#this is unfortunate cause i know very little on the dc universe

[thosedamnedghouls]

and when i tell you all ive unfortunately fallen down the Dick Grayson parents Peter Parker rabbit hole

[cerealboxlore]

Meet my original Captain Marvel villain!

Some of you may know about my obsession with DC Captain Marvel, I know I hide it very well, but it's true. Billy Batson is my absolute favorite character, my silly little guy. He's inspired me to become a better writer and artist, and allowed me to meet incredible people on this platform. It was only a matter of time before my love of OC creation mixed in with my love for Captain Marvel (shazam).

I rarely create OCs for in canon things, but I just adore this one so much.

Her name is Amity Briargaard; a woman reported missing from the 1950's; a wife, a mother, and up and coming Fawcett mayor candidate, who was unfortunately frozen in time during a magical blizzard in Fawcett City now known as the "Fawcett City Freeze" incident.

Not only had the bridge covered in ice caused her car to swerve off a bridge and into the icy lake below, but her car had already been tampered with thanks to her opponent for City mayor. With the combined efforts of the car exploding with illegal chemicals and the ice of the magical blizzard, Amity was kept frozen somehow at the bottom of the lake, for several decades, until one day, she began to thaw.

She had been kept perfectly healthy and safe, encased in those layers of ice for decades, but her biology had effectively changed forever. As she thawed, her skin did, too. Her body melted into a mysterious liquid state, monstrous in nature and cold to the touch. Most would be counting their blessings just to be alive, but Amity was not so grateful. Decades of her life had been taken away from her, and now her own body had become something so terrifying. Her new body didn't even allow for her to cry in mourning over her children having grown older and dying before she did.

Wanting this wrong to be righted, Amity sought justice the only way her melted mind knew how: revenge. Revenge against the descendants of those who wronged her in her past, even if they were completely innocent. Time was something she lost, but she could take it away from others very easily now.

I'm still creating things about her and finding ways for her to fit in to the DC universe (my version of it), but I like to think her powers are hydro manipulation, along with magical properties/traits that were infused into her body during the blizzard.

I think she really wants to learn how to turn back time with ancient magical artifacts she tries to steal.

Amity would totally have beef with Captain Marvel, the champion of magic, over not being able to help her turn back time and change the course of events for the entire world in an instant.

That's all I have for her so far, but I can and will talk a storm about her at a moments notice

Do y"all have any DC OC's? Lemme know!

[stainedglassandpigs]

Working on some stuff about the timeline for my Dc Universe and how it maps out, I want to get all my favs in it. This is semi based on my knowledge of the dc universe and shit that makes me happy so pls walk with me here with some of this

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This all takes place in Modern times 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

Clark Kent went to metropolis university for journalism on a football scholarship, doesn’t play every game but is a valuable player who brings a southern charm to the city, flashing a corn bread feed smile that has the stadiums cheering load when he does make an appearance on the field. Was more notable in his university’s student paper than on the field, bringing a sense of warmth and community to sports section that many non-sports fans once neglected, not to mention his foodie column were he galavants about the city trying new local ma and pop shops giving beautiful pieces on the history of his meals and small looks into the lives and culture that made the dish. Unfortunately for his every building fans the young bull does not have any public forms of social media, a very not chronological online individual

Lex Luther notorious son of the Luthor Corp Conglomerate who took leave form the socialite scene for a few years seemingly making a return to the city, paparazzi have spotted him at all his old local hang outs,but what’s really caught the eye and attention of the people of Metropolis is his recent knew found vigor for the sciences. The young Luther being seen brushing up with top geneticist and rumors in the streets say leading cloning biologists as well, perhaps Luthor corp is switching from their roots of Tec and into Bio only time will tell. On another more trivial note the seemingly reformed party boy has been seen in the stands of Metropolis University football stadium, perhaps a new love interest has entered the young billionaires life. Very chronically online and constantly trending for arguing with people over subjects he’s stupidly well versed in but no one cares because he’s so annoying about it they just wanna tell piss him off. The #cancellexluthor is a mainstay for the twitter trending page.

Diana prince does not have an alter ego she does not feel the need, and it’s very hard to hide her supernatural origins as a 6’8 woman with glorious gleaming muscles and an accent for a language that has not been spoken in the human world for centuries. Although the international people’s princess does not need a job she does enjoy working at a Smithsonian negotiating the return of stolen artifacts from around the world to their proper homeland, meeting a certain Barbara Minerva who causes the demigod to giggle a little to hard at jokes the other archaeologist and anthropologist don’t seem to find as funny. The world knows her as Wonder Woman powerful heroine and Ambassador to the mysterious Themyscria were her triplet sister rules (people think it’s a cultural thing when Queen Nubia call Diana sister, little do they know she’s being deadass).

(unfortunately I am a Percy Jackson kid so I fear I do like the Zeus Daughter route I beg forgiveness my sisters I know, I have seen Hades as a lovely replacement, and the streets say it’s lazy and over done and takes away for the female centric story that is Diana so perhaps Athena or Aphrodite would make a good replacement to Zeus, but I fear I am not letting go of the daughter of goddess (god) bit

Bruce Wayne has recently returned to Gotham city a decade after the tragic passing of his parents the young heir has reportedly been running His family business since being able to legal inherit it at 16. The young man seems to be making a name for himself in manny different areas of the city, some say he’s a jerk, some says he’s the sweetest thing since apple pie the verdict is still out for the young heir. The paparazzi having great difficulty capturing the young man one minute they have the perfect shot of him walking out of the Synagogue his family once attended together the next he’s vanished and being reported seen going into a high brow event with the next top model on his arm. They say he will be an attendees for this years met gala the public’s has begun buzzing with excitement. In an unrelated note crime in the city of Gotham has had an unusual new bump in the night, no one knows what to think of this new string of beaten up blue mobsters found laying every which way in the streets.

[ensnchekov-a]

@bprdmyers, x.

no, no he certainly isn’t fictional. she can see that much as she pauses her steps a few feet away from him, almost tempted to reach out and poke him to prove, if only to herself, that this was actually happening. she doesn’t, but she’s certainly tempted. “this is some dc comics multiverse level crazy.” who would have thought the fact she liked comic books would ever really come in handy? then again, maybe it wasn’t exactly handy as much as it was attempting to supply her with some sort of explanation for how this was possible. either way, there’s a starfleet officer standing in front of her on a day that had no business being as weird as it was. 

“it’s called star trek. been on television since.. i think nineteen-sixty.. uh– maybe sixty-six? i can’t remember. then there was movies and more shows and more movies and more shows. it’s kinda the go to in sci-fi. well, that and star wars but that’s a bit more fantasy than star trek’s dream of a better future.” 

“yeah, so way before any vulcans or warp-drives at least.. from what i imagine your perceptive would be. i don’t really know that any of that would exist in the future of.. of this universe? i mean, in theory, if your history was the same as my history or future, you’d know about star trek and well, not exist because you’d be.. fictional.” it was enough to cause a headache to begin to form in her temples but at least she was following a linear train of thought, even if she had comic books to thank for it. 

“it’s–” she pauses for a moment, suddenly unsure how much she should reveal. reality was beginning to creep it’s way back in and the bprd wasn’t common knowledge to the general public. but then, who was he going to tell? “uh– think section 31 but like a paranormal version that deals with demons and monsters and those types of threats. actually wait, maybe don’t think section 31, the bprd isn’t ominous. it’s the bureau for paranormal research and defense. it’s a private organization but partners with multiple governments.” maybe it was a little bit like the federation in that respect. “–and lets just say the book was in the possession of one really bad guy who had his sights on dark magic.”

Impossible may not be a word that exists on the flagship, but he can't think of any instance, in his own readings or in studies required by the Academy, that an officer has encountered a situation like this in their service. This in itself is not terribly surprising—the Enterprise is a ship of many firsts in Starfleet—but it would help to have even the smallest shred of previous information to go off of to help him navigate this situation.

Comic books and superheroes aren't an area he can boast an exceptional knowledge of, but he is familiar with the concept of the multiverse, with its infinite potential for alternate realities. Their own reality is living proof of that, born of the unforeseen consequences of Ambassador Spock's actions and that unfortunate disaster that occurred eight years before he was even born.

He listens intently to her explanation of this show, Star Trek, the supposed source of all of her knowledge and insight into him. His surprise and disbelief shows on his face; he can feel it in the downturn of his lips, the further slope of his brows, and it just sounds crazy.

Absolutely insane.

But he can't deny that she knows far too much for someone still living in the twenty-first century.

So for now, with no other information to go off of, he can only accept this as the most logical conclusion and proceed on the basis that the book they were gifted back on Iyati VI has brought him to a universe where the Federation may never even exist and where the starship Enterprise, and by extension himself and his friends, are nothing but stories people tell each other.

Pavel doesn't entirely know how to feel about this. It all seems—surreal, the knowledge that people he has never met could know so very much about him. Not too much, hopefully. He makes a mental note to see this show for himself at some point before he is sent back off to his own time.

There is one benefit, however, to all this and that is the fact that if she already knows this much—he was not the first to mention Vulcans or warp capability or even the Federation itself—he can be a little more lax in what he says. This technically cannot be a Prime Directive violation if this is information she already knows, even if the source is...well.

"Unless this universe uses our...story—" that does not feel any less weird to say out loud "—as inspiration. Media has always inspired change or been used to challenge the times. It may be the same thing." Some of his favourite ancient Terran poets and writers are proof of that. He shrugs. "But you will show me this series, Star Trek? I want to see it for myself."

Pavel can't help the involuntary shiver that creeps along his spine to think of Section 31 again, not after the incident with Admiral Marcus and Khan and what was easily fifteen Starfleet violations and layers of red and black tape.

"Not ominous, but secret? Close enough." He hums. "So you study the supernatural. This means here, creatures of fairytale exist?" How often do threats of that nature pop up here?

"And you are studying this book of dark magic?" His eyes shift back to the book on the bench, covered by her jacket. "How far into studying it have you gotten? Can they tell me at the bprd how to use it to get back—" he hesitates, only briefly, as if unsure of the word to use "—home?"

[theshy1sout]

My YouTube channel:

My Ao3:

My Patreon:

My dragonfruit discord:

Dragonfruit playlist:

XD just to let you know, here is a list of fandoms I'm in (which means I’m up to date and maybe make content sometimes):

Deltarune

Homestuck

Lego Monkie Kid

Sky x Family

Undertale

Trolls

Miraculous Ladybug

Infinity train

Pixar movies

And things I’m also fan of (which means I will reblog those occasionally):

Kaguya Sama

Nimona

Ninjago

Amphibia

MCU (well, everything)

DC Comics (Comics mostly. Batman and Flash mostly)

Star Butterfly

Lord of the Rings

How to train your dragon

Gravity falls

Steven universe (especially movie and Future!)

Hollow Knight

Pokemon

Centaurworld

Scott Pilgrim

Lore Olympus

The Lego movie (both parts :3)

Journey to the West

Overly Sarcastic Productions

Adventure Time

Avatar the last airbender

The Dragon Prince

Also, things I watched/read/played (I rarely reblog those):

Every Disney and Dreamworks movie

The owl house (only season 1 xd)

Kipo and the age of wonderbeast 

Star Wars (only movies)

Kimi no na wa

Studio Ghibli's movies (but not everything yet)

Cookie Run Kingdom

John Mulaney (yup XD)

BNA (currently watching, not finished yet)

Carmen Sandiego

One-Punch Man

Life is Strange

Portal 2

The Chronicle of Narnia (all books)

The Series of Unfortunate Events (all books and the movie, love those!)

Phineas and Ferb

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Ender's game (love it, I read everything)

Percy Jackson (and everything else)

Scooby-Doo

TheOdd1sOut (yes, you see this, it's very obvious)

Jadenanimation

My little pony

....i'll be honest with you, I have no idea if this is everything. Of course I watched/read/played more, but the rest I won't reblog at all. I did those lists cause someone suggested that I should. Well, I found it funny when I reblog sth and someone asks me “OMG you like this too??” XD

Im updating this list once per month

I won't tag it, bye

[themandylion]

Jaytim 70+54?? (Secret relationship+locked in a room)? 👀👀 Love your work!!!!! Have a wonderful day <3

Aww, thank you, you're very sweet. 😊

70 (Locked in a Room) + 54 (Secret Relationship) + JayTim

I like twists, so actually the secret relationship would be that Jason is, in fact… getting therapy! Because he realizes that this is a thing he should be doing, what with all the baggage he has (it's so much baggage) over the dying and the coming back but also, like. He was orphaned?? He lived on the streets?? He suddenly got adopted by one of the richest men in the country just out of nowhere?? He can't talk about the danger he experienced as Robin because civilian therapist, but he does admit that he really wanted to reconnect with his birth mom, but that didn't go well and she ended up dying after selling him out to a very bad man and getting him killed. (He can talk about the fact that he literally died and came back because this is DC universe and that's just. Tuesday. Everyone kinda knows at least one resurrected person, it's the in-universe equivalent of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.)

Anyway. Part of this whole therapy thing is Jason realizing that oh shit. He really shafted Tim while he was a frothing hot mess of Pit rage and hormones and oh no. He literally beat up a child?? Nearly killed him? On multiple occasions??? He's the worst ever, can never be allowed near Tim again, nearly sends himself to prison, but Bruce stops him. (Bruce doesn't want to deal with the headache of constantly monitoring Jason to make sure he doesn't kill any of the other inmates. That was such a pain, last time!)

But it's all a lot to deal with and he definitely goes out of his way to be nowhere near Tim. Problematic because Tim is living in his fancy-shmancy apartment on Park Row and Jason really wants to get after him for trying to gentrify the neighborhood, but that would involve face-to-face interaction!! So instead he just sabotages Tim's water. And power. Sewage. Internet.

His crowning glory is when he successfully seed-bombs Tim's roof (idiot doesn't rake out his eaves as often as he should) and then calls in a few favors to get Ivy to hurry things up a little. Within a week, Tim has several full-grown ficus trees breaking through his ceilings and walls and everything and the theater house is a lost cause. Thank god he saved his fish.

Tim isn't as much of an idiot as Jason thinks, though, and he knows this has to somehow be the handiwork of Poison Ivy. He drops in to visit Harley and they have a great big gossip fest where he lets her do his nails and they both bitch about obnoxious controlling bosses and Harley admits that Red Hood asked Ivy to take care of that rich kid's place over in Crime Alley.

Tim is just like, "O RLY" and starts plotting. He plots so hard. It's not particularly good or effective plotting because he's currently back at the manor and Damian keeps trying to murder him in his sleep and any time he tries to complain Dick and Bruce just laugh and say Damian's still adjusting and puberty is very difficult for some people. Tim would beg to differ. Most people can handle puberty without resorting to actual-fact murder attempts and it is hard to get enough sleep when he has to always keep one eye open and wear a gas mask at night after the unfortunate incident with the chlorine gas. Hilarious.

Eventually, he ends up outsourcing his plotting to Babs, who comes up with the brilliant idea of asking Jason to visit, having Tim come at the same time, and trapping them in the elevator of her building together. She and Tim think that this will for sure net answers for why Jason destroyed Tim's home, but instead Jason escapes through the ceiling of the elevator, Tim has to follow, and they end up making out on the roof. She isn't sure how this happened, she doesn't have cameras in the elevator shaft, but she is very curious.

The mystery is never solved.

[lady-literature]

hi hi hi i'm new here but i just got through your entire (at least i think so) accidental crime boss mari au and i love it so much!!! also my imagination went wild and here's what it came up with (this is so long, i'm so sorry 😂)

so, Jason teaching the kids street stuff, like pickpocketing and such, nobody can Ever pickpocket Mari (not that they'd try, i think, hahaha), somehow it's just not possible. you think you have her and then find out otherwise. furthermore! she'd probably actually know how to do A Lot of what Jason is teaching (look, saving Paris that many times and seeing the shit she's seen must have taught her something about street smarts, okay?), but whether she's aware of all of it or not remains... unanswered. she absolutely surprises everyone, jaws-on-the-floor style, the first time she does it, especially when she does it consciously. every time she does something unknowingly (and still in the Nicest Way Possible, how even--) Jason probably quietly gathers the kids around so that they can watch and learn in real time from an example. and also, even though she's The Responsible One between the two of them when it comes to this stuff, sometimes Mari helps the kids do something, like maybe pickpocket someone in the family, as a prank

now about the Rules!! more specifically the sword fighting and duelling etiquette rule: auntie Kagami teaches everyone who wants to learn fencing every time she visits. there are tournaments. there's probably a pocket dimension designed specifically for that. it doesn't help lessen the amount of Shenanigans happening all the time but boy does it get competitive

also also also i love the name Mother of Heroes!!!! it's so cool!!! The Brood too!!!

if you've got any, i would love to see some more headcanons with the Sirens or the other dark/darker characters of the city (i'm not that well-versed in the DC universe, so idk what to call them if they have a name, sorry)

also, we already know she's called the Pixie and that she's kinda considered a mob boss and etc., but like, what about the point of view of an outsider? the way it all came to be really must sound like something from legends or fairytales out there on the streets. something so sudden and kind, and if you look a bit closer magical and just so unexplainably other???? kids just disappearing off the streets in that area and then resurfacing again looking well fed and taken care of???? to those disillusioned enough with life it must literally sound like an urban legend or something. but she's real. if you need help you just gotta find her.

HI HI HI!!! oh my gosh all of it??? thank you so much!!

1) i think that Mari knows theoretically a lot of things about being on the streets, but not a lot practically. living on the streets has less to do with being able to fight and a lot more to do with instincts and experience and all these little tics you pick up when all you have to count on is yourself.

there are, of course, certain ‘street talents’ as i call them, like being able to pick locks and con people and having a sense for danger etc, etc.

mari knows that tangible things, because she’s bound to pick them up, obviously. the kids just don’t forget what they’ve learned, so often she sees it in action. Jason also teaches her street talents as well, sometimes on purpose, most times on accident.

there is a difference though, in how Mari uses said talents. when the kids use them, there is an edge to every movement. they use their talents like weapons, like they are shields, all bared teeth and fingers like claws. their talents come from pain and necessity and there will always be something a bit vicious about it.

Mari doesn’t have that, and never will. her talents are tools and tools only, one more to add to her vast repertoire. it’s as impersonal as it gets for her, which means its soft and sweet and used with care. her talents, even in combat or duels, are velvet over steel.

2) Oba Kagami, unfortunately, can’t visit often but when she does, oh boy is it intense. Mari and Chloe are always delighted when she and Adrien visit, but mari spends most of the trip running around and quelling fights and making sure no one loses a finger

3) thank you! i’d like to say id been planning the Mother of Heroes for a while but i came up with it mostly on the spot lol. it fits really well though and makes a lot of sense imo

i quite like it

4) hmmm. im not sure about much of that. despite being thought of as a crime boss, she stays away from the other rogues mostly. I think, if given the chance, Mari would likely adopt killer croc without question, and I think she’s on okay terms with Riddler in that they like to exchange brain teasers and the like, but other than the Sirens, mari stays away from crime.

for the sirens though, i very much like the idea that Harley basically thinks of Mari as a younger sister and is liable to just take her out on the town and leave Selina and Ivy to watch the kids while they go cause trouble for whatever group has caught Harley/Mari’s ire this time.

Ivy and Mari have a comradery in their shared love of plants and similarity in their powers. mari is more expansive and flexible than Ivy’s, but they share the same roots and the two spend lots of time gardening and keeping crops for the kids. (though, harvesting is often a chore for the older ones)

5) Mari being an urban legend is the truest thing I have heard. god, i’ve never really considered the outsiders perspective but yeah. could you imagine the stories people would whisper about the faerie living near crime alley? in the beginning, just after things start picking up and Mari has somewhere upwards of a dozen kids, I think it’d look something like this:

“People say there’s faeries living near crime alley. Magic folk settling back into the city that tried to drive them out. No one knows what they want, but they keep taking kids. The strange ones, the ones that are like them, that aren’t quite human.

“They say that they’ll help you, if only you ask. But be careful. There hasn’t been a kid to go in there and not come out different. They’re stronger, normally. And well-fed. But they also talk of strange creatures and stories no one’s ever heard of and you stop seeing them on the streets so much. (They say they live with the faeries now.)

“No one knows what the faeries want, but we know this: they help when you ask and they keep taking kids. I suppose, in the grand scheme, it depends on how much your willing to risk for some help.”

[curlybookwriter0294]

Term: Jealously

Summary: Jealously: A word that generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. 

 It is a term that Raven had often felt among other people but never on herself. She had felt anger, fear, worry and other emotions within herself, but never the emotion of jealously.  

She had always thought she would never feel the need to be jealous of anyone or anything. She had always found it useless whenever she had felt a wash of jealously that would come from other people. She had never understood why people would feel that way towards another human being.  However, her thoughts on the term had changed recently.  

Very recently.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the DC universe!!! I just own the plot!

AN: I cannot believe that DamiRae week 2021 is about to be over!! I have seen many great works of art and fics and I truly hope that you guys had fun this week! And I truly hope that you guys will like this little beauty because it is Pre- DamiRae lol

Jealously: A word that generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety.

 It is a term that Raven had often felt among other people but never on herself. She had felt anger, fear, worry and other emotions within herself, but never the emotion of jealously.

 She had always thought she would never feel the need to be jealous of anyone or anything. She had always found it useless whenever she had felt a wash of jealously that would come from other people. She had never understood why people would feel that way towards another human being.

 However, her thoughts on the term had changed recently.

 Very recently.

 She tried to tear her lavender gaze away from a couple that was dancing in the middle of the ballroom that was filled with other rich and famous citizens of Gotham City. The woman had long auburn hair that was swaying back and forth gently against her dark blue off the shoulder dress that she was wearing. Her partner that she was dancing with had short dark hair, forest green eyes and olive skin, wearing a fancy black and white suit paired with a short green bow tie.

 “They would make such a lovely couple don’t you think?” Raven hears an elderly woman ask her in a hush whisper, leaning in close as if not to disturb the pair that was circling back and forth in a waltz even though the tune of a classic Beethoven was playing around them loudly. “I can see the headlines now: Damian Wayne and Bethany Rosewater Officially Together Finally,” the older woman giggled at the made-up title that she had thought of. “Ah, young love. Do you have a boyfriend miss?”

 Raven managed to look away to look down at the short heavy-set woman that was standing next to her. She gave her a tight smile. “I… don’t unfortunately,” she answered the woman, trying to swallow down a sudden tightness that she was feeling in her chest.

 The kind gray haired woman eyed Raven up and down, taking in her black dress that she was wearing, frowning slightly at the sight of her plum long hair that had fallen over her pale shoulder. “Hmmm,” she said, and Raven wanted so badly to roll her eyes but held herself back. “You are…interesting looking. I am sure that you will find someone soon dear.”

 Raven sighed heavily at the woman before turning her attention back towards the pair that was still dancing gracefully on the dance floor. She studied Bethany’s face as Damian swung her around, smiling ear to ear as she spun around in a small circle before she had collided gently against his chest. Raven’s eyes widen slightly when she could’ve sworn that she had saw Damian’s upper lip twitch upwards which made her breathing hitched slightly and her chest tighten once more.

 Her whole body froze when she had felt a prick from her finger on the wine glass that she was holding and looked down at the cracked surface and realized if she had squeezed it any further it would’ve shattered under her hold.

 “Excuse me,” Raven said to the woman, walking backwards so she could get away from the crowd around her. She tried to calm her sudden wave of emotions as she tries to find somewhere to clear her mind. She tipped her head slightly when she spotted an open balcony and quickly made her way over to it. “Air. That’s what I need.”

 She leaned over the railing of the balcony, wondering why she had decided to go to this stupid gala event in the first place. She rolled her eyes when she remembered that it was his idea to invite her to represent the rest of the Titans because they had helped stopped several crimes in the city of Gotham when the Dark Knight had asked for assistance to stop a villain from terrorizing citizens of Gotham.

 Raven was confused when Damian had asked her to represent the Titans and not someone like Kori who is one of the leaders of the team. Dick Grayson was no go because he has to show up to the gala to show face for the Wayne Enterprises along with Damian who was the son of Bruce Wayne.

 She had only spoken to the younger Robin once when Bruce Wayne and Dick came over to speak to her briefly before going their separate ways to mingle with the guests. Damian was preoccupied speaking with board members and her.

 Bethany Rosewater.

 Raven had seen the auburn-haired woman before on some model magazine that Garfield Logan had shoved into her face one day. Apparently, she’s the daughter of some board member of the company and her father is close friends with Bruce hence why Damian had danced with her. She had seen other pictures of her in the magazine as well as several photos on her Instagram account and some of them were with Damian which had thousands of likes on it.

 She didn’t mean to scroll through the page. In all honesty at the time, she didn’t know that she was doing it until she had spent all night going through each picture that Bethany had posted. Raven could remember some of the comments that were written underneath pictures of Bethany and Damian and it had made Raven frown at each one.

 “They would make such a cute couple!”

 “Ugh, she’s so lucky! I mean, just look at him!”

 “Maybe they are already dating but is keeping it under wraps?”

 Raven had almost broken her phone from reading all the comments before she had managed to shut off her phone and put aside her.

 She doesn’t understand why she was feeling this way towards a woman that she barely knows. She doesn’t understand why she should care at all really. Granted, Bethany is beautiful and Damian is… she even couldn’t think of a word to describe the the green eyed Robin but knew that he was more than decent looking in that department and that was why the entire Gotham City wants the model and the heir of Wayne Enterprises to be together and the more she thinks about the possibility of them becoming an IT couple, the more her chest would burn at the thought.

 Raven’s amethyst eyes widen in surprise when she realizes as to why her chest was burning and why she had stormed out of the ballroom when she had grown tired of watching them dancing. She placed her hand over her chest in hopes to calm down her beating heart that was pumping fast.

 Raven was jealous.

 Jealous.

 The daughter of Trigon was jealous, and it was an emotion that she had felt on others and never on herself. Raven had no reason to ever feel jealous on anyone! She had always thought it was a useless emotion wasted for ridiculous reasons that had caused war and chaos throughout time and here she was… feeling jealous of a woman.

 The real question that Raven must ask herself was why: why was she jealous of that woman that was dancing with Damian?

 Was it because of the way that she had looked tonight at the gala? Raven shook her head no at the question. Was it because of that elderly rich woman that had mentioned that they would make a great couple? Again, Raven had shook her head no at the question. Then what was it that made Raven jealous?

 “She… she made him smile,” she whispered to herself, balling a fist that was on the railing of the balcony when she had finally answered her own questions. “It was because of the smile.”

 There are only a few people that can manage to bring out a smile from the former assassin. And when he does smile, it would bring warmth throughout her body when she feels a calm emotion that would come from him whenever he does twitch his upper lip ever so slightly. She shouldn’t feel jealous over the fact that someone other than her or the other members of the Titans made him smile.

 No. It was something else. Something deeper than that and Raven needs to figure out what it is and resolve it.

 “The party is inside Raven. What are you doing out here?”

 Raven turned around to find Damian leaning against the entryway of the building with his arms crossed and his brow lifted as he studied her. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “I needed a minute,” she told him truthfully, knowing that it wasn’t a lie. “What are you doing out here? Won’t Bethany Rosewater miss you?”

 Damian snorted as he leaned off the entryway to walk over to stand next to Raven on the balcony. He leaned his back against the railing to stare at the guests inside the Wayne Manor. “She’s preoccupied at the moment,” he answered her when he had spotted the auburn-haired woman mentioned talking to someone. “There’s something bothering you,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone after a lull of silence.

 Raven shook her head at him. “I just needed a minute. That doesn’t mean that there’s something wrong,” she explained to him with a small sigh.

 “Raven…” Damian said sternly, lifting his forest eyes to stare into her indigo ones and Raven knew that he could tell that she was lying to him and backed away when he leaned in closer to her. “Tell me what is bothering you.”

 Even though she was in heels, Damian was still towering over her with his height as he walked closer to her when she tried to back away from him. “Damian…” she warned him, placing a hand on his chest to keep him from coming any closer towards her. “Back off.”

 “Not until you tell me what’s bothering you. I would also suggest that you don’t lie to me as well.”

 “Why does it matter what I feel?” she asked him with a scoff, crossing her arms across her chest.

 Damian paused his steps and cocked his head to the side and rolled his eyes at her as if she had just asked a ridiculous question and in his opinion she did. “It matters to me Raven. Tell me.”

 She thought about telling him. Even if she doesn’t truly know exactly what she wanted to tell him because it is all confusing to her to experience an emotion that is foreign to her and doesn’t exactly know how he would react to it. All she could do was shake her head and turned away from him to start walking back inside. “I’m going back inside. You should also before Bethany starts to look for you.”

 Raven’s breath got caught in her throat when Damian grabbed her wrist to make her stop walking inside. She tried to concentrate on the guests that were inside the manor chatting with one another when she couldn’t ignore a wave of irritation that was coming from him. “Not until you tell me what is wrong.”

 Raven knew at this point the former assassin won’t give up on his quest to find out what is bothering her and sighed when she broke free of his hold that he had on her wrist. “Are you…together with her?” she whispered, and she wasn’t exactly sure how she would feel about his answer.

 Damian knitted his brows at her question, wondering why it concerns her when it shouldn’t. Why would the most powerful empath concern herself something ridiculous? “Everyone wants us to be. Father, her father,” he finally told her when silence fell over them and he walked back over to the railing of the balcony to lean against it. “Told us that it would be good for the company and for our families if we’re together…” he stopped talking when Raven’s face became unreadable. “However, do not concern yourself in this ridiculous matter because I have no interest in her.”

 Raven felt her beat of her heart slow down at his answer and nodded at him. She gave him a small smile. “I see. Thank you for telling me, Damian. I should go back inside now.” She started making her way back to the gala that was inside the manor but paused when Damian spoke again.

 “I am interested in someone else, Raven.”

 Raven turn her head slightly to look at him. She watched him leaned causally against the railing of the balcony with a balled fist at his side. His emerald eyes wasn’t looking at her when he had told this. Instead, his eyes were focused on the ground in front of him. “Oh?” she said, lifting her brow with interest. “Is it someone that I know?”

 Damian didn’t answer her as he leaned off the railing. His face was blank as he walked closer to her and Raven held her breath when he leaned in close to her and could feel his warm breath against her ear as he spoke into it lowly. “One day you will find out Raven.”

 Raven released her breath that she was holding when Damian disappeared inside the manor, leaving her to her thoughts as she processed the whole conversation. She was relieved to hear that he didn’t have a crush on Bethany Rosewater, and she knew that one day he will tell her who he was interested in.

 For some odd reason——she had a tiny suspicion of who it could be even though he technically didn’t reveal of who it was, and her stomach fluttered at the thought of it as she walked back inside with a smile on her face.

[berjhawn]

Day & Night ~ Ch. 1 ~ Baby Steps, Bruce.

Batman/Bruce Wayne X Reader (Lady Light) X DC universe

Warnings: past trauma, lies, ETC 

(A/N) Please read the intro first. Here’s chapter 1, the next part will come out on Jan 24th. Please like, comment, and reblog. I would love to hear what you all think. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I take a deep breath as I stand at my front door not wanting to open it. Of course, Batman had seen what happened. This was his domain. He saw everything that happened in Gotham. This was not good. When I tell him who I am, it was only a matter of time before HE knew I wasn’t in Metropolis anymore and I was done with the whole superhero thing.

Unlocking my door, I walk inside and setting my bag down on the counter I walk over to the window and opening it let out a heavy sigh. This was gonna suck. I walk over to my room and opening the closet pull out the case that held my super suit and sigh. I thought I was past this. Opening it, I grab the simple white mask and then closing the case slide it back into the closet. The mask should be enough.

I walk back out to the living room to see Batman standing there and I am instantly aware of just how tall and muscular he really is. The suit did nothing for him. He clears his throat and I shake my head free of the thoughts that were running through them.

“Sorry, it’s just been a while since I saw you in the light.” I answer honestly causing him to tense.

“When was that?” He asks and I look up as I try to remember.

“Can’t remember the exact day, but I know it was on the watchtower. When Diana introduced me to everyone as,” I pause as I place my mask on my face and run my hands through my hair changing the color to a shimmering blonde color.

“Lady Light.” Batman concludes and I nod.

“Haven’t heard that name in a while.” I reply quickly changing my hair color back to my normal one as I take off my mask.

“Why’d you disappear?” He inquires and I shake my head.

“Sorry Bats, we don’t know each other well enough for me to tell you that.” I reply tossing the mask onto the coffee table. “So, are you gonna tell them where I am?” I ask addressing the elephant in the room.

“They deserve to know that you aren’t dead.” Batman concludes and I roll my eyes.

“You always knew best didn’t you.” I retort crossing my legs. “But you’re right. You can tell them I’m fine.” My eyes plead with him as I continue, “Just please, do not tell them where I am.”

Batman folds his arms over his chest, and I wait for him to chastise me, but he doesn’t.

“Very well.” He answers and my eyes shoot to his as confusion fills my eyes.

“You’re not going to tell them?” I inquire moving to stand in front of him.  

“It’s not my secret to tell.” He answers and I nod.

“Thank you. Honestly, you’re the last person I thought would help me.” I answer honestly and he nods slightly.

“I can understand why.” He replies moving to the window. Before he leaves, he stops and reaching into his utility belt he grabs something and then holds it out to me. “Take this.”

“What is it?” I ask as I cross the floor to him. I look down to see a communicator and I cock an eyebrow at him.

“If you ever want to come back, or even just to talk. I’ll be here.” He replies and then without another word he is gone.

I stare off after him in confusion for a while. That was very uncharacteristic of him. Why would he do that for me? I though he hated me. Well hate may be a strong word, but I did not think he liked me. I run my fingers against the communicator as I think to myself that maybe I had been wrong about him.

~~~

I stand at the water fountain in the middle of the park my hands wringing themselves against the strap of my purse. I hadn’t slept that much last night, terrified that Batman would have lied and the person I did not want to see the most would have been at my door. I would have canceled on Bruce today, but unfortunately, I didn’t have his number. So here I was. Dressed in a nice sundress with my converse on.

I look down at my watch to see that I was a little early. Letting out a heavy sigh I find a clean spot on the fountain to sit. My mind was still racing about last night. I didn’t know why but Batman seemed weird. He was different than I remembered him.

Why? When I had been a part of the Justice League, he and I fought all the time. People joked that it was because I was the Sun, and he was the Night; but I knew that was bullshit. I glance around at all the people at the park to see them all enjoying themselves and the sunshine and I smile. One of the reasons I had left the League was because I wanted that. I wanted to be normal.

Sure, I loved being a hero. There was an amazing feeling when you saved someone’s life. It was intoxicating. The rush you got from their love and adoration was dangerous. It was like an addiction.

Closing my eyes, I let the sun soak into my skin and smile softly. The sun was my symbol. I am, or was, Lady Light. So naturally I got my enrichment from the sun. The more I was in it the healthier I looked.

“(Name),” I hear Bruce’s voice say my name and I open my eyes. “Sorry I’m late.”

I look at my watch and see that it’s one minute after noon and I chuckle.

“Really? You consider one minute as late.” I laugh as I stand up next to him. “If you think by those standards, I’m always late.” I smile brightly and he returns my smile.

“There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Glad you see it that way.”

“Shall we?” he asks holding his arm out for me to take and I nod.

“So, where are we going?” I ask as I intertwine my arm with his.

“Well, there are some museums, the opera house, the shopping district; you pick.”

“While those all sound amazing, I was thinking more of the places you find interesting.” I reply as I look up to meet his gaze.

Confusion mapped his face and I instantly want to take back what I said.

“I’m sorry,” I add, and he furrows his brow.

“Why are you sorry?” He asks and I let out a sigh.

“You looked like I had said something wrong.”

“No, I was just surprised. The women I usually see always jump for the shopping idea.” Bruce says and I roll my eyes.

“If I wanted to go shopping, I’d take myself. No offense.” I reply and he smirks.

“None taken, so places I find more interesting.” He pauses for a moment before his eyes light up. “Are you hungry?”

Will continue

[ectonurites]

do u have any thoughts on the whole “tim is zapped to time prison” storyline? bc i feel like it could have been pretty interesting and a good way to bring back young justice/tim’s memories more immediately if it hadn’t been such a blatant attempt to just get tim out of storylines bc they had no ideas for his character

sorry lol u don’t have to respond i just kind of wish people talked about this storyline more? and the fact that tim lowkey became one of the only people in dc with knowledge of the other timelines (i think so at least) and nobody really addressed it?? like going into the next phase where people learn about other timelines after death metal.... tim should already know some of this stuff right?

YES YES YES OKAY LETS TALK ABOUT THIS this got incredibly long because I just have a lot to say (and i included screenshots) and i prob got a little off topic but. but lets get started anyways:

i haven’t read that particular storyline in a few months so i might be missing/misremembering some details here, but that whole ‘time prison + future tim’ thing was like. a really really interesting concept and the implications/impacts it has are a big part of why i liked tynion’s detective comics run as much as i did even with it’s flaws in characterization (such as treating tim like he was jimmy neutron boy genius and making steph..... be all ready to quit/breakaway from the team like that. the steph quitting characterization really started i think in batgirl convergence and unfortunately has haunted her since, even though pre reboot never giving up was like...... one of her defining traits. dc i hate you sometimes) 

i think that one of the biggest things that bothers me about the situation is how little we saw most of the other characters in the batfamily grieve (aside from steph and some with bruce, but again the way steph was portrayed just... hhhhhh. it very much reduced her to ‘tims girlfriend’ more than i’d have preferred) but otherwise like...as far as I can remember there was maybe one line in that monsters crossover thing where dick mentioned tim was gone, jason had a single line about avoiding the funeral in rhato, i dont think they showed any reaction from babs at all until after he was back, and the most for damian I recall is at the end of the 2014 teen titans run (#24) where he looks at... a case with the old red robin uniform Tim wasn’t even wearing anymore when he died? and that just bugs me. Instead of getting to see the actual funeral we get one flashback to it way after the fact once Bruce already knows Tim’s not actually dead

But at the time when they all DID think he was dead? the closest thing we see was in that same teen titans issue (#24) there’s a memorial-type ‘sharing stories’ thing after the funeral with tim’s titans friends but.... we don’t see something like that with his family. tim is a major presence in these peoples’ lives, they are his family, when he gets sent into time prison its even SAID how loved he apparently is

its just... idk. they all thought he was dead, and if they had put more emphasis on showing not just telling how that effected EVERYONE (not just steph) in the batfam, it might have felt a lot less like they were just putting tim away until there was a story idea for him. (like obviously I know they can’t make everyone’s stories revolve around Tim, but I’d have way preferred a detective comics issue of the funeral/memorial with the family than having there only be a teen titans one, I think it would have... held more relevance & meaning... but instead they just went right into that monster crossover story instead of lingering on this)

but then the Tim story itself once it does pick up way later, with titans tomorrow/future tim coming along having that whole “tell conner you’re sorry” “who’s conner?” exchange with current tim... that opens up A LOT of things to think about, and I think was pretty interestingly done if i’m remembering correctly. future tim recognizes the timelines are different, and ya know goes off to try to change things further ("whaddaya got there?” “a gun to kill batwoman” “NO!!!!”), theres lots of fighting etc etc the good guys win as we expect, but once that’s all settled tim’s left there with this whole. thought process

which ya know is the big indicator there’s weird timeline/reality fuckery going on (or also the read here can be that tim and kon are so connected across all space and time that their bond can transcend anything even timelines and realities and reboots... “and they were soulmates” “oh my god they were soulmates”) 

ANYWAYS lets not forget that tim isnt the only one who learns about this other timeline stuff during this whole situation!

Brother Eye has records of future tim’s timeline, and cass & steph see who they used to be! and as soon as steph finds out ‘holy shit i was ROBIN and BATGIRL?’ she also desperately wants to know more! which then a bit later leads into young justice 2019 where instead of going off to college like they told Bruce they were gonna, Steph and Tim go get the help of Zatanna to see what might be going on in their brains with these timelines and weird feelings (as we see in flashback form in yj 2019 #5)

and HOO BOY DOES SHE FIND THINGS! she gets in there and finds out that oh yeah, their brains had very much so been tampered with, and with her magic she undoes some of it, by unlocking memories, and Tim finally remembers Conner! (also in case u were wondering, that panel is specifically a callback to this one from yj 1998 #17 when Cissie quit the team)

one thing that I think is weird/interesting/idk if it gets... properly addressed even, was that Zatanna also poked around Steph’s brain too and she didn’t remember everything? Might have something to do even with how Tim had been in time prison, might have taken less work from Z to open things up because of that? Who knows

additionally i wanna call attention to how he said “That entire chapter of my life” which... leading into my next point a bit... strongly leads me to believe even though he’s remembering some things he definitely does not have ALL of his memories back (because theres a lot more than just the young justice ‘chapter’ of tim’s life that was drastically changed by the new 52 & rebirth) 

BUT moving on, i wanna bring up this part from later on (after they figured out that there was a crisis that caused things in the world to change, which is why their memories/brains were messed with) in issue #16

so yeah, I think it’s indicated even though Zatanna brought back some memories and opened up his brain a bit, there’s still many holes, and some things seem more like dreams rather than memories and he’s probably unable to tell which are which on his own to some extent. (also for reference the real thing that Tim thought was just a dream is... likely yj 1998 issue #1)

So based on the things i’ve brought up here (which are the things I remember off the top of my head, I could easily be accidentally leaving shit out LMAO i haven’t fully read through any of these books in at least 3 or more months now) I think it’s safe to assume that Tim definitely has a head start on getting back his memories before Death Metal happens, but that it was by no means a complete thing. So the after effects of Death Metal are probably just gonna... be a little less drastic for him vs most other people because it was already happening, but it’ll be kinda filling in the remaining gaps? 

And like you said he is absolutely one of the few people that already knew about about the timelines/the fact that these crises have happened and changed things, but pretty much all the other young justice characters are also aware that there was meddling in the timeline/that multiple timelines and alternate universes like this exist since they were all together as a group when it got explained (in like. yj 2019 #15 i believe is where most of the explaining happens) (and cass as well is aware of things to some extent because of her and steph’s interaction with Brother Eye) but the difference is that Zatanna didn’t go into everyone’s brains, so they aren’t dealing with the same memory things as Tim (and possibly Steph? because again Z DID go in her brain, she just wasn’t able to unlock all the same things as she did with Tim) 

but yeah in general i SO wish this was explored more, both in canon and in fanworks (fanworks tho... that can still happen >:3c). Memories hazily coming in for Tim while Kon and Bart are able to confirm or deny things, him dealing with conflicting memories and feelings about his past as they trickle in... like I think we’ll start to see these types of things moving forward across a lot of titles with Infinite Frontier (i BELIEVE dont quote me on this but I BELIEVE the person writing Damian’s upcoming solo had mentioned in an interview that the memories coming back of the other timeline aren’t going to be an all at once thing but will be more gradual for most characters) but the fact that it theoretically had already been happening for Tim for MONTHS and we only got that one crumb indicating it in #16 of it instead of any actual exploration makes me SAAAAAAD 

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 18: Growing Pains (originally published on July 12, 2021)

AN: Welcome back everyone. Now, this is going to be a pretty heavy chapter for me to write. Well, mostly the A-plot, the B-plot will be courtroom nonsense ala Phoenix Wright and Harvey Birdman. But I'm getting off track, as someone who have faced some very tough times before in my life, I hope I can be as respectful to both the original episode and everyone who watched it as possible. Now then, let's get rocking and rolling.

Synopsis: Steven goes to his first doctor's appointment and realizes how deep his problems run.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Estelle as Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl, Volleyball, Yellow Pearl

Grace Rolek as Connie

Mary Elizabeth McGlynn as Priyanka

Tom Scharpling as Greg

Christine Pedi as Holly Blue Agate

Charlyne Yi as Navy

Hayley Kiyoko as Morganite

Jennifer Paz as Lapis, Zuli

Shelby Rabara as Peridot, Squaridot

Uzo Aduba as Bismuth

Amy Sedaris as Yellow Zircon, Blue Zircon

Patti LuPone as Yellow Diamond

Featuring Casey Lee Williams as Cat's Eye

--

The day after his failed date with Connie, Steven stayed in his bedroom for most of the morning where he was surrounded by ice cream and watching the preview for a new Dogcopter movie, which showed the titular canine standing on top of a black car chasing a blue car and a mail van while a pug gave him orders.

"I know you're eager to catch the mail truck Dogcopter, but it's really a decoy!" the other dog at the wheel named Drew ordered Dogcopter. "Chase the blue car instead! Good boys chase the blue car, and you're a good boy Dogcopter!"

With a fearless expression, Dogcopter leaped off the black car and used the propeller on his back to fly towards the black car, followed by using a pair of extendable hands to open up the trunk, revealing a bomb and a ring box inside.

"Nice work DC, now get the bomb outta the trunk and off the bridge!" Drew congratulated Dogcopter. "We're almost out of time!"

However, it was too late for Dogcopter. The bomb went off as he tossed it off the bridge, and the resulting explosion blew him away. As Dogcopter collapsed on the bridge, the ring box fell from his mechanical hands and onto the asphalt.

"Dogcopter, no!" Drew cried as he burst from the car to keep his friend alive. "I can't lose you Dogcopter!" Luckily, Dogcopter was unharmed and he woke up to pop open the ring box, which contained a ring shaped like a dog bone that he presented to Drew. "Is that?"

"DOGCOPTER 6: TILL DEATH DO WE BARK: I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU MAN AND WOOF!" the announcer read the film's title as it appeared on the screen, making Steven groan in agony at the irony of the trailer he was watching.

"Everyone's getting married except me!" Steven yelled as he sank into his bed and started turning pink. "Even Dogcopter succeeded in popping the question! I feel like poop." Steven then picked up his phone and tried calling one of the Crystal Gems, but he unfortunately got no answer. "Wish the Gems weren't doing a field trip to Homeworld today. I wonder if they got any reception?"

--

Meanwhile, on the Gem Homeworld, it was a rather tense time. Following the exposure of Black Rutile's revolution and attempted massacre of the Crystal Gems, the citizens were in fear of who among them could still be a supporter of her. And three followers, in particular, were about to be put on trial.

Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Peridot, Lapis, and Bismuth led their classes into the Diamonds' throne room, which was already set up like a courtroom with stands for the judge, jury, witnesses, attorneys, and the accused. Those accused were Holly Blue Agate, Morganite, and Navy, who sat down at the plaintiff's bench with varying expressions of irritation, resignation, and sadness.

"Now class, we want you all to be on your best behavior," Garnet advised the Gem students. "This is a serious time for our kind, and we want absolute silence for most of this trial. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Garnet." The Gems obliged before they retreated to the jury box while their teachers took their seats at the prosecutor's stand. That was when Garnet took notice of Pearl sticking her nose in the book by George Ikari that she had gotten at yesterday's signing.

"I see you're keeping yourself busy Pearl." Garnet remarked, forcing Pearl to look up from her book.

"Thanks for noticing Garnet." Pearl replied to the fusion. "I've just been a little enraptured by this little tome lately. George uses such flowery terms for such simple concepts, and the concepts in question could be very useful to Steven too."

"All y'all, shush!" Amethyst ordered her two seniors. "Here comes the judge!"

"All rise for the honorable Yellow Diamond!" Yellow Pearl announced, serving as the bailiff for this trial, before her former Diamond emerged from the curtained entrance and made her way to her throne.

"Good day to you Gems." Yellow Diamond greeted the other Gems in the makeshift courtroom with utmost seriousness. "In case you are wondering, Blue and White Diamond are out searching for more of Black Rutile's supporters, so I shall serve as sole judge for these proceedings." She informed. "Now without further ado, read the charges."

"Holly Blue Agate-12B, Morganite-8HK, and Ruby-EJ9, you stand here accused of your support of the intelligence officer turned terrorist Black Rutile." Yellow Pearl announced as she read off a hologram. "How do you all plead?"

"Not guilty!" Holly Blue declared, speaking on behalf of all three of them. "Black Rutile is no terrorist, she had big dreams for our kind! She simply wanted to restore us to our old ways because she believed Steven had made us weak, no doubt weak enough to be so easily conquered!"

"Liar. Kinda not surprised you would do this." Amethyst snarked in-between fake coughing, inciting a glare from the Agate before she continued her plea.

"If you can find it within yourself, your most grand clarity, to scrub this silly trial altogether and let us go, it would be most grand." Holly Blue continued.

"Request denied." Yellow declared coldly. "If you really insist on begging on your knees this whole time, then I guess your defense attorney might not be needed."

"Wait, attorney?" Amethyst wondered out loud just as a new Gem stepped into the room.

"Sorry for being so fashionably late, Yellow!" a tall, confident Gem apologized as she strode into the throne room. In addition to the honey yellow pantsuit with large diamond-shaped buttons she wore to match the gemstone above her upper lip that resembled a mole, a straight bob-cut, and a cat's tail emerging from her rear, this new Gem also wore a large sunhat, a neon fur coat, sunglasses, high heels, mustard yellow opera gloves, and a cigarette holder in her left hand. "Had to quell a few uprisings a few districts over. Hope you're not too mad."

"Oh goody." Bismuth shared the sentiments of her fellow Crystal Gems as they grimaced at the cat-like defense attorney, all except for Amethyst.

"Who's the new pussycat here?" Amethyst asked about the attorney.

"That's Cat's Eye, one of the most affluent uppercrusts on Homeworld." Bismuth informed the smaller Gem.

"And one of the most irritating." Lapis groaned as she buried her face in her hands.

"She's almost like an Earth cat in a way." Peridot added. "Incredibly smug, loves making others mad solely for her amusement, and that grin on her face just rubs me the wrong way."

"So Cat, how have you been lately?" Pearl asked the opposing attorney with a strained smile.

"Miserable, my darling Pearl. Perfectly wretched." Cat's Eye answered as she made her coat, hat and sunglasses disappear with a snap of her fingers, revealing a pair of cat ears atop her hair. "Now then, let us get down to business." With that, Cat's Eye took her place alongside the prosecuted trio and kicked her legs up on the table.

"Oh Cat's Eye, thank you so much for coming out today!" Holly Blue exclaimed gratefully. "These horrible traitors have framed us for a crime we clearly didn't commit, and now we could lose every-"

"Could you move approximately 30 centimeters away from me?" Cat's Eye raised a paw-like hand to Holly's face while filing her sharp nails. "You're invading my personal space." The Agate meekly complied and returned to her seat, causing Amethyst to laugh raucously.

"That cat may be trouble, but seeing Holly put in her place will always crack me up!" Amethyst cackled, but her chuckling was cut short when Cat's Eye turned her cigarette holder into a riding crop to whip Amethyst in the hands with. "MEOWCH! Bad kitty, what the H?!"

"Order in the court." Cat's Eye declared crossly as she returned her weapon to her gem and took a stand. "Now, without further ado, I'd like to make my case for these three Gems and call a witness."

"Go right ahead Cat's Eye." Yellow rolled her eyes before the cymophane made her plea.

"Your honor, Gems of the court, these three stand here wrongly accused by these band of ingrates for allying themselves with a known terrorist who once filled a high seat in White Diamond's court." Cat's Eye stated. "But, maybe they could've been spared this fate if the Crystal Gems had simply shown them a little kindness."

"OBJECTION!" Pearl yelled and pointed an accusing finger at Cat. "We tried to show Navy here kindness, but it was all a ploy to steal back her squadron's ship!"

"That is true." Navy agreed. "But I simply played nice because you left us all to drift forever in space, even after Steven said you'd get us all back!"

"I'll admit, she raises a good point." Garnet found herself agreeing with the Ruby. "We were in a rush to get back to Earth, so rescuing the Rubies just flew over our heads."

"I rest my case." Cat's Eye declared with a prideful smirk. "Now, if we have nothing else to discuss, I'd like to call Yellow Zircon to the stand."

The Gems in the gallery began muttering among themselves as Yellow Zircon sadly got up from her seat and marched to the witness's stand, while her blue counterpart gave her a cheeky grin. "Whatever you do," Yellow Zircon said to Blue Zircon. "don't make a fool out of me."

"Oh, I won't." Blue Zircon said innocently as Yellow Zircon made her way to the stands, where Cat's Eye sat down in front of her with a seductive gaze.

"Now my dearest Zircon, do try to not make a fool of yourself for me." Cat cooed, cupping the Zircon's face in her hand and squeezing her cheeks, making her usually arrogant witness blush.

"I-I won't." Yellow Zircon sheepishly obliged and sat down in the witness's box. "But how did you become an attorney? You don't know the first thing about law and order!"

"Well, I'm here because I'm smarter than you think I am!" Cat's Eye yelled at Yellow Zircon's face, a far cry from the smug seductress she presented herself as. "Not because I'm so gorgeous! Though I really am."

"This is going to take a while." Pearl groaned before picking up her book again. "I wonder how Steven is doing."

--

Back on Earth, Steven continued to scroll through all the numbers he had on his phone. Pretty much most of the people in his contacts had either already began to drift away from him, would probably be too busy to call, or simply didn't have time for him. All except for one.

"Hi, Steven!" Greg greeted his son on the other end after Steven decided to give him a call.

"Hi Dad, how's it going?" Steven asked his father.

"The tour's been going great!" Greg replied happily. "Which reminds me, how have you been doing? You been throwing any dope ragers while you got the house to yourself?"

"Yeah, you know me. Steven the party animal." Steven responded sarcastically. "I'm glad you're finally coming home tonight Dad. I wanna talk to you about something that's happened between me and Connie?"

"Oh, this isn't that whole situation after you came back from Homeworld the first time again, right?" Greg asked sympathetically. "By the way, Sadie and Shep wanna say hi while they're working on a new routine that they're excited to show off. And guess what? The tour got extended!"

"Wow, that's-that's great." Steven tried to sound happy for the musicians and their manager, but at the same time, he was sad that he'd have to wait a little while longer for his dad to come home.

"Yeah." Even if they were far apart, Greg could sense the disappointment in his half-alien son's voice before trying to turn things around. "I get that you want to see me again soon, but this manager job is working great for me! Takes me back to when I was touring as a lad. Anyways, we're gonna go through a tunnel. You wanna call me back about your Connie sitch?"

"I-it's not really important." Steven fibbed.

"You sure?" Greg asked Steven. "You know, I can make a quick stop when we pass through Delmarva."

"No, I'm totally fine. Have fun!" Steven reiterated before hanging up and letting out a deep sigh. "Maybe I should get some more ice cream."

Steven then walked down to the kitchen to fetch some more of that dairy goodness from the freezer, but when he opened the freezer door, he discovered Connie's glow bracelet left in there after last night. Taken by surprise, the depressed half-Gem once again turned pink, but this time was different.

This time, parts of Steven's body began swelling up like a balloon and tearing through his pajamas as he accidentally tore the freezer door off its hinges before slowly turning back to normal. As Steven was left aghast at this new development, he decided to take a breather on the couch. However, his body began swelling up for the second time in a row as Connie began calling him on his phone.

"I shouldn't worry her." Steven tried to hang up on Connie upon realizing her promise yesterday to call him at noon. "You know what, I'll let her go to voicemail!" Steven's body had other plans as his right arm began to inflate and took the call for him, allowing Connie to be seen on his screen while the arm returned to normal.

"Steven, are you there?" Connie asked through video call.

"Hey Connie, what's up?" Steven casually asked, trying to hide the strange new changes his body was going through.

"I've been worried about you Steven." Connie answered when she noticed how pink her best friend was. "Um, are you glowing?" she asked before Steven's face began to puff up. "Good grief, what's wrong with your face?!"

"Wait, my face?" Steven mumbled through his inflated head. "What's wrong with my face?"

"Uh…." Connie replied.

"Oh right, the swelling." Steven realized what his would've been-wife was talking about. "Parts of my body have been randomly growing for some reason. But I'm sure it doesn't hurt, I'm perfectly fine!"

"How long has this been happening?" Connie inquired.

"Since this morning." Steven meekly replied, causing his face to blow up some more.

"What do the Gems think?" Connie began pressing further.

"Can't reach them right now." Steven answered as his face returned to normal while the rest of his body kept growing. "Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl were asked to serve as prosecutors for a trial on Homeworld, so they decided to make it into a Little Homeschool field trip." As Steven finished, his form returned to its normal size. "It's really nothing to worry about."

"You don't look well." Connie nervously observed. "I think you should see a doctor. I can ask my mom if she'd like to give you a checkup."

"I wouldn't want to bother her." Steven declared. "Besides, I already got a pretty okay idea of what doctors do when I went to see Lars in the hospital after his crash landing."

"Steven, you need to see a medical professional," Connie demanded. "Doesn't matter if my mom can see you or not, you need help."

"Okay, you're right." Steven accepted the opportunity while his face began to deform yet again. "Call me when she's ready."

--

Thankfully for Steven, Connie's mother had an opening and soon enough, Steven was sitting in her office with Connie by his side.

"You're lucky I had a cancellation today," Priyanka stated as she prepared for work. "Usually, I'm booked weeks in advance."

"Think you'll be able to help Steven out?" Connie asked her mother. "Even if this is some sort of Gem issue?"

"Gem issue or otherwise, he still has a human body, which means we can run tests." Priyanka remarked. "At the very least, we can see if you're suffering from a non-Gem condition, Steven."

"See? Everything will be fine." Connie assured Steven. "I'm sure everything will be fine." As Connie left the examination room, she began dialing on her phone and put it to her ear.

"Okay, give me all you got." Steven said reluctantly to the doctor.

"Alright, let's check for symptoms first." Priyanka said before putting a thermometer in Steven's ear to check his temperature. "Mild fever." She observed before walking away to pick up a stethoscope, returning to find that Steven is starting to once again glow pink. "Glowing pink color to the skin." Priyanka continued as she put the stethoscope to Steven's heart and then his gem. Next, she reached for a blood pressure device to check Steven's blood pressure, but it caused his arm to swell up and break the machine, causing his doctor to fall over in alarm.

However, Priyanka was quick to regain her composure as she looked over the notes she had taken. "Blood pressure is high!" she realized as she got up. "Well, these readings are quite interesting. Tell me, Steven, if you don't mind, who's your GP?"

"GP?" Steven wondered.

"Your general practitioner?" Priyanka explained to her patient. "As in, your regular doctor?"

"I guess you?" Steven answered confusedly. "I never have been to a doctor's appointment before, mostly because I have the Gems, my dad, or my healing spit to rely on whenever I get hurt."

"You're almost seventeen and you have never seen a doctor?!" a shocked Priyanka yelled, causing Steven to once again turn pink and inflate before she tried to calm him down. "I-it's okay, it's okay! I'll talk with your father later, but now we'll just need to run some more tests."

Steven looked nervously at Connie's mom as she walked over to a cupboard, opening it to fetch some hospital gowns. "Get undressed, then we'll help you into a gown." Priyanka ordered.

"Is that one of those blue things that don't cover your butt?" Steven asked embarrassedly before he was thrown a hospital gown.

"Yes, now let's get started." Priyanka declared before snapping on a rubber glove.

--

"Thank you for your testimony little Peridot." Cat's Eye thanked Squaridot, while licking the back of her hand, as the square-headed Peridot finished her testimony. "Tell us your designation so we may enter it into the records."

"Peridot, Facet-4E3M Cut-7ZY." Squaridot stated as she left the witness's stand and rejoined her classmates. "But everyone calls me Squaridot."

"Squaridot?" Cat's Eye repeated with utter disgust. "Who comes up with these abhorrent names?! I mean, Laz, Zuli, and now Squaridot?!"

"Would you care to get to the point?" Bismuth snarked to the catlike defendant.

"Gladly." Cat's Eye answered before clearing her throat. "Gems of this courtroom, the testimonies we have heard so far have given me enough to make my deduction." She announced to the courtroom. "These Crystal Gems are only kind to other Gems who treat them kindly in exchange. And that DOES, NOT, MAKE, SENSE!" She emphasized her declaration by slamming her fist into her open palm with each word. "If they say that they practice restorative justice, then why didn't they use that kind of justice on my clients here?"

"OBJECTION!" Amethyst yelled. "Girl, did you even see the Human Zoo back in the day?! Holly Blue was treating my quartz peeps like garbage!"

"That is because they were beneath her in the caste system!" Cat's Eye argued with Amethyst. "I swear you droll quartz, did you emerge yesterday or something?!"

"Actually, she was," Pearl answered for the purple Gem. "And you're just making stuff up in the hopes of sounding smart!"

"Do I have 'stupid' written on my gem, you no-good servant?!" Cat's Eye shouted at the white Gem, making sure to whip Pearl's hands for added emphasis. "Let's review what we have learned so far. Those two Lapis Lazulis retaliated violently when ordered to not terraform and their friend came close to poofing them both, yet 2F8D immediately forgot all that when coming to your silly little school!" she analyzed. "That does NOT, MAKE, SENSE!"

"Laz and I argued about going to Little Homeschool!" Zuli objected to Cat's Eye's observation. "An argument you obviously weren't there for-" Before Zuli could finish, she got a whip in the hands by Cat's Eye's riding crop.

"No backtalk!" Cat's Eye exclaimed as she returned to her statement. "Back on subject, then came Miss Squaridot here," she once again cringed at the name while gesturing to Squaridot. "who was given a second chance, yet was poofed without a second thought! That does NOT, MAKE, SENSE!"

"I tried to give Squari a second chance after I released her from her bubble," Peridot began. "but she then just ran off and got herself taken over by Hessonite's warship."

"Ah yes, the swashbuckling vigilante Hessonite." Cat's Eye said smugly. "Tell me, why isn't she here today to give a testimony?"

"Hessonite is off weeding out more of Black Rutile's supporters across many of our former colonies, alongside Citrine." Yellow Diamond answered.

"Speaking of Black Rutile, what if, and a very big if here." Cat's Eye stated. "What if Black Rutile wanted to do better than the Crystal Gems by offering these lost Gems a helping hand?"

"OBJECTION!" Pearl roared and once again pointed straight at Cat's Eye. "That no-good Rutile didn't care one bit for her subordinates! Not only did she let them all get defeated by us, but she abused her Topaz as well!"

"As I had stated earlier with Holly Blue, the Topaz was merely a subordinate to Black Rutile, especially since the Rutile had such a shockingly high status in White Diamond's court." Cat replied.

"Same with my Ruby and Pearl that fused into Rhodonite," Morganite spoke up. "It was only natural that we mistreated those beneath us."

"And on the topic of Pink Diamond's entourage," Cat declared. "allow me to call her former Pearl to the stand."

Rising from her seat, Volleyball separated from her Little Homeschool classmates to walk to the witness's stand, where Cat was awaiting her.

"My dear Pearl, you truly deserved a better Diamond than Pink." Cat cooed to Volleyball while stroking her broken eye, which was now showing the absolute faintest signs of a pupil following her fusion with her white-colored successor at the Reef. "Tell us all this court needs to know sweetie,

"Actually, you can call me Volleyball now." Volleyball corrected the defense attorney. "That's the name Steven gave me."

"VOLLEYBALL?!" Cat's Eye shrieked outrageously at the top of her lungs, quickly returning to her normal condescending tone. "I shouldn't have spoken too soon after complaining about that Peridot." She muttered while pointing a thumb over to Squaridot. "Now tell me, word on the street is that you may know a thing or two about this revolution. Is this true?"

"Yes, it's true." Volleyball revealed remorsefully, shocking the prosecutors and the jury. "Not too long after Era 3 began, I was left wondering what purpose I could still serve now that Pink Diamond was gone, until Black Rutile and Holly Blue Agate approached me with the chance to seek revenge by spying on their enemies."

"That is a bold-faced lie if I ever saw one!" Holly Blue fibbed while beginning to sweat profusely. "I never approached her in the slightest, the poor Pearl came crawling to me in tears, begging, no, pleading that she get some sort of payback for the abuse she suffered!"

"Really laying it on thick Holly." Morganite stoically muttered to the Agate.

"Yes, I can clearly see you lying." Pearl added before she walked over for Volleyball. "But as for you Volley, is it true? Did you really join Black Rutile and spy on us this whole time?"

"I'm truly sorry Pearl, they gave me no other choice." Volleyball apologized, now on the verge of tears. "I was so horrified by how they wanted to fight back against you, that I decided to back out after you and Steven offered to fix my eye." Volleyball then began to sob as she rushed out of the witness's stand and into Pearl's arms. "Please forgive me, I just didn't know any better!"

"It's okay VB, I'm here." Pearl comforted her crying fellow ex-servant. "Just let it all out."

"Wah wah wah, I betrayed your trust!" Cat's Eye mockingly cried. "Please forgive me even though I was allied with a proud sociopath! Oh brother, this era has lost all sense of justice. At least give her a week's punishment, anything."

"Big talk coming from the alleycat who doesn't have a single clue about justice." Pearl growled at Cat while Volleyball's tears started drying and she returned to the jury.

"Big talk coming from a Pearl who wanted to be free despite still essentially serving her Diamond." Cat snapped back at the Pearl. "And on that note, I feel we are ignoring the big Jasper in the room." Biggs Jasper raised her hand. "I wasn't talking to you!" Biggs lowered her hand while Cat kept a stiff upper lip. "But really, I wish to speak of a certain Jasper that has been housed on Earth lately."

"Here we go." Lapis rolled her eyes at whatever outlandish claims the defendant was going to make now.

"You see, the Jasper is just as much of a victim of Pink Diamond's faked death as pretty much everyone on this planet." Cat's Eye proclaimed. "And did the Crystal Gems ever try to extend a hand in friendship and sympathy? NO! They just let her get dragged to the bottom of the ocean in an unstable fusion, fall into an earthquake, rocketed sky-high by that Lapis, and later corrupted! That does-"

"Not make sense, we get it." Garnet interrupted what was essentially Cat's catchphrase at this point. "We tried so many times to help Jasper, but she just kept refusing out of her vendetta against Rose."

"And doesn't anyone find it ironic that Jasper has a burning hatred for a Gem that was her Diamond in disguise?" Cat shook her head with a cheeky smile. "Oh, how cruel fate can be."

"Good grief, how long can this puddytat keep yapping?" Amethyst whispered to Pearl, who just groaned and got back to her book.

--

As for Steven, Priyanka had gotten to work on examining her unusual patient. However, with each test she made him take, things just kept going wrong. Sticking a tongue depressor in Steven's mouth made him glow pink for the second time this appointment, taking his height stretched his neck up high, and testing his reflexes bubbled the hammer she was using. But it was taking Steven's X-rays that really clued Priyanka in on what was going on.

"So this is an average human skeleton." Priyanka demonstrated the X-ray image of exactly that to Steven before moving on to X-rays of the Crystal Gems. "By comparison, these are X-ray images that the Crystal Gems allowed me to take for research purposes. Their charts look like this."

Due to Gems having bodies of light, only their gemstones could be pictured. And in Amethyst's case, whatever she ate that day could be seen too. The doctor then showed off Steven's own skeleton, which was covered in cracks. "And this is your chart." Priyanka continued. "Definitely the skeleton of a human your age, albeit quite a large amount of fractures in the skull." She pointed out the various cracks that decorated Steven's skull. "Yet despite the injuries, everything is still perfectly aligned. Almost like the injuries healed just as fast as they were gained."

"That's good, right?" Steven nervously asked.

"Well, you've made miraculous recoveries," Priyanka replied. "but that doesn't change the fact that you've clearly been traumatized. You may have recovered physically, but what about mentally?"

"Are you saying there's something wrong with my brain?!" Steven cried as he glowed pink.

"Not wrong!" Priyanka assured Steven while kneeling to his gaze, turning his body back to its normal hue. "It's that adverse childhood experiences, or childhood trauma, can leave a lasting impact on how your body reacts to stress." She explained. "This can affect all kinds of development, social, emotional, and physical. When humans are in crisis, their brains release a hormone called cortisol. It can cause your heart to race, your muscles to tense, among other effects. I wonder if your body is perhaps reacting to the Gem equivalent of cortisol, if any. Steven, can you recall any childhood experiences that particularly stuck with you?"

"I can list so many." Steven stated before he began recounting some traumatic experiences. "It all started when I learned my favorite ice cream was discontinued around the same time I nearly got eaten by a bug monster. Then there were even more monsters that threatened my life, I got stuck in a bubble & nearly drowned, I made a new friend who nearly killed me; which is pretty often, I got turned into a giant pulsating blob of cat heads after an attempt at shapeshifting, got so old I nearly died, saw the Gems die multiple times, I woke up on a spaceship with a black eye, and more recently got tossed off a cliff."

"Steven, this is serious!" Priyanka yelled worriedly.

"That was only some of the earlier stuff!" Steven cried. "You really should've been there when I was tossed off the cliff. Black Rutile was a sociopath and proud of it!"

"I think all these experiences have subjected your body to an almost inhuman level of stress, and it's affected your ability to healthily react to new forms of stress." Priyanka deduced as Steven looked back on more harrowing experiences he's been through, from legitimately traumatizing moments to parts that would at first be seen as mere jokes or accidents. "You've been dealing with genuine threats to your life from such a young age, whether big or small, your body is responding to such minuscule threats like your life is always in danger!"

"But, why am I only swelling up now?!" Steven began fretting as he slowly felt his body change once more.

"Stress can be far less harmful when we have a circle of loved ones who can help you," Priyanka advised, causing Steven to flashback to yesterday evening's failed proposal. "Maybe if you've been drifting away from people who would've supported you, or if a recent experience had felt particularly off-"

Before Priyanka can finish, Steven began trembling in place while bolting from his chair before he began to swell up to possibly the biggest size he's ever been today, to the point of cracking the ceiling with a bash of his head.

--

"There are just some who don't want to be helped, and we try to respect that!" Pearl kept arguing with Cat's Eye while everyone else in the courtroom awkwardly spectating the event.

"And there are also some who you've forced to change without their consent!" Cat's Eye replied, baring her sharp teeth at the former servant. "Think of it, Black Rutile believed she could be a better ruler because she would take into account the feelings of everyone!"

"Are you sure you're not another one of her spies?!" Pearl asked, folding her arms and turning away from the defendant.

"I couldn't care less about what she's doing, I just think she raises many good points for a maniac!" Cat answered while her stuck-up image began cracking apart more and more, slowly revealing the petulant aristocrat underneath. "For example, in ending an oppressive empire, Steven created an even worse one where all who don't agree with him are deemed outcasts!"

"Steven is simply trying his best!" Pearl yelled back.

"You know, I am so glad that we invited our Homeschool classes, because this is way too much fun for just us three to get involved in." Amethyst whispered to the other Little Homeworld teachers.

"You're right, watching an uppercrust get humiliated puts a real big smile on my face." Bismuth grinned.

"They've been going on for too long." Morganite mumbled as her face was buried in the table. "Can't we just shut them up and reach a verdict already?"

"Well, if you're so loving towards Steven, then where is he now?" Cat's Eye asked one final question. "Did you actually care for him to begin with?"

"That is where you are absolutely wrong Cat." Pearl declared with a smug grin as she presented George Ikari's book to her opponent. "Steven is currently going through some tough times, and we're trying our best to help him thanks to this book from Earth. The author has a son much like Steven who lost his mother too, so he knows what he's talking about." With that, Pearl returned the book to her gem and took a bow. "Court adjourned."

It was here where Cat's Eye finally lost all control and lunged at Pearl with a mighty yowl. Gone was the smug and austere wannabe lawyer, and in with the furious predator going in for the kill.

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!" Cat's Eye shrieked as she wrestled with Pearl and kept trying to chomp at her face. "I AM CAT'S EYE, AND I WILL NOT BE TALKED DOWN TO BY A MERE PEARL!"

"Woo, catfight!" Amethyst cheered before Garnet put a stop to her revelry and prepared for a fight.

"Get ready Gems, we're in for a fight." Garnet declared while summoning her gauntlets, and the other Gems prepared for battle against the feral defendant. But fortunately for them, and unfortunately for Cat, the judge finally decided enough was enough.

"Okay, I've had enough sitting down and watching." Yellow declared fiercely before getting up from her throne and flicking a ball of electricity at Cat's Eye, making yellow lines course through her body and finally poofing her, leaving only her small gemstone to be collected by Yellow Pearl. "Now that that's settled, have we reached a verdict?"

"I believe so." Pearl responded after getting up and dusting herself off before turning to the other Gems. "What shall be decided?"

The Gems in the jury all rose up, their decision clear as day. "We, the jury, hereby declare Holly Blue Agate, Morganite, and Navy guilty as charged. In addition, Cat's Eye shall be tried for public assault of the prosecutors." Squaridot announced on the behalf of her classmates, to the horror of Holly Blue as she and her two compatriots were escorted away by Amethysts. While Morganite and Navy had resigned themselves to their fates, Holly was far less than pleased. In fact, she was furious.

"Get your hands off me, you no-good Kindergarten spawn!" Holly Blue shrieked at the Amethysts dragging her away by the arms before turning to the Crystal Gems with hatred in her eyes. "I hope you're happy Crystal Gems! Era 3 has destroyed this planet!" she yelled at the Gems. "Pretty soon, this planet is going to burn! We're all going to die! The Gem race shall be driven to extinction all because of you!"

As soon as Holly Blue was fully removed from the premises, all was finally quiet in the makeshift courtroom as the trial adjourned. Pearl let out a dramatic sigh as Garnet and Amethyst helped her back to her feet and walked her back to the prosecutor's table.

"Court is usually a lot more funny on TV." Amethyst remarked. "What Cat and Holly tried to do was just sad."

"Still, what if they're right?" Pearl moaned in exhaustion and grief. "What if we are soon to be our kind's downfall? Maybe we should've just ended colonization and left it at that."

"Don't get too down on yourself Miss Pearl." Blue Zircon lent some comforting words to Pearl. "You all tried the best you could, and that's all that should matter."

"Uh, can I go now?" Yellow Zircon shakily inquired to her fellow Gems, still reeling from being publically humiliated at the witness's stand.

"Yeah, you're dismissed." Blue Zircon told her fellow Zircon and turned back to Pearl.

"Yeah, we tried our best with Era 3, kinda like how we're trying our best with Steven." Lapis reiterated the other blue Gem's kind words. "Speaking of which, wonder how he's doing?"

"I'll go call him right now!" Pearl stated eagerly as she unsheathed her phone from her gem and began dialing Steven, but she got no answer. "Darn, no signal on Homeworld." She huffed in frustration. "Well, I hope he's doing fine."

--

Little did Pearl know, there was more than one reason why as to why Steven was unable to reach her, that reason being he was so stressed out, he was swelling up to a massive size.

As Dr. Laurie walked past the office Steven was in with a cup of coffee, he took one look at the giant pink boy, then back at his mug before dumping its contents into a nearby drinking fountain while Connie raced back to the office to aid her friend.

"Mom, what's happening?!" Connie asked her mother while they watched the inflating Steven fill up most of the doctor's office.

"I'm not sure dear, I just asked if he had any stressful experiences lately." Priyanka answered, trying to remain as calm in a crisis as possible while other doctors huddle around the window to watch what was happening, along with a man in sunglasses who seemed to blend in with the crowd.

"Steven, you don't think?" Connie then asked Steven.

"It's not you Connie, it's everything that's been going down lately!" Steven yelled as he grew larger and larger with every second.

"What is he talking about?" Priyanka asked, glaring at Connie.

"You haven't told your mom yet?!" Steven yelled.

"Told me what?!" Priyanka started yelling as well.

"It's not your fault Connie!" Steven tried to assure Connie amidst his growing stress. "But I still think you need to leave!"

"I refuse to leave your side!" Connie's mom fiercely declared. "This is a medical emergency!"

"Hey, you know one of us can take over!" one of the doctors watching Steven called from outside.

"No, he needs to be alone!" Connie stated. "I think anyone else being in here with him is making things worse!"

When Steven's height increased to the point of ripping his hospital gown, breaking the ceiling over him, and causing alarms to sound, the doctors took it as their cue to leave. "Point taken." That same doctor who suggested one of them take care of Steven realized before rushing away.

"Oh no!" Steven was in full-on panic mode now. If he grew any larger, the hospital would surely be destroyed. "Please, just go!"

"Steven!" Connie yelled sorrowfully.

"I just…" Steven began to cry before starting to get angry. "I CAN'T BE AROUND YOU RIGHT NOW!" The Maheswarans braced for impact as Steven's screaming broke the window behind them when suddenly, Greg came barging into the office.

"Steven!" Greg called his son's name while Connie and Priyanka turned to notice him.

"Dad?!" Steven exclaimed while finally beginning to settle down at the sight of his father.

"I'm here for you kiddo!" Greg declared as he ran up to his giant son, turning to the Maheswarans who took it as their cue to leave the area as well.

"Come on Mom, let's give them some space." Connie said to her mother as they abdicated the office.

"Alright." Priyanka agreed and took her daughter's hand while Greg took Steven's side.

"How did you know I was here?" Steven asked Greg.

"Connie called me an hour ago." Greg answered comfortingly. "Plus, I was the only one she could reach since she told me the Gems were off in space today."

"Connie?" Steven called for his friend when she and her mother were outside. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Connie beamed and spoke to him through the broken window. "I'll come when you're ready."

"I'm so sorry Steven." Greg apologized to Steven. "If I had known, I definitely would've been a big help."

"It's alright Dad," Steven sighed. "you were super busy and I didn't know what was going on."

"Come on Steven, talk to me," Greg suggested. "Just you and me, father to son."

"I, well, um," Steven stammered before tears began welling up in his eyes again. "I tried proposing to Connie!"

"You what?!" Greg yelped in alarm. "Steven, aren't you a little too young to think about marriage right now?"

"I know." Steven kept on crying. "That's one of the reasons why she said no."

"Oh, Steven." Greg sighed.

"My body, it keeps reacting like it's always the end of the world." Steven kept on complaining tearfully. "I think I've nearly witnessed the end of the world so many times now, that everything that goes wrong for me just feels that extreme! I should be feeling happy these days, Earth is at peace and it's Era 3, but Black Rutile is still out there saying I'm a bad person and I'm swelling up over all these third-era problems! What do I do now?! How do I move on after every horrible thing that's happened to me?! How can I still live my life when every day it feels like I'm going to die?!"

Despite Steven being overcome with trauma to the point of sobbing, Greg was there to lend a hand like he always did. "It's going to be alright Schtu-ball." He said while holding his son's giant finger. "I'm here for you till the end of the line."

At long last, Steven finally calmed down and began to regress to his normal size, and he only had one request for Greg. "I just want to go home."

"You bet." Greg obliged, and Steven began to fetch his clothes while Connie and Priyanka stepped back into the office. "So, what's up doc?"

"This has certainly been an eventful appointment," Priyanka stated shakily. "Real eye-opener. As I'm sure your son has already told you, he has been through more stress than is normal for a human. I suggest finding ways to monitor these breakdowns."

"I'll see what I can do." Greg nodded while Steven returned to his side fully dressed when Connie gave Steven a big hug.

Outside the office, the doctor in the sunglasses from earlier peeked from behind a corner and spoke into an earpiece. "Giant boy crisis averted." He spoke in a deep voice to someone on the other end. "Yes sir, retrieving copies of the Gems' X-ray scans as we speak." Looking around to see if anyone had caught him, the man then took off his doctor's coat to reveal a black suit underneath and walked away with no one the wiser.

--

That night, Steven had been returned home and taken to bed, where Greg had prepared him a warm cup of tea and a sympathetic ear to his son's plight.

"I guess I thought I could follow Connie to college." Steven explained to his dad while sipping the tea. "Like, if we got married, I'd know what to do with myself for once. But turns out I still gotta figure everything out on my own."

"Cut yourself some slack, kiddo." Greg smiled earnestly. "It's okay to be worried and make mistakes when figuring out what to do with life, nothing unusual. Okay, maybe turning pink and the swelling is kind of unusual, but I'm sure the Gems will know what to do. And if you want to be a giant boy, I can lend you the carwash to take a shower in."

"Yeah, that's the thing." Steven revealed calmly. "I haven't told the Gems everything yet because I don't want them to worry so much, just like the old days when I was just some little kid who was way over his head." That was when he made a realization and spat out his tea. "Wait Dad, your tour!"

"Don't worry about me." Greg assured his son. "Shep and Sadie will be fine on their own. Just get some rest Steven; you can't just solve every problem in one night. Speaking of the Gems, where are they?"

Just then, the father and son heard the Warp Pad activate from Steven's conservatory, and the Crystal Gems marched into his room utterly exhausted from the trial they had just returned from.

"If I meet another Gem like Cat's Eye ever again, I swear I'm going to freak!" Pearl yelled with her hands buried in her face when she noticed Steven and Greg in the same room. "Oh, good evening you two. How was your day?"

"Nothing really special you guys." Steven fibbed. "Nothing at all."

--

So ends Growing Pains. Have to say, this might be one of the longest chapters of Alternate Universe yet, probably because of the B-plot. How hateable did you think I made Cat's Eye? I specifically wrote her with Cruella de Vil and Franziska von Karma in mind. And speaking of despicable characters, next chapter has Steven facing quite possibly his greatest challenge yet: making Kevin a better person. Oh, this should be fun.

[drekasal]

For the ask game... 20 and 21?

Damn it, Yoru — why you gotta hit me with the hard questions? 🤣

20. Your favorite book?

This honestly changed a lot over the years, but in recent times my favorite has to be His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik. I’ll always a enjoy a full on fantasy novel, but I am absolute glutton for historical fiction when it’s done right. In this case, the Napoleonic Wars, but with aviators who ride dragons? Hell fucking yeah, sign me up for that.

That aside, Laurence and Temeraire are right up there with Hiccup and Toothless as one of my absolute favorite dragon rider pairs, and their relationship in the book and throughout the series has definitely found its way into my own writing.

21. Your favorite show?

Ok, so I’m actually gonna have to list these out cause there’s a lot, so bear with me:

Dinosapien (2007) — The first time I watched this was back when I was 10 years old, but it’s simple premise—what if dinosaurs never went extinct—has secured a place in my imagination for years since. The last rerun was back in 2012, but a gracious uploaded the whole series to YouTube, so I’ve been rewatching the whole series for that childhood nostalgia.

The Future is Wild — Referring to both the documentary-style series that aired in 2003, and then the animated version that ran on Discovery Kids alongside Dinosapien in 2007. All three together sparked my love for speculative evolution, and while at this point they’re severely outdated, they continue to inspire me to this day. (Also, I recently discovered that TFIW got a manga as well??? 👀 Gonna have to dig for that)

Teen Titans (2003-2007) — Okay, so this series sparked a LOT of firsts with me. This was what got little baby Drek into the world of DC Comics to begin with, and where he found his first cartoon crush (#RavenSupremacy). Most importantly, however, it was what exposed me to fan culture at large, and led me to want to create my own works within that universe. As such, this series holds a VERY special place in my heart.

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (2020) — To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t exactly sure about this series at first, and wasn’t intending on watching it until my little brother roped me into it. When he did, though...holy shit, I fell hard. The soundtrack, the setting, the art style, the characters...everything about it was just so FRESH. AND SOMEHOW THEY GOT THREE SEASONS OUT IN ONE YEAR, YET IT’S STILL AMAZING??? If that’s not downright kick-ass inspiring, I don’t know what to tell you.

Gravity Falls (2012–2016) — Two words: Grunkle Stan. That’s it. Which then leads me into...

The Owl House (2020–) — Featuring Grunkle Stan’s soulmate, Eda the Owl Lady, as well as her witch apprentice and surrogate daughter Luz Noceda, who really just speaks to me on so many freaking levels. To be honest, everything about the show does—I am fully well aware that I’m a weirdo, and unfortunately I have also gotten some shit for it when I was younger. I was that kid who stayed by themselves most of the time, lost in their world, and while I was fine with that, I still wished I had people outside my immediately family that I could be weird around. But that was ten years ago—now I’ve finally found my people, and they are every bit the super nerdy weirdos that I am. We hyperfixate together, even if we have different tastes/fandoms, and we always have each other’s back no matter what. They helped me to embrace my weirdness, and I feel The Owl House definitely reflects that part of my life. (The LGBT representation is also a major plus—I adore Lumity with my heart and soul ;;V;;)

Hilda (2018–2021) — This show is like a warm fuzzy blanket, and it makes my inner Scandinavian/Norse mythology heart squeal in delight. (If you haven’t yet, PLEASE GO WATCH IT.)

[365days365movies]

January 16, 2021: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

I am a massive comic book nerd. Not unusual these days, to be fair. But I’m definitely up there, as far as my obsession with Marvel and DC go. And, yeah, I stick mostly to those two houses, and their various imprints.

Why do I bring this up? Well...remember this movie?

Kick-Ass was a pretty big deal when it came out in 2010, as it was a Marvel Comics movie that was completely unrelated to the relatively new Marvel Cinematic Universe. Based of a 2008 comic book written by Mark Millar and drawn by John Romita Jr., the film was directed by Matthew Vaughn, and featured a more realistic take on how real-world superheroes would actually work.

Vaughn and Millar by this point at least, were friends. Around 2012, they’re getting drunk at a pub together, and talking movies. The topic of spy movies come up, and how there hasn’t really been a good, non-parody, fun spy movie, and that there should be. And that was the bulk of their conversation.

Enter Dave Gibbons, a legendary comic book artist, whom you may know from drawing the comic book that was turned into this:

Oh yeah, he’s a big deal. Gibbons and Millar end up getting together to write a fun spy comic book based on this idea. Vaughn, meanwhile, is getting ready to direct X-Men: Days of Future Past, the sequel to X-Men: First Class, which Vaughn directed. That’s a good movie, by the way, even if I have...issues...with the treatment of the X-Men in film. Maybe one day I’ll get into that, we’ll see what happens. Ask me about it if you’re curious.

Anyway, Millar goes to Vaughn with this script, and Vaughan looks at it and realizes that he needs to direct this movie before somebody else makes it. So he leaves Days of Future Past, and he signs on to...

I feel like it’s an obligation, as a comic book dude, to watch this film. I should also read the book, but I didn’t do that with Kick-Ass, so to hell with it! Let’s get this recap started! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

Starting off with some Money for Nothing, and somewhere in the Middle East, 1997! We go into a stone temple, where some kind of mission is taking place. A surprise grenade causes the loss of one of the agents. The surviving agents are Merlin (Mark Strong), Lancelot AKA James Spencer (Jack Davenport), and Galahad, AKA Harry Hart (Colin Firth).

Hart, feeling guilty over the death of this agent, tells his wife, Michelle (Samantha Womack) and child Eggsy (yes, Eggsy) of his sacrifice, and gives Eggsy a medal.

From there, we jump forward 17 years, to Argentina where...Mark Hamill?

Holy shit, it’s Mark Hamill! Apparently, he’s playing Professor James Arnold, and being held hostage by a group of mysterious men. Just then, he’s rescued by Lancelot, showing up with some classic James Bond-style swagger and asking for a cup of sugar, sardonically.

He kicks the asses of these guys, but is SLICED IN HALF BY A MAN WITH SWORD LEGS WHAT THE FUCK????

I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I was watching the best thing I’ve ever goddamn seen. And as if that weren’t enough, she’s working for Samuel L. “Motherfucker” Jackson, playing Richmond Valentine. I am...I am so pleased.

We go to the Kingsmen headquarters, where Lancelot is being mourned by the Kingmen and their leader MICHAEL CAINE, REALLY, HOLY SHIT

Ahem. Sorry, uh...the star-studded cast has basically caused me to have a minor aneurysm. Caine plays Arthur, the leader of the Kingsmen. Get it? I can dig it, I’m a sucker for a good Arthurian reference. Anyway, now that Lancelot’s dead, it’s time to find a new candidate. Apparently, the man that died 17 years ago was part of an “experiment” by Hart, which Arthur says has failed. Galahad calls Arthur a snob, and says that they need to evolve with the times. \

Speaking of that former candidate, how’s his son doing?

Not stellar, it seems. His mom is dating a very unsavory gentleman, and not really taking good care of her youngest daughter. Eggsy (Taron Egerton), on the other hand, is a carefree delinquent. After engaging in an entertaining backwards car chase with the police (it’s cool), he gets arrested. He refuses to give up his friends, and he instead asks for a phone call.He looks at the medallion around his neck, and remembers that he can use the number of the back to contact someone for help. He uses a specific code phrase, but it appears not to have worked. But then, Eggsy is turned loose with little more than a phone call. That’s when Eggsy meets Hart.

We find out that Eggsy has a high IQ and Olympic-level athletics, but has dropped out of the Marines, and has been arrested for drugs and other illegal activities. After being read out by Hart, Eggsy goes on an anger-filled diatribe about the differences in privilege between the two of them. Although it’s short, it’s a powerful speech.

But that speech is interrupted by the owner of the car that Eggsy stole the previous night, as well as his gang. They’re yearning for a fight with Eggsy, and they threaten Hart. He doesn’t take that well, as he shuts the doors and windoes to the pub. Time to teach a lesson.

Yup, I’m giving this fight the posted video award. It might be short, but it’s also one of the best and coolest sequences I’ve ever seen in a spy movie. And OH, it’s giving me that gadget shit I was missing from the Bond movies.

After one of the most enjoyable fight sequences I’ve seen in a while, Eggsy’s understandably stunned. So is his stepfather Dean (Geoff Bell), the leader of the gang that Hart beat up in the pub. He’s not happy, and he beats Eggsy in their apartment, and that scene is...WHOOF. Much to their surprise, however, Hart’s left a device on Eggsy’s back. He threatens Dean through the device, and tells Eggsy to meet him at a tailor that he’d mentioned.

Once Eggsy escapes from Dean and the gang via nest parkour tricks, he makes his way to the tailor, where Hart officially brings him into the fold, giving him the opportunity to become a Kingsman. He exposits the history of the agency as a private group of spies, meant to protect the world while not bowing to the bureaucracy that plagues government-affiliated spy institutions.

We get to go to Kingsman Headquarters proper, and yeah...yeah, it’s cool. As compared to the other recruits, Eggsy’s pretty obviously out of place. This, of course, is part of the point, as Hart believes the Kingsmen could use someone with different life experiences and background. That would be the experiment mentioned earlier.

Eggsy’s competitors include Roxy (Sophie Cookson), who appears to actually be polite to him, unlike most of the potentials. They settle in for the night...but not for long. Their quarters fills with water, as the entirety of the Kingsmen head towards the showerheads and toilets for air. While they all succeed, Eggsy is the one who actually gets everyone out, by literally punching the window.

Unfortunately, for one of the candidates...it’s too late. These candidates could die in the hiring process. Rough.

Sadly, Mark Hamill also doesn’t quite make it, as Hart finds him, surprisingly freed from Valentine’s capture. As he’s questioned, Valentine is forced to kill him via Suicide Squad implant, and barely escaped from his men. Valentine and his henchwoman, Gazelle (Sofia Boutella) are trying to figure out who the Kingsmen are, to no avail at the moment.

Back with Merlin, who’s training the Kingsman candidates! They’re all told to get a puppy! Aw. Eggsy chooses J.B. a pug, under the mistaken impression that it’s a bulldog. And I’m not a pug person...but that puppy is cute as shit.

Time marches on, and the Kingsmen continue their training. Eggsy’s colleagues continue to discriminate against him, especially Charlie (Edward Holcroft). Hart, who was knocked out by the explosion, eventually wakes up. Valentine goes around to political leaders and proposes his plan to “save the world,” whatever that’s about to mean. Apparently, that includes giving the King of Sweden a surgical implant of some kind. Huh.

This, of course includes some, uh...conflict with Gazelle.

Awesome.

Eggsy’s in the final 6! As Hart congratulates him over this, we finally get some exposition on Richmond Valentine’s plan. See, that implant is the Suicide Squad bomb that killed Hamill, and Gazelle also has one. Additionally, he’s released a plan to the world that will provide free internet and phone data...forever. Not ominous at all, that.

After a cool skydiving training sequence, only three candidates are left. Hart, meanwhile, poses as a wealthy philanthropist, donating to Valentine’s cause. As a result, he’s treated to an extravagant dinner...of McDonald’s. Yes, it is the best product placement I’ve seen in a while, in case you were wondering. That reveal was hilarious.

Anyway, their conversation turns from talking about climate change studies and concerns, to their opinion of James Bond movies, in a lovely little piece of meta flavor. At this point, they would appear to understand each other’s role in the play, as it were. Forgot to mention, Valentine’s been kidnapping anyone who disagrees with his goals, while also distributing his free internet cards. So, there’s that. But he’s also trying to figure out what exactly the “Kingsmen” are. Speaking of...

Our three remaining Kingsman candidates are assigned a mission to seduce a young dignitary. However, all three of them make a mistake, and allow themselves to get drugged at a party, by someone wanting to know who Hart and Kingsmen are. When Eggsy wakes up, he’s been strapped to train tracks. Uh oh.

Despite an oncoming train, Eggsy doesn’t give the man any formation. Which, of course, was the point. It’s Hart, helping to give the Kingsman candidates a little loyalty test, which both Eggsy and Roxy pass with flying colors. But Charlie...Charlie’s a coward who immediately gives everything up, including Arthur himself.

Eggsy gets to spend 24 hours with Hart, before being thrown headfirst into a mission. Hart explains that being a Kingsman means being a gentleman, which Eggsy isn’t. Hart, of course, plans to fix that.

They head to the tailor, and check out some spy gadgets. And much to their surprise, Valentine is also there, under the guise of getting a suit. Hart takes the opportunity to recommend a hatter, who gives him a top hat with built in listening devices. I love it.

Eggsy, meanwhile, speaks with Arthur at Kingsman HQ. He’s commanded to perform one final test: kill his pug, J.B. Which...yeah, damn, that sucks. He doesn’t do it, understandably. Unfortunately...Roxy does kill her dog. She succeeds...and Eggsy’s kicked out of the Kingsman candidacy. Which feels like a bullshit play, if I’m honest.

Eggsy steals Arthur’s car, then goes back home. As he’s about to confront his stepfather, Hart brings back the car via remote access, then explains to Eggsy that the gun was filled with blanks, and that Eggsy ended up giving up his shot. He also reveals that the first candidate to die...didn’t actually die! It’s been a ruse all along, meant to test the candidates under the strictest of conditions. Which sucks, obviously, because Eggsy’s out of the program.

And at that point, Valentine says something of note, revealing that he plans to go to a hate church in Kentucky to begin his master plan. Hart heads there, and tells Eggsy to stay put.

We get treated to just...just the loveliest of sermons. Disgusting. But then...

...that’s the point, isn’t it?

Because Valentine uses the SIM cards to create a signal that drives the parishioners crazy. Hart’s also in the church, however, and he also starts going crazy. Which leaves the question: what happens when a highly trained spy goes up against untrained civilians, has a bunch of gadgets...and has absolutely no restraint whatsoever?

A MASSACRE, THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS. And most surprisingly, it’s a massacre that we actually SEE. Hart basically kills almost EVERYBODY in the church. I’ll put the video up, but...y’know, be warned here. It ain’t pretty.

Hart comes to, and realizes exactly what he’s done. He leaves, only to be confronted by Valentine and his men. The Bond metaphor finally comes full-circle, explained directly by Valentine. But instead of explaining his whole plan and devising some complicated way to kill Hart that he’ll inevitably escape from...

He just shoots Hart in the head. Holy shit. And this is while Merlin, Arthur, and yes, Eggsy watch on through Hart’s home feed. Looks like a new Kingsman is needed.

Arthur tells Merlin to assemble the Kingsmen. But Eggsy...Eggsy has other plans. Thinking on Hart’s words about wanting to do something good with his life. He goes to Arthur to talk to him about Hart’s death. Arthur invites him in for brandy. And that’s...when my mind exploded.

HE’S FUCKING IN ON IT?!? Michael Caine, NOOOO! Turns out that Valentine’s convinced Arthur of his true plan: a culling. He believes that the Earth’s temperature because there’s simply too much humanity, like a body trying to kill a virus. And so...he’s going to make the virus exterminate itself. And that argument’s enough to win Caine over.

Turns out that the implant is meant to protect those individuals against a neurological signal emitted by the SIM cards, the same one that went off in the church. Arthur, realizing that Eggsy understands exactly what’s going on, poisons him, then asks if he would like to join them. Eggsy refuses...and Arthur sets off the remote poison to kill him.

But NOPE! EGGSY SWITCHED THE FUCKIN’ GLASSES! I love this movie. Arthur dies, and Eggsy uses the opportunity to dig the implant from his neck. He takes that and Arthur’s phone to Merlin and Lancelot, who realize that they can’t trust anyone at this point. And so, the three of them - yes, the three of them - go to stop Valentine.

And, yeah...I can dig it. OH HOW I CAN DIG it.

Roxy goes up in an experimental vehicle to bring down the satellite, Merlin is flying the plane, and Eggsy...Eggsy’s the one going in disguised as Arthur, in order to infiltrate the mountain lair of Valentine. Here, he and the other beneficiaries wait it out, while the world literally tears itself apart. Now wearing a bespoke suit and playing the role of a gentleman, Eggsy enters the lion’s den.

But as expected, it’s time to hit some snags. Roxy waits juuuuuust a little too long, and one of the balloons in her craft pops. As for Eggsy, he meets an old “friend” of his in the form of Charlie, who’s now working for Valentine.

The missile’s fired just in time, as Charlie’s taken out and Eggsy runs for the plane. AWESOME climax here as Eggsy escapes. I mean it; it is VERY cool. They succeed JUST in time, and the satellite is destroyed. However, Valentine’s still managed to partially start the process, and they can’t do anything about that.

Eggsy’s gotta go BACK in, before Valentine gets another satellite to trigger the signal worldwide. Now armed with Hart’s AWESOME umbrella, he makes his way there under heavy gunshot. They’re also teaming up against Merlin in the plane, so he’s not doing great. And that when Eggsy has the idea...to turn the implants on. ALL of them.

It’s amazing. Violence in fireworks. So, it’s too bad that it doesn’t stop the signal. It works, and people start to tear each other apart all across the world. But only for was long as Valentine has his hands on the desk. Eggsy manages to stop that by laying down some suppressive fire.

That provokes a response.

..This movie is, for lack of a better term, fucking rad.

Gazelle and Eggsy have an awesome fight, worthy of any James Bond movie, seriously. I really want to give it the video post honor, but I’ve done that too much already. For god’s sake, I literally JUST did that.

Gazelle dies (it’s kinda goofy how she dies, if I’m honest), and Eggsy kills Valentine with her prosthetic leg. It’s over, as the signal ends, and Eggsy even gets the girl. Not Roxy, the Princess of Sweden. Not going into it, but it’s funny.

And that’s Kingsman: The Secret Service! Honestly, I gotta say, that was a rad-as-shit movie, and...

Ooh, a mid-credits scene! Eggsy goes back home, to the pub, where his stepfather and mom are hanging out with the gang. And let’s just say...Dean’s gonna get a little comeuppance. Manners, after all, maketh man.

OK, THAT’S Kingsman: The Secret Service! And that, again, was pretty rad. See you in the Epilogue in a few!

[maggotmouth]

          hillo sexthy legends !!   i’m nora and i’ll be writing margo colby n probs sm1 else bcos lets be real, i lack self-control. u can find her pinterest here n some info abt her sexy self below the cut. plot with me on discord ( hot girl midsommar#8664 ) or in my ims !!  x o x

     * CAMILA MORRONE, CIS WOMAN + SHE / HER  | you know MARGO COLBY, right? they’re TWENTY-THREE, and they’ve lived in irving for, like, ELEVEN YEARS? well, their spotify wrapped says they listened to SCRAWNY BY WALLOWS  like, a million times this year, which makes sense ‘cause they’ve got that whole BLEACH WHITE SNEAKERS POUNDING ON A GYMNASIUM FLOOR, USING THE SAME BLUNT SCISSORS TO HACK THE SLEEVES OFF AN EXES T-SHIRT THAT YOU USE TO CUT YOUR 3AM FRINGE, A WALNUT-SHAPED ACHE IN THE PIT OF YOUR STOMACH FOR THE PERSON YOU COULD HAVE BEEN thing going on. i just checked and their birthday is AUGUST 8TH, so they’re a LEO, which is unsurprising, all things considered. ( nora, 25, gmt, she/her )

CLICK ANYWHERE ON THIS SENTENCE FOR SEXII GOOGLE DOC!!

bullet point summary of margo.

—   born margaret but NOBODY calls her that. its colby, coach or margo, and go to the privileged few. margo grew up in the creek commune n then dropped out of school cos of a teenage pregnancy so she was a bit of a cautionary tale back in’t’day (said tht in my yorkshire accent). she now works for summer camps coaching pee wee soccer and pee wee cheer, as well as helping out her beekeeper dad on his honey farm, which is jst north of abernathy creek, and working at scuba on the off seasons.

—  its just her and her dad, and has been for as long as she can recall !! everything she knows about her mum could fit on the back of the weathered passport photo she keeps in her wallet of a stranger who shares her face - her name’s melody, or at least tht was name she used when working as a dancer, she’s from argentina and dropped mag’s dad as soon as someone w more money came along.

—  margo’s father is a beekeeper with his own organic honey company. margo and her dad moved to irving in the early 00s, the summer between grade school and middle school, because her dad had heard about the communal living in abernathy creek and wanted to lend his skills there and live off the fatta the land in a very lenny from of mice and men kinda way.

—  for a few years of middle school margo was bullied for living with the ‘freaks from the creek’, but when they realised how chill her dad was with underage drinking, margo ‘keg-bringer’ colby soon gained popularity among the more renegade students. every so often, the high school parties would happen at her end of town, occasionally with members of the commune even offering the high schoolers a spiritual experience they’d never forget (often in the form of mushrooms) which meant people tried to stay on her good side. to get an invite to a margo colby party handed you a free pass to make up the most ridiculous shit about the commune you liked and nobody else could say anything, because they’d never been to the creek.

—  at school, margo had a lot of ‘behvioural issues’ bcos of undiagnosed adhd, she found it difficult to sit still for hours n write down huge chunks of information n her restlessness was seen as laziness. she was encouraged to do sports, as were most of the kids who weren’t that academically inclined, but she turned out to be pretty hot shit at sprinting, because she grew up surrounded by bee houses and he who runs slowest gets stung, baybeyy!! so yea, in school sports became her LIFE. she was gonna get a sports scholarship to college but ended up dropping out of school in senior year n becoming one of those kids who could have had it all but lost it.

—  she had sex with sutter at a house party when she wasnt really ready because it felt like the right thing to do at the time and everybody else was doing it. she’d attended health class, she’d seen the corny videos. she knew about all the statistics, but she also knew that it had never happened to anyone she knew and the pull out method was basically safer than the morning after pill and way less expensive.

—  a teenage pregnancy knocked her out of the runnings for prom queen and meant she had to leave school early. she didn’t go to college when her friends did, instead she spent the time interviewing potential foster candidates and eating her weight in lindt chocolate while marathoning love island in her room.  

—  she had a son, who she passed off to someone else a couple of towns away.  it was a closed adoption which seemed like the best idea at the time, but she now wishes she had access to his life.

—  after peaking in high school and jumping between jobs for a few years, she got a more permanent role at scuba which she loves with all of her heart and soul, but unfortunately a bar job doesn’t pay the rent.  

—  she works at summer camps coaching  junior soccer and netball on the side. she’s extremely competitive and takes it very personally if her team lose. the kids all call her, coach colby n write her longwinded letters about how they’ll never forget this summer camp before they go back to their suburban picket fence houses n she keeps all the letters in a drawer n takes them out to read when she’s feelin depressed.

—  enjoys surfing and worked for a number of years on resorts like mila kunis’ job in forgetting sarah marshall. she went on to work 18-hour days as a stewardess on luxury yachts which is a part of her backstory i added after watching season one of below deck because i guess i really am that fucking impressionable. met most of her surf friends doing tht but said she’d never in her life do it again bcos it was mostly just picking up after rich white ppl for shit pay. she came back to irving n thats when she started doing the summer camp jobs so she could move out of the creek n get her own apartment. 

—  she never actually finished senior year so she’s currently going to night school at the community college to get through her exams and is trying to save to go to college or open university. she wants to major in criminology. she’s super ambitious but also super adhd so she fluctuates between thinking she can achieve anything to just feeling like a failure n thinkin whats the point

—  used to shoplift to feel joy and as an act of resistance to her hippy commune routes, but now sees herself as a reformed, bin-diving freegan (sims 4 eco living can i get a hell yaaaa). also she thinks it’s totally wrong to steal when you have enough money and clearly don’t need to steal to survive, ppl risk imprisonment for basic necessities, so for her to do it for a brief thrill and some new shades felt a bit derogatory

—  was raised jewish. became a vegetarian as a child because it seemed, at the time, easier than having to explain which foods she was and wasn’t allowed to eat together, so she just cut out meat entirely. still a vegetarian now and dabbles in veganism, although its become less about not eating certain meats in the milk of their mother and more about her global impact / carbon footprint

—  nurses little animals to health in her garden. has a hedgehog name OJ short for orange juice not the other one filthy pig. her and her dad have always been huge animal rights activists and existed on a vegetarian diet. the only one in their house who isn’t vegetarian is their cat, auggie. (short 4 augustus gloop)

—  has a lot of stupid ass stick and poke tattoos. there was a phase during her years as a barmaid where she wanted to train as a tattoo artist n would mostly practice on herself or any friends who would let her

—  she doesn’t form many long lasting friendships cos she tends to be super excited when she makes a new friend and just see them all the time but then it wears off and she can ghost a bit. she’ll always coming pinging back but she’s not the most predictable or loyal friend, sometimes she’ll sleep in your house every night for a week and then you won’t even get a text from her for a month. her best friends are elderly neighbours and houseless people she meets when volunteering at the foodbank. she thinks they’re more authentic than most of the ‘fake posers’ she meets down the vela pier

—  calls herself a butch lesbian but still has sex with men when she wants validation. sexually attracted to some men, especially effeminate men, but only romantically attracted to women. very possessive of the gals in her life.

—  stopped giving a shit about getting older or adhering to anyone elses bullshit standards, realised it was all fake p much as soon as she dropped out of school and one by one her friends just stopped texting her

—  lives in one of the lofts in port apartments. it’s open plan with rugs and lava lamps everywhere. she has a palette bed. its all very ‘sustainable chic’. like, oh wow, a pallet bed that im supposed to think you made from scratch but i KNOW you got it  off ebay because you thought it looked trendy

—  constantly says shes poor but still buys clothes from urban outfitters. sus.

—  frequently found at fannies flirting with the cute bisexual bartender with a choppy black bob.

general vibe / personality

vibrant, vulgar, self-absorbed, tenacious, veers bewteen apathetic and dogmatic, temperamental, flighty, unreliable, magnetic, charismatic, passive aggressive, likes to play devil’s advocate, takes the moral high ground. estp and a leo

likes: 70s music, john wayne movies, black mirror, philosophy, cowboy chic culture, dc comics, the smell of locker rooms,, deep red lipstick, lacrosse sticks, smoking weed from a bong, dogs, karaoke, pet rats, kate moss, late-night strolls, hawaaiian shirts worn open over a bralette, skinned knees, thai food, picking the apples at the very top of the trees, zip-lining, cigarettes, the idea of pegging but not the practical application of it, decorative lamps, LGBTQ+ pin badges, worn-out furniture, twangy electric guitars.

dislikes: girls who call other girls ‘pick me’ girls, woody allen movies, mental mathematics, wealthy children, quentin tarantino, ironing, institutionalised misogyny, the imaginary future, french literature, ‘dump him’ feminism, wes anderson films, spoken word poetry nights, college-educated bar staff who act like they’re better than you,  indie softbois, the general mentality of cheerleading squads.

aesthetics

orange peel, the smell of bleach, skeleton drawings in the margins of a journal, thumb holes poked through the cuffs of your sleeves, bleach white sneakers pounding on a gymnasium floor, setting dumpsters on fire for the hell of it. a hit flask of vodka decorated with hello kitty stickers, split knuckles, alien conspiracy theories and sci-fi paperbacks, doc martens with fraying laces, a child in an oversize bee keepers suit, scabbed knees, not eating your greens, smiling with a mouthful of blood, and piercing your own ears with a safety pin when your dad wouldn’t take you,  a tennis racket you punched through in a fit of temper, feet pounding the earth until your soles bleed crimson, sleeping in a cherry lip balm and scrunchies to keep the wild locks from your eyes.

hoo boy this is getting LONG AS FUCK but here are my wanted plots

wanted plots

ok margo’s been in irving since she was like 10. she’s quite a vivacious person?? she dresses completely instinctively without any sense of cohesion so she stands out. a guy once told her she was wearing the ugliest outfit he’d ever seen and he thought that was so cool and brave of her. but anyway where was i going.. she grew up in the abernathy creek so stuck out like a sore thumb,,,, maybe ppl who were super interested in the creek or maybe poked fun at her bcos of it idk.....

b4 she dropped out, margo used 2 b in with the cool kids at school bcos her dad would buy them booze and rarely ask for the money. maybe a fun plot cld b with some of the ‘it girls’ she used to hang around with b4 she got pregnant n dropped out and they all went off to college n stopped texting her.

frinds !! unlikely friends !! toxic friends !! some1 she feels like she knew before irving ???

since margo literally can’t differentiate between romantic and platonic love, she’s got off with so many of her mates, so i want awkward friendships where they nearly dated, or exes that have now just turned into weird friendships. fwbs. enemies with benefits. all the angst. all the slow burn mutual pining we hate each other narratives

locals who play sports. margo wld be all over community soccer n take it way too seriously. maybe ppl she plays hockey with. girls who she’s like, weirdly intimate with but its not a thing cos the other girls straight !!! what do u mean !! aha just fun !

she works part time at scuba. i want a mate that just goes and sits in there talking to her until her manager gets angry.

she's also a surf instructor and occasionally works as a lifeguard!! gal has like 7 jobs ik but regular swimmers hmu

ppl she coaches at the gym !! she wants to be a personal trainer

i reckon she might have recently started meditating to try and calm down her mind cos its always bustling with thoughts, n i think she’s p interested in buddhism so if anyone’s a buddhist hmu

someone she’s trying to make a zine with on female empowerment and women in film and art, etc. just a very feminist zine. 

TLDR:  angry sports gay, former high school track prodigy turned drop out, who likes feminist literature, wearing leather jackets over slip dresses, and smudged red lipstick.

this was so long !!! im sorry !! if you’ve read this far have a biscuit, love x

[mickmarstookmyheart]

Bad Memories

Pairing: Mick Mars X Reader

Synopsis: While you are trying to enjoy your peaceful morning with Mick, your sister calls you with az unexpected demand. Your past comes up again which you don't like.

(I will correct the mistakes tomorrow)

Being the girlfriend of a musician meant constant tours and music all the time at everywhere. Seeing the guys almost every night on stage playing their chosen instruments made you jelaous. Then you remembered that you wouldn't stand on stage and play. Never.

It was a rainy and overcast October day. You and Mick chose to stay in bed a bit more since you had nothing to do that day. Your head was laying on his chest which was rising slowly. You loved listening to his steady heartbeat. His fingertips were caressing you bareback while his other hand were behind his head.

"Miiiiick. Please!" You asked nicely.

"Yeah?" He sighed.

"Would you be so kind and make some coffee?" You looked up with puppy eyes. He rolled his.

"I made it yesterday, too." He stated. He knew that these kind of peaceful mornings are rare and tried to enjoy every second of it.

"Good point. Then give me 5 minutes." You murmured into his chest. After a while you heard Mick's quiet snoring making you drift back to sleep, too. A loud ringing noise woke you up from your peaceful dreams.

"I will kill whoever this is." Mick groaned reaching for the telephone. "It's your killer, what do you want?"

"Hey, Mick. It's me, Isabelle. Sorry if I woke you up." Your sister apologized on the other end of the phone.

"Oh, hey. What's up? Haven't heard from you like in ages!" Mick's face brightened up while you frowned thinking who this lucky person could be.

"Nothing special, just the usual. Is (Y/N) there? I really need to talk to her." She asked.

"Yeah, sure. Is there a problem?"

"Well, nothing serious." Mick handed you the phone.

"It's (Y/N)." You said with a quite sleepy tone. You sat up while pulling some blanket from Mick who answered with a pillow behind your head. "Hey!" You snapped making him smirk.

"It's me. Your sister." Isabelle started to get annoyed. "(Y/N)! Are you here?"

"Yeah. What is it?"

"You know there is gonna be a party. Here at university. A Halloween party."

"That's good, I guess?" Making a phone call this tired didn't help.

"Sure. Also, me and some guys formed a band you know."

"Really? You haven't told me." It was good to finally speak to her. It was quite a long ago since you have a nice sister to sister conversation. You glanced around in the room and spotted an oversized tee on the ground. You got out of bed which was hard cause Mick didn't let you at first. You couldn't help it cause you felt the urge to walk when you were speaking on the telephone. "And... what's the name of the band?"

"Eggheads."

"That's what I call creative." You giggled.

"Wasn't me who came up with the idea, you know." Isabelle huffed.

"Maybe you should've asked Mick. He has some ideas." You glanced at the guitarist who tilted his head not having any clue why he was mentioned. "So what's the deal, sis?"

"There is this party and the head of the uni asked us to perform."

"Congrats. That's a big thing!" You cheered.

"Let me finish. So yesterday our guitarist, Mike, had an accident and broke his arm. He sure won't be able to perform."

"Oh, that suck. I'm so sorry. Also, sorry for not performing." You played with the wire of the phone.

"Well, don't be. Cause I have a wonderful idea!" She had a devilish smile on her face, unfortunately you couldn't see. If you could, you would've known what she was up to. "There is a girl I know who could play instead of Mike."

"Good to hear. Is she at the uni, too?" You asked still not suspecting a thing.

"Not exactly although one of my best friends." She said sighing. "I'm talking about you, (Y/N)."

"What?" The blood froze in your veins. "You aren't serious, right?"

"Don't tell me you are still not over what happened years ago!"

"I am...just.. it's pretty hard." You were rubbing your arm with the other.

"Please, (Y/N)!" She begged. "It will be fucking cool, I promise."

"I don't know. I haven't played since then. I will mess up."

"Give the phone to Mick."

"Why?"

"Heard me. Give me the guitar lord." Isabelle ordered. You handed the device back to Mick who took it happily. He was really fond of your sister.

"Did you manage to solve the problem?" Mick asked while he was eyeing your worried facial expression.

"Almost. Would you refresh my sister's guitar skills in two weeks?" Mick's eyes widened while you shook your head.

∆

"Why didn't you tell me?" Mick asked watching the red light from the car.

"Tell you what?" You were looking out the window to avoid eye contact. You knew what he was talking about and it wasn't your favourite topic.

"That you can play the guitar."

"I thought I can have secrets. And it's not a big thing."

"If you say so." He was watching you from the corner of his eye. He noticed that you were worried, well, rather freaked out. "Would you mind telling me why are you like this? Or is it a secret, too?"

"I fucking knew." You pulled your hoodie's strings stronger so nothing could be seen from your face. You crossed your arms and didn't say a word.

"You look like a kid who didn't get her Barbie." He chuckled.

"Haha. Very funny." You murmured.

"Aren't you happy that you can meet with Isabelle? Cause I sure am!" He smiled. Sometimes you were wondering why he liked your sister this much. Mick only tolerated people. "Hey. Mars to Earth. Are you here?" He asked while poking your belly making you giggle.

"Stop." You tried to catch your breath. Mick smiled, he loved hearing your laugh. "And I'm sorry for my behaviour. It's just a quite sensitive topic for me. Only Isabelle knows about this and she doesn't think it's important." You were playing with the strings of your hoodie. "I guess, you want to hear the story."

"Only, if you want to. But yeah, I would love to hear it." He smirked. You took a deep breath and started you monologue.

"Not a long story, don't worry. So years ago some friends of mine formed a band. It were the boys and me. We were a cover band but tried to create some original ones though I was the only one who wanted that."

"Sadly, I can relate." He sighed.

"I'm sorry." You took a look at Mick who placed your hand into his. "Unfortunately, this was the minor problem. After one of our concerts, I had an accident. I fell of my motorbike. I broke my arm and one of my legs. The doctor said I was lucky." You had a sad smile on your face. Later, deep down you wished you had died instead.

"We were on a so called mini tour, we were performing at universities and high schools. Since I was at the hospital I felt horrible because we couldn't perform. At least, that's what I thought."

"You were replaced, right?" Mick squeezed your hand feeling sorry for you.

"Yes. But that wasn't my problem. I thought they were my friends. They didn't even visit me. After, I recovered more or less, I went to our place where we usually practiced. There was a new guitarist, a guy, who told me to fuck off." You laughed. "I was on my way to punch the guy, but our singer stopped me. He asked why I was there and that he fired me. His reason was that they didn't want a girl in their band and that I wasn't playing well anyway." You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding. A tear ran down your face and your eyes were gloomy. You chest was heavy but you tried your best not to cry.

"Fuck them. Fuck them for embarrassing you. And where is that famous band now? Nowhere! Darling, I'm so sorry. But they don't deserve your tears." He wiped your tears with his thumb. "And I'm sure they still regret their decision. If you play as good as good pictures you take they are a dead band." He pecked your lips making you smile.

∆

"Are you ready (Y/N)?" Your sister asked. You and Isabelle's band along with Mick were at drummer's garage and were about to practice. It was the 5th day and you were improving. That's what Mick said though you didn't believe him. You nodded and started to play "Live Wire." On the set list there were Mötley, AC/DC, Van Halen, Scorpions, Bon Jovi and many more. An old good feeling took over when you touched the strings. Your fingers remembered and it made you happy. During the solo, Mick was admiring you, he adored your concentrating face and he noticed that you were enjoying it. When the band finished the song you were still in shock how good it had turned out. Mick was clapping as well as the others.

"Wow, (Y/N)! It was hell of a solo." Robert, the singer congratulated. Isabelle was the bass player, Tim the drummer who owned the garage. You ran your fingers through your hair in embarrassment. You still didn't get used to compliments regarding your play.

"Thanks. And are you sure Mike isn't angry?"

"Nah. He said it's pretty cool that the girlfriend of Mick Mars will substitute him." Tim snickered. "Also, he is apologizing for not being here. His mother didn't let him."

"Poor little 22-year-old boy." Isabelle chuckled putting down her bass. She walked over to you and took Mick's precious guitar from your hand.

"Don't worry. I won't smash it on the floor." She yelled seeing the guitarist's facial expression.

∆

Halloween. Costumes, candies, and spooky decoration everywhere. You wished you could dress up as a witch or something cause that fluff you called your hair was hidious. Vince lent his bandana as a mascot and Mick one of his guitars.

"I look horrible." You looked in the mirror dealing with your hair.

"Babe, this is how we normally look on stage. You look badass. Also, very sexy." He murmured to your neck hugging you from behind.

"He is right, sis." Isabelle came back to the dressing room with a bigger fluff. You held your hand over your mouth not to laugh loudly. You noticed that Mick's was in the same state.

"I think I will go. Find those idiots and keep an eye on them." Mick said while pressing one last kiss on your cheek and left the room.

"(Y/N)! Listen, you will be great. Just remeber to relax. Take a deep breath and the key is to enjoy. Concentrate on the music, feel the music. Watch Mick, pretend you two are the only ones in the room." She placed her hands on your shoulders looking in your eyes.

You were the last one who stepped on stage and the crowd were already insane.

"Alright, alright ladies and gentlemen. Before we start this hella concert, I would like to introduce our temporary guitar player, (Y/N). You will see a powerful sister duo on stage tonight. Prepare yourself. The show is beginning. Are you READY?" Robert screamed in the microphone as the crowd shouted as one person.

During the concert you felt an energy which you couldn't compare to anything. You felt powerful and you thought you could accomplish anything at that moment.

"I would be scared if I were you, Old Man." Vince stated as he was watching you from the side of the stage with Mick. "We might get you replaced with (Y/N). She is sexier." Mick kicked the singer in the ankle making him groan.

∆

Taglist: @leatherandheels @safari-karrot @littlemisscare-all @crazyrockrlady

[thatblondeperson]

So I learnt from that Tim Drake Guy's tumblr that Steph is a bully and abusive with Tim is that true. I ask since I know you seem to agree with a lot of the thoughts expressed on that blog. Can you help me find some examples of Tim/Steph comics. I was going to get YJ but the same tumblr blog says it's bad

So I want to preface with some very solid advice I've learned from being in fandom. It's really hard to learn anything from any blog because so much of it is opinion based, that the line between headcanon and canon gets far too muddied too often, and there's also always going to be biases that come from very personal spaces. It's important to take everything that every blog says ESPECIALLY in the DC fandom, with a very large grain of salt because half the fandom really doesn't actually seem to source their information with anything other than out of context panels, shitposts, or their own perfect ideals of what they want to gleam from the pages of each comic. It's all interpretive, and I'm sure that sounds a little bit petty, but I'm adding myself in here too because I have my own opinions separate from others, despite my firm ideology in staying as close to canon as I possibly can.

As far as that blog, I actually strayed away from them because I no longer agreed with a lot of what was being said. It got to the point where it was getting very unnecessarily negative all the time, and I want no part in this ship war that drives practically every bit of drama in the Tim fandom. I think that there is a lot of merit to some of the opinions on that blog, and they're clearly an expert on Tim in many ways. I knew them personally, so I can attest to that. But I think they also read only what they WANT to read on every page, and I think that makes for a lot of gaps where misinformation can leak in. That got filled with a lot of straight up wrong assessments of Stephanie Brown, and unfortunately that blog was already prime traffic for antis to spew unnecessary hate, so once the blog itself got on board, I tapped out.

No, Stephanie is not an abuser or a bully. I think tumblr throws around the word abuse far too casually. At most, Steph teases Tim, but never to a malicious or purposefully hurtful extent. She pokes at him, just like you would with a best friend. He barely even protests. A simple "Steph..." every now and again, but he even teases her back often and jokes with her. She's not an abuser, in fact, she herself is a victim of severe abuse in her childhood. Her flirting at the beginning of her and Tim's relationship is a bit intense, but she's 15, and doesn't know how to catch his attention. Her boyfriend was clearly way older than her and did not treat her well, her father abused her mother, and she was sexually harassed by her father's friends. She's never seen a healthy relationship to know how to act. Once they get together, she mellows out and is actually very compassionate and kind with Tim, and especially supportive.

A lot of haters throw around all this terrible stuff she did.

They say she stole Robin from Tim. He stepped away from the mantle, and she thought she caught him cheating, and Bruce opened up the opportunity for her.

They highlight a time when she almost blew Tim up. Bruce told her to do something drastic to force Tim to be a better Robin. Should she have thought it through? Yes. But she was young, and still desperate to prove herself.

Steph is a loose canon throughout a lot of her appearances. She doesn't always think before she acts, and that is one of her major flaws. She gets into trouble often, and that causes a lot of tension between her and Tim, often from him becoming overprotective of her.

Steph starts out fairly cynical in the beginning and softens up over time. After the explosion stunt with Tim, she does get her act together and she goes through a fantastic character arc where she really improves upon herself. She becomes a beacon of hope, but she really already was one. She's always been a source of light for Tim. She's a constant tether for him throughout their relationship, and she constantly bringing him back to reality. I think their dynamic is really great, and it does hurt me a lot how often she gets dragged through the mud now. It's tumblr, what can you do?

It's also interesting to me how often Steph is called out for being the unhealthy one, and they never talk about how Tim was the shitty boyfriend way more often:

Kept his identity from her but didn't respect keeping hers private

Kissed her when he was dating someone else at the time (he's actually kinda known for subtle two-timing, but this is hardly brought up by fans)

Essentially stalked her for a while

Often told her she needed to stop being Spoiler (overprotective nature yes...but still)

Interesting how the relationship is only toxic because of Steph. Hell she even gets shit for getting upset that Greta straight up tried to kill her in Young Justice, because they think it was selfish of her that she was desperate to learn Robin's identity. Yeah sorry...murder vs wanting to know your crushes name? Which is worse?

I'm also not going to sit here and demand that everyone love Steph. It's ok that people don't like her, I could give 2 shits, but if they're gonna spew hate, I'd prefer it be rooted in truth. Some of what I see written about her is just so so wrong...there's a trend in anti culture to even write her as Tim's rapist which YIKES. That's so beyond a healthy amount of dislike for a character.

Anyway, comic recs!!!

Detective Comics 647-648. (First appearance of Steph/Spoiler with classic "love at first brick" moment.)

Robin 57-65 (First date issue which is the cutest thing ever. Robin does a little flip at the end because he's so happy. And the chronology of Steph being pregnant which Tim was supportive of the whole time. Super sweet)

Robin 100-104 (Steph gets sick and Tim brings her soup. Lots of cute domestic moments, and you get more into Steph's past)

Robin 111 (more about Steph's past with Tim being super supportive, also the infamous piano issue which is a personal favorite of mine)

Robin 116 (very cute moments after Tim forgets his bday and everyone, Steph included, surprises him)

Robin 119 (supportive bf Tim, strikes again)

Robin 120 (Steph being an amazing supportive gf)

Batgirl 8 (Steph's run, where she and Tim collide again for the first time in a long time. Awkwardness and tension ensues, Tim tries to make a move)

Red Robin 10 (more crossover, very fun. More awkwardness and tension)

Convergence Batgirl (Not the best run, but a nice bit of closure for the pre flashpoint universe. Very sweet and wholesome.)

There's way more that I could list but I'm awful with issue numbers tbh. I know the stories, but I don't have the catalogue memorized. Better people than me have probably made a masterlist of TimSteph comics lol

I don't think you should let any blog turn you away from any particular series. I think if you wanna try out the new YJ, go for it!! I'm very cynical to anything published post 2011, but YJ is the only thing I've consistently read that's NEW, in years. I find it fun. Is it the best? No, not by miles, and it gets stuck with a lot of nonsensical filler often. But it's still a very cute and fun run.

I hope this ask gave you a lot of good info! I also recommend the very long post that should be just below this that goes into a lot of fandom misconceptions about Stephanie brown with more picture examples to highlight everything. Thanks for the ask, anon! I hope you have a lovely time reading these comics and hopefully many more!!

🖤💜❤😊😊😊❤💜🖤