with Junior, so they wanted to help the kid out, take him under their wings. Encourage the adoption habit.

Cass and Tim knew that act was fake instantly. Steph took a bit to realize that and then sat back, ready to use it as blackmail. Babs had to take a moment to confirm that this was fake. All 4 were more than ready to keep the charade up. Tim felt weird that this was him (I'm making it so that he didn't deal with this, sort of leaning towards canon), but he also wasn't. They knew that Junior wasn't coming back unscathed, that he'd be more like Harley. And that was more than fine. What's wrong with having another morally gray family member? Jason passed that point, Dick got there but it was reversed, Tim hid that, Damian pulled away but he was one bad unsupervised incident away from getting rid of their Joker. What's wrong with another?

So yeah. Tim was the one who took the reign and moved that along quicker. He made direct eye contact with a panicking Junior and shrugged.

"You honestly should've expected this. I mean..." Tim looked over to the conveniently placed stack of parenting books and DIY storybooks Junior and Damian had fun making.

Junior glared at him, only to jump at another fake cry from Damian and focus his attention on the teen.

"Hey, it's ok. They'll take great care of you-"

"Y-you're going to abandon m-me?!"

"No! No, of course not." He looked up with a pleading look that only Dick responded to.

"Dami... If he doesn't want to come with us, then we shouldn't force him."

"If papa isn't coming with me, then I'm not leaving! I won't leave papa! I won't!"

Cass went up to Junior and Damian, offering a small smile, one that gave him a small apology. He wasn't going to get out of this easily. Not without hurting Damian. Junior knew that too and hung his head forward in defeat.

"Well, we can't have that." Junior forced a small giggle. "I hope you guys are ok with a plus one?"

Junior looked up for any sign of outright denial, but he saw the fist pump Steph made and the fist bump that Tim and Cass shared. The traitors. Bruce stiffly nodded his head and Dick and Duke sighed in relief.

Damian looked up "hesitantly" with his teary eyes. And that sealed the deal instantly.

"You're coming with us? Really?"

Junior only smiled gently with a nod.

"Great, then lets hit the road." Jason interrupted. "Alfred's been stress cooking lately, so let's not let him stress any longer. It's not good for his age."

And with that, Damian and Junior came home.

Ok so ive had this idea stuck in my head for WEEKS at this point and i need to tell someone about it so im invading your asks

(ages for this au, id imagine Damians around like- 12 or 13 and Tim/JJ's like- 17)

What if a version of Damian (like from ine of the good happy batfam universes) was sent to to a universe with Joker Junior where the rest of the bats were killed by the Joker and JJ was never reacued and brought back to being Tim?

And Damian is like- terrified because he doesnt know where he is or how to get back home and then hes found by JJ.

And like- at first JJ would probably try to leave Damian but once he gets a good look at this kid baby brother, thats his baby brother- he would realize that he recognizes this kid. So he keeps him!

The only problem with that is the Joker. Now the bats are all dead (or theres circumstances preventing them from doing anything) in this universe so theres nobody around to stop the Jokers shit. And we all know that the Joker isnt above murdering or tourturing kids. (Id imagine the JJ of this universe has done stuff like that once or twice, but he doesnt like to. He's a smaller equally manical yet WAY less bloodthirsty version of the joker)

So JJ keeps Damian hidden from his "Papa" until the bats of Damians universe are able to find a way to bring him back home. In the meantime tho, Damians under JJ's care, and its terrifying, but at least he tries!

Now in my mind Joker Jr. is kinda like Jinx from Arcane with mood swings, visual and audio halucinations, so so smart but so so crazy and confused and SCARED and oh so close to finally snapping until he actually does.

And this boy that he kiddnaped rescued confuses the fuck out of him. Because Junior recognizes him from somewhere and he doesnt know why.

(I hope this all makes sense its kinda just like a word vomit lmao my lizard brain just want crazy older brother Joker Jr. [Also there isnt enough JJ content out there and that is a crime])

(Older brother JJ content??? Fuck yeah)

TW: JJ, torture, child abuse

JJ... Recognizes those glaring emerald eyes and scowling face. He doesn't know why, but it causes reality around him to pulse with uncertainty as it teters between JJ's world and someone else's. Someone Papa doesn't like.

JJ won't talk to them. He knows he's not supposed to. Papa will become angry. So Junior tears his eyes from the bird kid baby bat and turns to leave. A tsk stops him.

Another wave of familiarity crashes over JJ, but he doesn't know that child. He doesn't. He really really doesn't know him.

So, Junior should move. Papa won't he happy if JJ can't move.

Well, unless Papa is teaching JJ a lesson.

His nerves light up at the memory of cold metal tables, electric probes, and buzzing.

JJ needs to go, but that kid. He can't leave him. He also can't take him with either. He knows what happens to the kids Joker meets.

Junior would never disobey his papa, but the ever-present buzzing noise isn't a deterrent for bad behavior. With how often he's punished, it hardly matters whether JJ is being a good child or not. He's always in trouble. Instead, that buzz is a reminder that he can't be caught.

JJ is smart. He's clever and sneaky. He's also great at lying, even to bats. While he may not know why lying to the nocturnal creatures is important, he knows it's an accomplishment he's proud of.

He can hide the child from Papa! It'll be a fun game! Junior's little surprise.

Junior isn't sure what he's winning, but he knows what will happen when he loses.

Death to the bird and punishment to JJ! A great joke!

Though Junior doesn't know why the kid is a bird.

Oh well! JJ will take great care of the little bird. All he has to do is feed him and keep him hidden! It will be like all the other things JJ hides from Papa. He'll never admit it, but Junior thinks Papa is a little dumb. As long as JJ plays pretend with the older man, he'll remain unsupervised.

Anyways, JJ has more of a demented, childish voice while Tim is more analytical and serious.

Damian, to start with, doesn't recognize Tim. JJ has green hair, bleached skin, cut cheeks, and way less muscle mass. The behavior is drastically different as well (also, we're not gonna speculate any specific mental disorders for these AUs. JJ and Tim are considered different due to their characterizstions, but I don't want to put harmful connotations out there [especially since I don't have any relevant conditions to insert accurate and mindful interpretations]).

In this AU, the Bats are all dead. JJ did kill some of them, which drastically reduced his ability to recover and remember that he's Tim.

He didn't kill Damian, though. Tim also feels extremely protective of his younger siblings (Duke included). Unfortunately, they're dead in this AU :/

JJ oscillates between being terrified, peppy, silent, crying, and content at rapid rates. It takes several days for Damian to feel out some of the triggers.

The Bats from Damian's universe are trying their damned best to get there as soon as possible. Sadly, Joker finds out about Damian before then.

JJ, by this point, has bonded with the kid. That kid is HIS. He may have some slightly fucked up notions on how to show care, but he will not let anyone harm the bird (not even Papa).

So, JJ does his best joke yet. He kills Joker.

Only after killing the Joker do the other Bats show up. They offer to take JJ with them (particularly because that's Tim!!!), but he refuses. He doesn't want to go with his family. He doesn't remember them and he killed some of them.

He can't stay with them.

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 12th March

No Christmas music, this week, thank goodness. We've still got quite a mix, though, with the return of two very different artists. And again, I'm left wondering if March 1959 was maybe just a slack period in teh charts, because the one that reached Number 1 is honestly kind of baffling to me.

Side Saddle - Russ Conway (peaked at Number 1)

I mean... it is what it is. Like Russ' last appearance, we're looking at a honky-tonk piano number, a bit Winifred Atwell, except without her signature janky tuning. We've got away from the [Insert synonym for party] theme naming, which would suggest to me that this track isn't a medley like so many of the other piano tracks we've heard so far - a suspicion that's borne out by the song, ultimately, since it does have a main tune that comes back and recurs. So that's something. But other than that, this is kind of just blandly jaunty, trotting along with an upbeat ice-cream van cheer.

It was used as part of the score for a British TV adaptation of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, which maybe explains its otherwise inexplicable popularity. Russ was apparently asked to compose it at quite short notice, and went with "side saddle" as a title, in order to conjure up a sort of old-fashioned feel, composing a song that he himself called an "olde-world gavotte". And I can hear that, I guess - there are more than a few echoes of the song "English Country Garden", for example. I would say that in my mind, with all the fussiness and piano fanciness it conjures up Jane Austen Regency era dances a bit more than it does Beauty and the Beast, tainted as I am by the 1991 Disney adaptation, where the story is quite clearly set in pre-Revolutionary France. But hey, it's not a million miles off, I guess? And when all you have is a piano...

It was apparently a much-requested tune on Housewives' Choice, which possibly tells you everything you need to know. Running from 1946 to 1967, the show was influential but I suspect never particularly "cool", as a sort of adult, middle-class radio version of Top of the Pops. And yeah, there's no way that anybody thought this track was cool. Catchy, perhaps. Fun, I guess. Cool? Eh...

My Happiness - Connie Francis (4)

If you've read any of my other posts featuring her, you'll know that I really like Connie Francis. And this was a Connie song that I didn't know, so I was pretty excited to hit play. And to absolutely nobody's surprise, it's good. We start with Connie singing with almost no backing, just her voice, close and intimate. And then, even better, she starts duetting in close harmony with a duplicate of her own voice, which she keeps up throughout, both Connies impeccably aligned, even as the backing instruments come in and the song develops into a sort of slow, jazzy country-tinged ballad. It's perfectly pleasant, especially with the slightly random saxophone and string touches that occasionally take over in the background, all of them carefully balanced so as to not overwhelm Connie's voice.

That said, I think of the songs we've had so far from Connie, it's possibly my least favourite, tied perhaps with Carolina Moon, which it does kind of resemble, come to think of it. Both songs have the same sort of country vibe, and both, more crucially, are just kind of bland? So far, Connie's been at her best when she's been given something fiery, or flirty, or even a bit angry. Here, she's left to trudge through lines about how evening shadows make me blue / When each weary day is through / How I long to be with you. Yawn. Every day I reminisce / Dreaming of your tender kiss / Always thinking how I miss my happiness. Ugh. Any place on Earth will do / Just as long as I'm with you. Boring. It's cliché on cliché, linekd with the most banal rhymes possible. And Connie, possibly understandably, sounds like she's not particuarly invested in the relationship. She sounds bored. You could argue that she's trying to portray the tedium of life without her love. But all the same, if you're looking for a vibe to sell your song on, "I really wish I were literally elsewhere else" doesn't feel like the most dynamic option.

It was enough to get the song to Number 4, still so perhaps I shouldn't complain. In fact, it did even better in the US, where it was only held off the top by the Platters with Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. Interestingly, both songs are doo-wop/rock and roll updates of much older ballads. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes was from 1933, and this tune was also written as an instrumental in that same year, 1933, by the brilliantly-named Borney Bergantine, and given lyrics in 1947. In the decade between then and 1959 it seems to have covered by just about everybody who was everybody. Which is interesting - I kind of asusmed the era of endlessly updated standards would end once rock and roll showed up, but it clearly hasn't, at least not as of 1959.

Neither of these songs massively thrilled me, but one definitely appealed more than the other. As much as I like some jaunty piano, Connie is a much more appealing prospect, even with this admittedly kind of meh song.

Favourite song of the bunch: My Happiness

[mymidwestheart]

when you get this, please respond with five things that make you happy! then, send to your last ten people in your notifs (anonymously). you never know who might benefit from spreading positivity <3

5 Things that Make Me Happy (today version):

Sweet Tea. Nothing like the southern kind, but unfortunately I have to use fake sweetener now days. (T2 Diabetes) Still. I am currently drinking iced chai tea today. ☺️

Friends who care about you and reach out. Like this—whether anon or not. Thanks for thinking about me anon! 🫶

No agenda. Just being. Which is usually a bit lazy, or it can be sightseeing or something and just going whereever whenever. No timeline. Generally I like plans and routines, but I also like to learn and try new things (most of the time), so seeing a new place or region is fun.

Quiet/calm music. Either silence, or calming music in the background. From ASMR to Jazz/Blues. It definitely effects my heartrate.

When all my hair fits in a ponytail. I'm such a ponytail girl. Whyyyyyy do I ever convince myself to do cuts where it doesn't???? Don't ever do an undercut ya'll. I'm seeing stories that this could take YEARS to grow out to ponytail length.  🤦‍♀️

Thanks again! Have a lovely day ya'll!!

[phoebe-delia]

RED TAYLOR'S VERSION IS OUT ARE YOU YOU AS PUMPED AS I AM

idk if these ones are TS songs but 👀 perhaps number 4? or number 14?

ily pheebs happy Red day ❤️❤️

@ronbinary Ellis, my love, it would be my pleasure!! And is it too late to wish you a Happy Red Day? I'm SO sorry this has taken so long I'm The Worst. It is MARCH and you sent this in NOVEMBER. I didn't even forget about the prompt, I just had no inspiration for it and then I got all intimidated by it because the song is so iconic and then I wrote it little by little and now here we are. And if you ever feel compelled to talk Taylor Swift—or anything else really—in my DMs again, please know it would make my day 💛.

I chose song 4 because it's my lucky number! So, thank you for the request, ily and I hope very much that you enjoy this fic based on "Out of the Woods" by Taylor Swift.

Enormous thank you to @lqtraintracks for being an amazing alpha for this fic, and allowing me to experience the fanfic equivalent of Julia Child offering to taste test my cooking.

Idk if I need to warn for this, but I figure I will just in case. CW: one really brief reference to homophobia, and not between H/D.

"Do you ever think about leaving?"

I freeze, the glass of wine suddenly slippery in my sweaty hand. "Leaving?"

Harry nods, lying on the living room floor, eyes fixed on the ceiling as if staring at the stars. "Yeah, just. Getting away from everything. Packing a bag and going."

I'm careful, for once in my life, setting the wine glass on the floor as I take my spot next to him, brushing our shoulders together. "As in...taking a spontaneous trip somewhere together? Or..." I swallow. "Not."

He finally turns to me, head tilted in a soft curiosity. "You're the reason I'm here," he murmurs. "You're the reason this is worth it. If I were to go anywhere else it would only be with you."

Relief, as an emotion, a physical sensation, is vastly underrated. It's the relaxing of a tight grip around your throat, it's cracking sore muscles in your back, it's putting on socks after a day of wearing tight shoes, it's the cold rush of ice water down your throat on a day when the world is melting from the heat. I close my eyes, letting the feeling roll through my body like wind over a field. I wonder if the imaginary breeze would take me, too.

His hand in mine is an anchor. "It won't be like this forever," he whispers. "Only as long as we choose. We can make out in the middle of Diagon Alley, or move to a Muggle town in rural Italy and become sheep farmers tomorrow if that's what you want."

I chuckle and watch his eyes crinkle in the corners with his smile. "Potter, do you honestly see me in a field?"

"Oh, come now," his eyes twinkle. "It might not be that ba-a-a-a-ad," he giggled.

I roll my eyes but don't bother to suppress my smile. "You're incorrigible."

"No, that's ewe," he throws his head back, wincing slightly when it thumps against the floor but still laughing. "Get it? 'Cause a 'ewe' is a female sheep and—"

"I got it, Potter."

"Do you?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Quite."

"Are ewe sure?"

"I swear to Merlin," I close my eyes and take a deep breath. "I swear to Merlin I will never again use a homophone."

"Good, I don't like your father anyway."

"My wh—oh, a homopho—oh, honestly, it's not that funny!"

But I can't help but grin indulgently at him, my irritation fading at his open mirth toward his own joke. I rest my head on his shoulder as it shakes with laughter. I close my eyes and squeeze his hand. He brings my knuckles to his lips and presses a kiss there that feels like a promise.

***

I keep a polaroid folded in my wallet. The edges are worn and I’m still not used to an unmoving photo, but I can almost feel my lips pressed against his light stubble and his arm around my waist. I can almost feel the firewhiskey heavy in my blood, almost hear the symphony of our friends’ laughter in the background. I don’t dare look at it when I’m walking through Diagon, but knowing it’s there is a reminder of why we’re putting ourselves, our friends, and our family through this.

It’s easier when I use glamours; it was especially useful right after the trials because an acquittal in the courtroom isn’t redemption in the public eye. But I’m done hiding. If I’m good enough for him to fall in love with, even knowing me in my darkest moments, I must be good enough for everyone else to forgive.

But they don’t know that. I’m not hiding myself, but we’re hiding us, and it aches to be constantly looking over my shoulder for—something. Danger, maybe, Or for a sign that it’s safe, now, to let our love seep from our flat and fill the world with color.

***

At the time, it seemed so sudden, but the quickest moments move like molasses in my memories.

Now, I can remember the exact second that our carefully-divided worlds merged together, intersecting the universes we'd worked so hard to make parallel. The photographer hiding in the bushes snapped a photo of us, our faces bright and blushing, love hidden in plain sight. The man captured us with a click and a flash, a glimmer of color against a monochrome world.

I remember the bright bulb in my eyes, Harry's features screwed up in fury, the photographer shaken and terrified. I remember the image in the paper the next day and how he looked at me, both in the picture and now, standing next to me in the kitchen.

He clears his throat, lips twisted in a sheepish smile. "So. Italy?"

I huff a laugh, shaking my head. I close the distance between us, wrapping my arms around his neck. "I think we're past that, now."

"Yeah," he says ruefully. "I just wish it had been on our terms—our choice."

I nod. "Me too. But it's still our decision, right? To be together? It's a photo in the paper. Whether the rest of the world knows what our choice is doesn't change it."

"Yeah?" He grins.

"Yeah. Now, c'mon, let's go to Diagon Alley."

His eyebrows furrow. "Why?"

I smirk, sharp and heavy with promise. "So we can make out."

***

Later, I clip the photo from the Prophet and have it framed for display on my desk. The polaroid, though, stays in my wallet. I look at it when I need a reprieve from gloomy, gray-skied days, reminding me of love, in all its brightest colors.

I have a playlist of my 99 most listened-to songs of the year so far. Check my masterlist to see what's been done, then pick a number 1--99 and send me an ask and I'll write you a fic based on it!

[borgorbelly]

Happy New Year! (part two)

‘All that matters is that (y/n) is safe’ he thinks to himself.

(y/n) stirs lightly in his arms, cuddling closer into his chest.

The warmth in Rick’s chest unleashes a range of emotions in him. His initial instinct is to melt, there’s nothing he would love more than to curl up with them and make the most of the short time they will have together before (y/n) goes back to their normal, unrelenting, bitchy self.

As he sets (y/n) down on the couch in his hidden oasis of relaxation, he smacks himself in the head as hard as he can without causing any permanent damage. There will be no allowed softness from him. There is no good reason for him to lose his edge. To lose his unwavering asshole persona. It’s better this way.

The less people who care about you the better, because fewer people would be upset if anything bad were to happen. Even more so because it’s less people to have to worry about disappointing.

He’d always tried so hard to not care about others, and for a while he was successful. He’d found a way to turn that pesky empathy switch off. However in his later years it’d become increasingly harder to not reflect on his mistakes, possibly the biggest of all being his lack of compassion and empathy for others as well as everything that had stemmed from that.

Rick gathers the most cozy blankets he can find, not because he cares about (y/n). More so because he doesn’t want to deal with them whining about being cold. As he tucks (y/n) in he makes sure to keep them propped up on their side. There’s no reason to risk choking on vomit. He doesn’t need another issue to worry about, getting rid of a body is just more effort than it is to keep (y/n) on their side.

After searching through the playlists on his phone, he decides on a very “vibey” (as summer would call it) playlist. While adjusting the volume so that it plays lowly in the background, he attempts to spark a poorly rolled joint.

Fucking Summer and her stupid friends don’t even know how to roll a decent joint. Why must I do everything myself?

Rick pulls out a tray to unravel the joint, and grabs a pack of papers to re-roll with.

His oversized hands make it hard for him to perform the kind of delicate motor skills it takes to roll a pearled joint, but he could still roll better than whatever shitfuck teenager rolled it the first time.

After successfully rolling, those monstrous hands lift the joint to his lips and with a satisfying click he sparks a zippo lighter.

Hours pass as (y/n) sleeps off whatever the hell they ingested.

I’ll have to interrogate (y/n) for details once they‘re more lucid.

(y/n) stirs lightly in their sleep, almost as though half awake.

Standing up from his favorite recliner, Rick inches closer to inspect the situation. He finds himself lost in analyzing (y/n)’s features. their bone structure must have been carved by whatever omniscient creator actually exists. He almost wondered if he had done it himself.

Suddenly, the beautiful brown eyes in front of him flutter open. Those golden brown pools nearly consume Rick entirely.

“since when do you get so close to people?”

There’s that sass he hates to love.

“I-I thought you stop- .belch. stopped breathing.. y-you aren’t sp- .belch. special”

(Y/n) knew, though. Unfortunately for Rick he was easy to read, seeing as they are basically a younger version of him.

“god my head is fucking pounding.. you want to share that joint?”

“F-fine. B-but don’t get the wrong idea. This is just because I'm already s-so fuc- .belch. ffucking drunk already”

Rick finds himself giggling. That Venusian wine really snuck up on him. so did the Floopfloopian’s version of whiskey. And that joint was just the icing on a (now) very cross faded cake.

(y/n) plucks the joint from between Rick's fingers.

“Rick, which kindergartner rolled this?”

This offends Rick. He tried hard to roll well but having large hands really does make it more difficult.

“You try having giant sausage fingers. When you can attempt to work with something so delicate and be successful then you can talk but until then your comments are nil.”

(y/n) snorts at his sausage finger comment. But internally this only fuels a primal desire for him. Imagining those fingers leading to something even larger causes an electric shock to course through their body starting between their legs and shooting outward in every possible direction.

“I could have chode fingers and I'd still roll better than this. I swear people act like pearling it is so hard but it's really not”

The arrogance in (y/n)’s tone drives Rick mad in the best way.

As (y/n) puffs on the joint Rick retrieves the Venusian “wine” and Floopfloopian “whiskey” he’d been treating himself with prior to his unexpected guest’s arrival. He certainly hadn’t planned on ringing in the new year with the next door neighbor but hey, the more the merrier? Or whatever the fuck non grumpy people say.

Rick pours himself a glass of the wine, offering some to (y/n) despite not actually wanting to share.

“Rick, can I ask you something?”

Great. His least favorite question.

“W- .belch. what’s up?”

“I don’t need to know where we are, I do however need to know if you get a tv signal down here? Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper always host the best NYE specials.”

Phew, possible crisis averted.

“H-h-how about TV from a dimension where Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper can actually d- .belch. drink on air this year? In ours they have to be sober because of how f- .belch. fucked up Cohen got last year.”

“Sounds perfect to me!”

While Anderson and Cohen bantered in the background Rick and (y/n) found themselves locked in conversation unable to turn their attention to the tv. Seeing as they were pretty similar personality wise it really wasn’t a shocker they got on so well.

The only thing able to pull them from the conversation was overhearing the countdown in a brief lull.

10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.

Happy New Year!

“Happy New Year Rick! What are your goals going into this year?”

Between the wine, whiskey, and joint*, Rick found himself feeling earnest.

*along with the fractal dust cocktail he’d been nursing in his cybernetic augmentation’s IV system.

“Y-y- Y’know (y/n) most of the time I don’t have the nerve to be anything but an asshole. It’s easier to make people hate you than it is to worry about whether or not they like you. I don’t know about you but personally I’d rather know for sure that people hate me than be constantly wondering if i’m being perceived positively. Life is too short to be concerned with others’ opinions so i just say fuck it and do as I please. I’ve been doing that for most of my life and it’s really starting to catch up with me- at least mentally.”

This shift in Rick’s attitude catches (y/n) off guard. Who was really talking? Was it actually Rick or just another sick trick by him to throw (y/n) off for some unknown reason.

“To be honest Rick I can’t tell if you’re bullshitting or not. But on the off chance you’re being serious, I don't think it’s ever too late to learn self awareness and work on improvement if that’s what feels right to you. I can’t tell you that you have to do all that but I don’t think it could hurt. It sounds like you may be feeling a lot of guilt surrounding that behavior. In my experience the only thing that will make that guilt feel less icky is doing the work to change what’s causing it. It’s not easy and it doesn’t feel good all the time, but holding yourself accountable and noticing when you fall back into negative thought processes/actions/etc. is necessary. The first step is noticing the toxic behavior, the second is making the necessary changes.”

The air between the two hung heavily. Not necessarily in a negative way, more-so in the way a deeply personal topic tends to.

“You know Rick, just because we do bad things it doesn’t always mean we are bad people.”

“Come talk to me when the majority of your entire life is you doing bad things”

Taken aback, (y/n) ponders in silence wondering what the appropriate thing to say would be.

“I don’t know the whole story of course, but not everything is so black and white all the time. I feel like you should give yourself more credit”

Rarely did he find himself speechless, but Rick couldn’t come up with a zinger this time. He couldn’t fathom a way to ha ha himself out of it or brush it off or pretend like he wasn’t being the most honest he’s been in decades.

The weight of the conversation sinks in like a blanket over the pair, tucking them in nice and snug.

“I’m not proud of a lot of the things that i’ve done and said, but i don’t know how to not be uncomfortable or how to catch myself when i get so caught up with what i’m saying before i can even think about it most times”

“You put in the effort, it’s as simple as that. If you say something you regret, you correct yourself, you apologize and accept the consequences of how you have made the other person feel. It can feel embarrassing to apologize, to have been in the wrong, but that embarrassment is great motivation to do better. Don't you think?”

Rick let out a hefty sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose, his brows furrowed.

“You aren’t wrong. You want some ice cream?”

(y/n) couldn’t help but smile at the thought of the delicious treat, despite it being a cheap avoidance tactic.

“I’d love some Rick, thank you.”

“It’s from the Gloppy Drop system, so even though it’s vanilla the flavor packs a punch.”

“Interesting, I’ll be the judge of that.”

“No, like literally that’s the point of the ice cream, the dropulites have far inferior taste buds so their food has to do the work for them.”-

(y/n)’s eyes widen as they take their first bite of the splendid creamy deliciousness Rick had handed them.

“Last things I’ll say about this- it’s never too late to try to be better. Effort is what matters. Now what else do you have on this TV?”

As the two finish their ice cream and settle in on the couch, tired glances are exchanged. Taking each other in slowly, in patchwork, their eyes meet on more than one occasion. There are no words necessary, each meeting of the eyes exchanges so much more than silly little earth words ever could.

Happy New Year! (part one)

With Beth, space Beth, and Jerry spending time on space Beth’s satellite apartment, and Summer and Morty partying in the safety of their own home, Rick felt a minor sense of relief this NYE. Though minor, the weight off his chest was massively rewarding. not that it was a reward he deserved.

Finally he could have some much needed time to himself. Time to torture himself for all of the mistakes he’d made in the past year.

A sudden knocking on the garage door startled him out of his trance.

“G- .belch. Go away!” he raised his voice over the music coming from the house

The knocking continued, pounding harder the longer he ignored it.

“Rrrrick? Pleaseeee open uuuup, itsssss (y/n)”

He pondered whether or not to open the door. It’s not that he doesn’t like (y/n) its that he actually does. Or is at least starting to. That was the main issue.

He was not willing to find another weakness to attach to himself. The last thing he needs is yet another thing that any one of his numerous enemies could use against him.

But his curiosity always happened to get the best of him when it came to (y/n). There was something about them that called oh so alluringly to whatever kind of soul Rick had left.

Reluctantly, Rick opened the garage door. In the time it took to fully open Rick had regretted opening it, then recanted as soon as he saw the state of (y/n).

They were disheveled, to say the least. Not that he cared, but it was unsettling. They reminded Rick of himself in his younger years, determined, incredibly intelligent, and generally better than most other people. He didn’t enjoy it when they weren’t well.

“I, I don’t feel well Rrrickkkkk” (y/n) slurred, stumbling towards him

“W-w-woah there how much d- .belch. did you have to drink?”

“I- I.” (y/n) paused, their brows furrowing.

Their eyes pled for Rick to understand, their body failing to work with them to accurately portray the situation.

“I- think roo-“ they gag violently leaving them to fall forward.

Rick leaps forward to catch (y/n) before they smack the ground face first.

“What was that?” He picks (y/n) up cradling them as if they were no more than a half asleep child.

“Roofie” Rick’s blood began to boil.

Drugs that incapacitate you are fun, but only when it's consensual.

“We’re gonna head a couple floors down in the garage. D-d-d-don’t worry too much about the details (y/n) it’ll be cool”

[sineala]

i guess this isnt really specific to a single fanfic but: when you think of a plot, how do you decide whether youre going to pull characterization from 616 or ults stevetony?

Oh! Interesting question! Thank you!

A lot of times the question of what universe to set a story in doesn't even come up, because the idea is so solidly grounded in the events of that canon that it wouldn't make sense to set it in another universe. If I want to write, say, a story about the time Ults Steve was a vampire, it's going to be Ults. If I want to write a story that's a canon-divergent AU where Tony never hallucinates Steve in "Haunted" and that's how he figures out Steve isn't dead... I mean, that's gonna be 616.

The question I run into more frequently is "what era of 616 is this story set in?" and that's when I ask myself things like "okay, does Steve know Tony is Iron Man in this one?" and if the answer is yes that knocks out everything before 1982 unless I'm writing something where the reveal is an AU. "Are they on the same team?" knocks out most of the rest of the 80s and about half of the 90s. "Do they still live in the mansion?" knocks out everything after Avengers Disassembled and I guess that's why I have a couple dozen stories set during Volume 3. Heh. Sometimes I want to bring in a particular team member as a supporting character and I'll pick a time when they're on the team. Or I have a villain -- say, Ghost or Madame Masque -- and then I'll look for a time to set it when I know that villain is alive and doing something interesting and that will often suggest to me the nature of the plot, if the plot extends beyond, like, "Steve and Tony have a relationship." I do often write stories where the canon events are happening in the background, just differently.

But, like, maybe I just have, like, a trope I want to explore and the universe isn't set...

Reasons I Might Set Fic In 616

I want fic about identity porn.

I want fic about Tony's sobriety.

I want fic where Steve and Tony have been BFFs for years and live in the mansion and everything is happy.

I want the universe where Tony found Steve in the ice and Tony's voice was the first thing Steve heard and Tony canonically describes this as the best day of his life. Where they've just sort of headed for each other right from the beginning.

I want fic in a universe where Steve and Tony have tried to kill each other a few times and are just, y'know, living with that. Or maybe that hasn't happened yet! There's a lot of time here.

Basically I want them to know each other and have A History and whether that's good or bad is dependent on that particular fic.

Reasons I Might Set Fic In Ults

I'd like some grimdark.

I'd also like really, really wacky plots.

I want to remix the villains/plots of 616 with more angst.

I'd like a universe with a little more realism in it and/or I'd like to explore my feelings about Bush-era politics.

I'd like a Steve who doesn't want to be in the future in the beginning and can also be kind of an asshole.

I'd like Tony with the flamboyance turned up to eleven.

I'd like to write Tony drinking without it being a catastrophe.

Either of them could have some internalized homophobia! Tony is the one who makes homophobic remarks in canon. (Steve just sticks to misogyny, AFAIK. But they are, as we know, often correlated.)

I'd like to write Steve and Tony maybe not warming to each other with the Love At First Sight 616 thing but clearly becoming really good friends.

I want to set a fic in a universe where Steve and Tony have actually never seriously hurt each other. There's no Civil War in Ults! I mean, there is, but it's an actual civil war, like, Texas secedes and has nukes. This is what Ults is like.

Reasons I Might Set Fic In Something Else Like Marvel Adventures

I like the characters from 616 and I'd like to use versions of them that are close to 616 but I don't want anything to be all that fraught -- I want them to be friends but not have History.

This holds true for the villains, too. Like, maybe I want to write a Batroc story and not deal with all the canonical baggage and the time he stole Steve's shield and the thing with the prostitutes and just have a guy who kicks people.

I want a story that really focuses on overall team dynamics and banter.

I want to write something really really lighthearted.

All the other popular comics settings I can think of tend to be period (1872, Noir, Bullet Points) and I feel like you'd know if you wanted fic there.