#and yet i'm not certain i'll use either of them in future

[tears-of-xion]

Made a Rena Rouge mermaid design. :3

-

Please do not use or re-post my artwork without my permission. Thank you!   (reblogs, however, are welcome and appreciated)

I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir, nor it’s characters. All rights to their owners.

#miraculous ladybug #fanart #alya cesaire #rena rouge #miraculous tales of ladybug and cat noir #mermaid au #mermaid!rena rouge #clip studio paint #March2024 #tearsofxion'sart #my art #tearsofxiondrawsMiraculous #tearsofxiondrawsMermaids #tried out drawing her mask in two different ways here #and yet i'm not certain i'll use either of them in future #i have different ideas to try out #either way i'm happy with how this looks #rena rouge's hair is so much fun to draw

[cupcakeslushie]

Okay. I've been tip-toeing around this AU for a while now, but I just got caught up, and now I think I have a (decent) grasp on what's going on. So I wanna go over everything I know so far to see if I'm right or wrong on anything. Don't know if you'd be willing to correct me or not. Either way, I hope my mistakes can help you understand what to clarify to other fans like me. But, I also have some questions. You probably won't be able to answer most of them, but it's at least worth a shot.

First, where's Venus? Like, why is she not in your comics that are (sort of) separate frome the canon now story. The ones that skip to the future way after all the turtles reunite. Did she die? Did she escape? Is it because she wasn't introduced yet when you made those comics?

Two, why do you keep on making references to the future timeline? I know you're planning on possibly making your own stuff leading up to the events of the movie. It just gives me a jumpscare when I see certain...imagery in those comics. I guess you're hinting at what your version of the future apocalypse would look like, but it just hurts to see. Specifically in the comic explaining both the events and aftermath of the movie and the bad future timeline. It's starting to really confuse my brain as to where this story is headed. What's meant to be the main focus? The Hamto's reuniting? The aftermath? Or the future?

Third, did you make all those min-comics before you started the actual AU? Or did you do them during?

Fourth, are any of those mini-comics relevant to the actual story now? Or have you changed your mind on a few things? It's just that everything is so all over the place, I don't really know whether to trust if they're accurate. I know most of them are just there for funzies, but the longer ones concern me. I guess I'm just not used to the storyteller doing sequel, start, prequel, start, sequel, prequel, prequel, sequel, and then end. Or maybe it's just me, and I'm sleep deprived.

My little observation speech is gonna take a while for me to get out in your asks because when I get theoretical, my speech gets long, and my proper English goes down the drain. So I'll be back. I appreciate your work very much. Despite the pain it causes me, it's still amazing.

I’ll try my best to clear up what confusion I can!

1. As far as Venus. The answer is kind of a mix of, I was still figuring out her design and backstory while coming out with some of those early comics, and then, once I had that down, I wanted the boys to grow strong bonds as a main cast. That’s why a lot of the side characters are only making small appearances in the Sep!AU Life stories, as those are mainly for the boys reconnecting. (Usagi shows up the most because I love him and am totally biased towards him).

This maybe hasn’t been stated outright, but I wasn’t really expecting so many ppl to like Vee as much as they do, and now im trying not to spoil too much of her story. It’ll unfortunately just take us a while to get to the meat of it. Since the boys reconnecting takes up a lot of the early s1s2 story, Im trying to follow the familiar Rise blueprint of Draxum, Shredder, Krang, and then in s3 we’ll have crazy fun new stories with the extra characters.

Ive also decided to take this little nugget from one of the Q&As, and use it for Venus instead of Jennika. It was a much needed bit of inspiration to explain why Venus sorta disappears for a while and will go through some major physical changes (not yet revealed) before the family can figure out a way to reach her.

2. I’m not sure if you mean jump scared in a bad/triggering or neutral way, but if you need me to tag anything on those posts please let me know!

The glimpses of the future timeline, are being scattered throughout wherever they parallel the present story in little ways, but that’s only for now. As we get closer to the movie plot, bigger chunks of the future will be revealed, because the future versions of the boys will have a larger role to play in the present timeline. So we will need more backstory than what the canon got. And also I just enjoy drawing my future versions so sometimes I don’t think too hard on a reason. I just like throwing them at ppl with no warning or reason.

When s2 ends, I plan on collecting all the future related stuff that’s been released, and recapping it for easier reading. Right now, it’s just little sprinkles of foreshadowing to give ppl an idea that, ‘oh crap. The doomed timeline is a bummer’. In my mind, I guess i thought it’d be kinda like a fun scavenger hunt for clues, but maybe ppl don’t like that 😅

3. All of the side-stories were written as the main comic was/is being released. A lot of them resulted from asks that just spawned the need to expand on certain ideas, or a desire to give all the turtles their time to shine.

For instance, when I was doing Donnie’s section of the main comic, it was a good few months where we hardly saw anyone but him and Venus. I wanted to just mix it up, and give Raph some love with his ‘Raph Time’ short. When Leo was front and center in the main, we hardly saw the others, so Mikey and Donnie got their little ‘Secrets’ short (and it was also I fun thank you for EW making it so far in the tmnt sep competition).

4. Anything that has been reworked/revised or just plain dropped should have an ‘Edit’ note because yes—I have gone back and changed some things, but more so from the asks i got in the early days, and some movie idea drafts.

All the short comics done in the last year, especially the ones that are listed in my pinned post, are canon and fall somewhere in the timeline. They’re like supplemental reading though—extra meat to give the world and the characters more personality. They do have particular backstory plot and important info in them, but nothing that shouldn’t eventually be re-visited/repeated in the main story.

um I hope that cleared up some things! I know it’s kind of a crazy amount of lore. I’ve tried my best to organize it in the pinned post, huge timeline, and search bar tags, but I know it’s getting harder and harder for newer ppl to jump in as it just get bigger. Thanks for reading regardless!

#rottmnt #tmnt #ask slushie #separated au #rise of the tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt separated au #sep!au infodump #ew au #Empyrean Weeping Au

[kp-alice]

size kink with mingyu ?

Hi! I'm guessing you're sending this for my ongoing sub!svt event, but please read the instructions again!! I'm writing about who would be into certain kinks, not about specific member-kink combinations people send me!!

I'll accept it this time, though, because I like discussing this specific kink anyway, lol. Enjoy!

Oh and lastly - two of these automatically assume you're smaller/shorter than the member in question, mainly because I'm not sure how many people out here are noticeably bigger than them, haha. The rest can go either way, though! Hope that's okay.

SIZE KINK WITH SUB!SEVENTEEN

Okay, I admit, I agree with you on who'd take first place for this kink. There's just no way it isn't Mingyu, lol. Anyone who's watched this man for at least a little bit (and noticed his suspicious tendency of dropping to his knees and generally making himself appear smaller) can easily see that size kink is absolute Mingyu territory. He already pegs me as the type to want someone who can toss him around a bit, but having said person be considerably smaller/weaker/both than him?? That's Mingyu's heaven right there. Not only is the physical difference satisfying to look at, but it perfectly underlines the whole humiliation of being (very willingly) overpowered by someone else.

So please, take note of how adoringly he looks up at you whenever you have him on his knees, and make good use of it in the future. Laugh in his face as you push your foot down on his crotch, tug him down to your level by his hair when talking, restrain his hands with your smaller one and roam his broad chest to your heart's content - he'll love it just as much as you, if not more <3

For the most part, Wonwoo belongs here for the same reason as Mingyu. Like him, Wonwoo would love the deliciously embarrassing contrast between your sizes, especially when you're on top of him. He'd watch with curious yet meek eyes as you get comfortable in his lap, smoothing your gentle hands across the expanse of his chest, only to make him let out a startled pained noise as you scratch your nails all the way down, leaving a beautiful row of hot, red lines across his skin.

However, that's not the only reason he'd like your smaller size. Because besides the purely sexual, almost masochistic appeal of it, the difference is also kind of comforting for Wonwoo. Knowing that he's willingly letting you take over, yet could actually break free from you if he tried, makes him subconsciously feel more comfortable and calm. It's not like he doesn't trust you, of course not! It's just that the softness of your size would help him ease into a submissive headspace a lot easier, allowing him to be more vulnerable with you and finally let you pamper him without feeling bad about it. In a way, your presence evokes the softest side of Wonwoo, because when he sees you and your gentle frame, no matter how intense the scene is, he knows he's always safe with you.

Woozi can go both ways. If you're taller/bigger than him, he'll tend to fall into a more obedient and subservient, almost desperate-to-please subspace. Unlike in his daily life, he'd actually enjoy feeling small next to you because he knows you'll never make fun of him for it and cherish him just the way he is - and in return, you've earned his utmost loyalty and submission.

On the other hand, if you're shorter/smaller than him, Woozi will find himself feeling a lot softer and more peaceful around you. You don't look down on him like a lot of other people do (mainly physically, but in other ways as well), and that knowledge gives him a lot of unspoken comfort. With you, he can become as small and vulnerable as he wants without fearing any judgment from you.

Either way, the size difference between you and Woozi is mainly a thing of comfort for him and he cherishes it dearly <3

Lastly, I also feel like Seungcheol might enjoy the size difference, though definitely not as strongly as the others. With him, it's more so just one day noticing how small/big you look on top of him and going "Huh, neat." in his head before moving on. In other words, for him, it's more of an appreciation than a kink per se, lol.

Thank you for reading! And remember, feedback is always appreciated! ♥  

#sub!seventeen #sub!svt #seventeen smut #seventeen reactions #seventeen reaction #seventeen headcanon #seventeen headcanons #seventeen x reader #sub!mingyu #sub!wonwoo #sub!seungcheol #sub!woozi

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

So... Where You Going?

For those not in the know, tumblr's doing its swan song and is going down to a skeleton crew for running the site. The site won't be gone immediately, but given how things run on tumblr now (will sometimes be totally unusable, I've had my blog automatically killed for nonsense reasons, held together with duct tape and glue) I'm going to treat this as if it could go down tomorrow or else that it will probably collapse by Christmas.

I'll probably be here until it's no longer usable but I'm not going to hold my breath that that's going to be any significant amount of time.

So, there comes the question of where I am going to go.

@therealvinelle and I have been discussing that and what we're likely to do is pivot what would be text meta into @rankheresy content. Things that would have been long text answers to questions will become episodes (note this is what the episodes essentially are already). We're also looking into doing Q&A style streams/videos where we'd answer questions from the audience to get to what would have been the short/more ridiculous 'what if' kind of things we usually do.

Of course, if people want us to run certain episodes/do certain content, we're open to suggestions and feedback.

As for Ao3, I'm not going anywhere on there, because if I could have shaken the fanfiction habit, I would have years ago. I'm in this for life, baby.

Neither of us have any plans to move all the blog content somewhere else in part because a) nobody seems to know where they want to land yet b) all the existing options are collapsing or else are terrible and I hate them. As much as this place is a hellsite, there's nothing quite like it. This could change but, for now, them's the breaks.

Also, since I've now published things, I can't disappear from online entirely.

So, here's the places you can find me.

Me, Myself, and I

The_Carnivorous_Muffin on Ao3

Amazon Author Page

If you're interested at all in my venturing into original things/what's been going in there, follow the Amazon author page as that will for sure alert you when new things come out, I'll make announcements other places (e.g. discord) but of course that depends on other places existing which who even knows at this point.

Rank Heresy (@rankheresy i.e. me and @therealvinelle meta stuff)

Rank Heresy Spotify

Rank Heresy Podcastaddict

Rank Heresy Apple Podcasts

Rank Heresy Amazon Music

Rank Heresy Player FM

Rank Heresy Google Podcasts

Rank Heresy Patreon

Rank Heresy Kofi

Rank Heresy Discord

Rank Heresy discord will probably become the best place to catch me or @therealvinelle as well as catch any announcements we make. In #announcements we drop anything we update (either the podcast or fics) and #notice-me-senpai channel can be used when you really want to get our attention/have us answer a question (we do lurk there but as of right now it's not a super active server).

Podfic (me and @therealvinelle podfic stuff)

Podfics on Spotify

Podfics on Amazon Music

Podfics on Podcastaddict

Podfics on PlayerFM

Podfics are what it says on the tin, it's me and @therealvinelle podficcing only our own material (which so far is just partway through For The Love of a Woman)

It's been a wild time, friends, hope to see you all in the future.

#about this blog #rank heresy #meta #vinelle #therealvinelle #announcement #discord

[lizaluvsthis]

I feel like they're doing a lot of episodes centered around 3 and 4's relationship as of recently, like almost every episode ever since WOTFI 2023 has in some way been about 3 and 4 in some way, they're definitely cooking up something...

Would be weird to be doing a lot of episodes cented around one of the protagonists and a tritagonist's relationship without a reason...

Yes I've noticed that, it's why I randomly show up in a constance of space to ramble about these ga- i mean- 'friends.'

Ive had me suspicions on randomly show ups with SMG3 because it is never unlikely we get this much of episodes with SMG3 in it. I feel like something would go wrong about Three's most appearnce as a tritagonist role from his character.

I'm aware of what would have the consequences to happen in the future, once he gets involved with the Adware themself. Either be possessed. Either d-e. We're not sure about this because when we mostly used the Axol theory who existed in the seasons and d-ed.

The protagonist which is Melony, were his loving partner who were to suffer the most from grief. Besides me mentioning them. I really do feel like they are trying to hint something that SMG3 will be a more focused main character in the series.

We never know when the arc will happen soon. But just for me to say, I noticed not a while back is that. Back before the new designs or even wotfi 2022. Lets get to the older episodes where SMG3 specifically appears around the episodes which as the months of March, October, or even Jul- June? Was it?

We're both not sure about this because with the new episodes been released that included smg3. It seems to me that they've broken the schedule whenever smg3 gets to be in a month where he is in other episodes. But the new ones could be making us think harder with it.

It wouldn't be weird for me to call but too "skeptical" for me that they'd release a season filled with SMG3 dump from other episodes in everywhere.

I doubt that they're only putting this so that the tritagonist can get some attention from the fans. When he'd already been considerately part of the SMG4 Crew members.

He'd play as a focused one because why the hell not? This is SMG3 and SMG4 we're talking about and there is no denying that they will both end up in something important.

Like any other with Axol and Melony's Bond.

Because it's more different with these two. They both have a slow form of chemistry during the years. And therefore is slowly having to form into something else.

Call me crazy or insane one last time or again and again, but I'll have to put on.

"SMG3 is being put in the episodes because he'll be more of a valuable person to appear mostly in the near upcoming 'strange' event."

Even if he were to call as a villain, he is still a tritagonist. He is there with his boy- i mean- FRIEND. To be there with. To return a favor. And have something that he's hiding to yet reveal.

But with his insignificant torture with people, his line never ends when he kept calling SMG4 "Baka" in the other episodes there-has-been.

SMG3 can never go back because he's already there, his appearance meant everything from the entire fanbase/community.

Because everyone here is now making these bunch of unexplained theories where it can have the possibilities for him to di- i mean- possessed. Or something angsty would happen in the further future.

But we'll never know that in a certain fact.

Unless it'd be more serious...

#lizafixates #smg4 #smg34 #smg3 #smg4 smg3

[netherworldpost]

Would you ever make the "I have a lot of feelings about this book" card design into a sticker label? I'd love to buy a pack to put on my favorite books before I lend them out. Also, not me shopping in your store before I actually receive my first order ... BUT I LOVE YOUR STUFF!

Hey there! Firstly, thank you!

I'm extremely pleased and humbled by your enjoyment. I'm also a bit "hm hm! hm!!" because we are barely starting out along a very long plan to make wonder and create dazzle.

Book stickers get tricky. It has to be extremely clearly worded in teh description "this sticker is unlikely to come off and will likely cause damage if you remove it" and other such things.

So saying, there is a future phase of... stuff... (everything from stickers similar to what you mentioned to registry stuff to stories and rambles) called "Eldritch Librarian" that I've been tinkering with for some 7 or 8 years at least.

It started slowly with Evil Supply Co. but the company was so scattered that the notes just kinda went everywhere and I couldn't focus. Part of --

The Shift I Ought to Cleverly Name and Likely Won't Because It Amuses Me To Call It Something Different Every Time

-- has been to resolve that lack of focus.

With book modifications, things get inherently personal, very quickly (hence the looping this project with Eldritch Librarian). Some books are to gift, some are to lend, both need to be addressed in modification.

The Short Answer: Yes, on an unknown schedule, and part of a larger system.

As to your order!

Again I say thank you!

It's ready.

It's either in the mail or will be in the mail tomorrow (Monday, April 22).

If you haven't gotten an email tracking yet, that will come on Monday morning sometime, depending on where your order sat in the queue.

I was tinkering with the shipping system last night.

Tracking info generates immediately when your label is produced, as your order is packed, but prior to said tinkering, it would only email Day Of Going Out the Door.

Now it emails within a few minutes of the label being generated.

The advantage to this being those of us whom Are Frequently Awake in the Middle of the Night staring at the walls and wondering "hm has that shipped yet" and rather than waiting on servers to click over to what is deemed (for whatever reason) as The Time to Send, it just sends immediately.

I will also say thank you one last time.

When I say "I was overwhelmed with the initial response" I mean it both emotionally (most positive possible connotation) and physically (most positive possible connotation).

I'll always ship what is currently considered slow -- always a small pile of days, the target is 2 - 5 days, with an upper limit of 8 or 9 days.

The window being "do we have your particular item in stock, right now, or will it be added to the next production run."

I could (and have) ramble about it for many (many) hours, but the short answer comes down to:

We produce in very small batches (high inventory can increase profit but compromises ability to experiment)

In off-peak hours (this allows us to slash production cost, enabling us to sell cards very inexpensively)

Using non-billionaire-owned suppliers as often as possible, respecting their production lines and timeframes etc. This is not a rebuff or commentary of anyone's business practices. It is simply part of my "We are a tiny business, we should support small businesses when buying boxes, etc." sensibility.

We hit what I figured we'd sell in our first six months within about six days.

The good thing about logistics, though, is there are industries (purposefully plural) around every single problem that exists. And just raw practice. There was a point where I figured out how to fold boxes a certain way that cut the time to fold in half.

Okay this was a lot :)

So: Yes. But not very soon. Part of something bigger. And THANK YOU!

[msviolacea]

There's a lot of "oh, Baldur's Gate, isn't that game all about sex?" out there - I've seen it on the internet and heard it in conversation - which is fair, that's what the mainstream articles have been about, and let's not lie, most of us around here are all about the sexytimes with pretty people. (Me included, 100000%. And my "romance doesn't make an experience less interesting or serious" rant will be saved for another day.) But anyway ... it's Monday, and I'm avoiding work, so I figured I'd list as many things as I can think of right now that make the game amazing that have nothing to do with actually having sex with someone.

GINORMOUS areas to explore.

There are lore books literally everywhere. If you like reading random bits of in-universe texts, you'll be spoiled.

Have you ever played D&D and wished certain spells had more utility - like Grease, or Sleep, or Create/Destroy Water? You're in luck here! Anything that can either create a ground effect or temporarily distract/take enemies out is OP!

Animated, voiced cut scenes with nearly every single NPC you run across.

At the same time, most of them are not required. Some will give you interesting side quests, extra approval/disapproval from your companions, or interesting information that will give you more options in a future quest, but you don't have to spend hours talking to people unless that's your jam.

In character creation, you don't pick male/female as a gender. You pick from four body types (two small, two large, two with breasts/more slender, two more broad/slightly larger), three sets of pronouns (he/she/they), and several different sets of genitals - mix and match all three categories to your hearts' content. I'm sure there are other things they could have done, but it's the most inclusive character creator I've seen in a major game for sure.

The turn-based combat is a blessing for anyone who struggles with real time combat. Take your time, consider your options, look at things from all angles, sort through your spells and attacks to find the right one.

Or you can remember you picked up that barrel of smoke powder three rooms back, climb up into the rafters of the room, and chuck it into the fire pit in the middle of the room for maximum effect. I cannot overstate how fucking satisfying that is.

Big fucking tiefling horns. Of a variety of shapes!

Your female companions are the tanks/hearty warriors. Your male companions are all delicate fucking flowers, at least until you get Druid Daddy who can turn into a bear.

While optimizing your 4-person party to bring the usual configuration - one tank, one healer, a couple of DPS - is useful, it isn't always necessary. There are some fights where bringing four ranged options is a great idea, as long as you give them some survivability spells or plenty of potions. Sometimes bringing four people who can just barrel their way into a pile of ogres is satisfying. Mix it up!

Okay every companion thus far (I'm still only through act 1 yet, listen I have two games and my partner didn't feel well enough to continue the game where we're the farthest this weekend so I spent my time catching my solo game up) is absolute gold, no duds in the bunch, and the next few bullets will be one awesome thing about each one of them that has nothing to do with romance.

Astarion with the Thief subclass at level 3 literally cannot fail most lockpicking or trap disarming checks unless he rolls a nat 1. He is invisible when stealthed. He can one-shot most low level goblins with sneak attack arrows from range. He is a very bitchy fancy-lad Super Rogue.

Wyll is the Goodest Boy - the speed with which he goes from "I am oathbound to kill you demon!" to "well shit you're just a tiefling guess I'll deliberately fuck up my very dangerous warlock oath for you" is wonderful. He's noble and impetuous and wants to be more than a rich boy and gives nearly everyone the benefit of the doubt. I would die for him.

Karlach does the ADHD idle dance of "I could not stand still if you paid me all the gold in Baldur's Gate" and has the best puppy dog eyes. Also the story tie-in to her rage mechanics is really great and excellent storytelling.

Lae'zel is nigh unkillable if you give her the right stuff. Speccing her as Battlemaster is amazing for controlling the most powerful combatants on the field. Trip Attack has saved my ass so many times, you have no idea.

On paper, Gale should be absolutely insufferable. But somehow the writing and voice acting managed to hit just the right notes of humor and good nature and wizard geek. I'm very impressed.

Shadowheart is a very interesting combination of amoral/self-involved but also compassionate and I find myself fascinated by it. She clearly contains multitudes, and thus far the story is doing a good job of doling out pieces of her at a satisfying pace.

And speaking of interesting moral dichotomies, I absolutely adore that Halsin is both the good influence authority figure and also utterly ruthless when things run afoul of his strongly held belief system. Also thicc, broad-shouldered elf supremacy.

The tieflings you meet in Emerald Grove are directly tied to the D&D adventure "Descent Into Avernus" - as is Wyll! (And I'm sure it has a lot of context for Karlach's story as well, I haven't finished reading it yet.) I'm sure there's more when you get to the actual city of Baldur's Gate, but I'm not there yet. It's just fun to have that as an option to read for backstory about some of the game's characters and situations if you want. It's not required reading, though - cough, Bioware/Dragon Age, cough - everything that happens with them is perfectly understandable without any additional context!

The "Balanced" combat difficulty is a really good mix of fights that take a LOT of strategy and ones that can be easily cheesed.

Have you ever wanted to shove someone off a cliff even though you have like 8 strength? Listen, a 30% chance is STILL A CHANCE, and you have limited bonus action choices. TAKE YOUR SHOT.

... feel free to add your own. I'm still pretty early in the game and can't wait to get to more.

(edited for some slightly better phrasing about the character creation gender options, hopefully)

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #why did i make this? #is it mostly to avoid work? #yes probably #but still #i feel like a post is needed #to say 'you can have all this!' #(and also sexytimes!)

[elena-mayfair]

Curious people

Paring: Bruce Wayne x f!reader, Batman x f!reader Warnings: rating T+/M, strong language, themes of depression Summary: "Batman…what a ridiculous nickname," you smiled in disbelief, "he's either a complete idiot or a hopeless idealist," and yet you knew perfectly well that naivety and idealism went hand in hand all too often. Word count: 6.3k Note: Gifs are not mine, credit to the authors. Chapter one: Bright future, dark city

"How was your week?" Professor Crane pressed the record button and waited, waited for you to speak.

"Fine," you replied passively as you looked around his office. During your previous visit, you were too stressed to notice your surroundings. But now, the gray walls and black furniture seemed much more interesting than your thoughts and feelings. The office was simple and modest. On the wall hung a handful of diplomas, and in the corner of the room stood a coffee maker which was never offered to you. It looked like all the psychiatrists' offices you've seen in movies. A soft sofa provided comfort, and a box of tissues that stood on a small table informed you that it was okay to cry here. You were certain that in here people had probably cried more than once. You, however, never cried, not in public at least. Tears were something useless to you, something unwanted, you preferred to swallow them quickly and stifle them. Subconsciously you knew that if you allowed yourself to cry you would most likely never stop.

"We can sit like this in silence if you want," the professor's voice sounded in a low half-whisper pulling you out of your thoughts.

"Seriously! We can sit in silence for an hour and not talk about anything!" the cynical smile returned to its place but Professor Crane remained unfazed. His green eyes seemed to pierce right through you looking through any mask you tried to assume.

"If that's what you need," he replied calmly.

"Is that how it's going to work? I'll talk or not and you'll answer in half-words?" frustration crept into the tone of your voice.

"This hour we have is for you, of the two of us mainly you do the talking, I do the listening," he replied.

"Ridiculous," you sighed.

"How does it make you feel?"

"I'm pissed! If it's not obvious!"

"Why is that?" the professor remained composed and unmoved only your blood pressure spiked with each of his steady questions, "I would like us to start building a relationship together aimed at helping you with the problems you came to me with. Yet I get the feeling that you are looking at me as an enemy. Why?"

"Because…." you clenched your teeth trying to control your temper, "because the whole situation is terribly artificial and uncomfortable," you answered but seeing the professor's unaffected face you continued, "I understand that it is imposed by the rules of therapy and by the situation I entered into of my own free will but it doesn't change the fact that it is strange and unnatural! " you explained.

"And how should it look in your opinion," came another dry question.

"In a normal world, people meet and start some kind of conversation, about trivial things! About the weather, about Twitter gossip, about architecture, about politics, about the economy, that's how you start and then you can move on to developing some kind of relation. And if people feel comfortable in each other's company the relationship deepens, becomes meaningful, and then we start talking about more intimate things, that's when trust sets in," you replied, "in the normal world no one starts with Hey my name is Y/N, everyone I loved died, how you doing?"

"I understand but as you yourself pointed out we're not in a normal situation," he calmly pointed out, "so what are you afraid of? You came here to talk about what ails you and yet, now that you're here, you're scared to talk about it."

"Why do you assume that I'm afraid of something?" the gaze of Professor Crane did not leave you, he only smiled faintly and asked.

"Tell me how many friends you have?" the question surprised you, "How many deep, meaningful relationships do you have in your life?"

You didn't want to answer, you didn't want to say out loud how lonely you felt. It wasn't because you had chosen such a life, it just sort of happened. The professor's stare, however, was unwavering, waiting, calmly waiting, while his green eyes shined with curiosity.

"Not many," you replied quietly, "In fact, I don't know if I can call anyone a friend at the moment. I had one friend, she was like a sister to me. Harleen, she was a psychiatrist like you. A few years ago she moved here to Gotham and we lost contact. She doesn't even know that I moved here."

"Why won't you talk to her?" the Professor asked.

"And why should I?" you answered with a question to a question, "It's been years since we last saw each other, we lost contact, each of us moved on a different path, life happened. I'm sure we're both completely different people now."

"How many meaningful deep relationships do you have in your life?" professor repeated the question as if ignoring you.

You didn't answer immediately. That familiar feeling returned, the same one you felt in the company of Lex Luthor, the gnawing feeling which was telling you that you should not be here. The couch suddenly became somewhat uncomfortable, the air seemed to become thick and sticky, the cuticles around your fingernails begged for mercy while your eyes wandered toward the door over and over again. You wanted to run away.

"I suppose I should say it… basically, that's the whole purpose of therapy," you began, "but the whole time as we are talking I keep thinking about quitting, walking out, slamming the door, and never coming back."

"Don't you think it's caused by fear?" the green eyes shone.

"I think I found myself in an uncomfortable situation and a person's natural defensive mechanism is to try to escape," you didn't allow yourself to entertain the concept of fear, "but to answer your question, there are none. There are no meaningful relationships in my life," the professor drew breath but you did not allow him to speak, "hold on for a sec! It's not like I chose to be alone! It's just that, as I said earlier, life happened! I had to focus on more important things, my family was my priority! Family, work, I had no time to socialize! And it's quite normal that relationships fall apart if we don't dedicate them time and attention!"

"And you don't think you might have a problem building these kinds of relationships?"

"I don't have a problem with building relationships!" anger began to boil inside you, "I just approach them carefully! I don't trust people! I like people a lot but I don't trust them very much. And it's not like it came out of nowhere either! People, the closest to me, have let me down not once nor twice. Right, when I needed them the most they were nowhere to be found! It turned out that you can get more support and care from strangers! Trust comes with time, a deep relationship takes time, and people don't want to invest that time. Perhaps I also don't want to invest time in a relationship that could fucking disappear at any moment! I'd rather enjoy a random conversation with a stranger," the warmth of the memory softened your temper, "that fleeting magical moment that, even though I know it will never happen again, will stay in my memory forever."

The professor smiled and stopped the recording. The hour passed in a flash, leaving you with agitated nerves and a desperate need for a cigarette. You began to regret quitting smoking years ago.

"I'd like you to think about what we have talked about today," the professor said as you were getting ready to leave, "to think about the underlying reason for your hesitance towards people."

"I will," you smiled politely, shook his hand, and wished him a good day, promising to show up next week.

At that moment, you intended to keep your promise.

***

As for the days in Gotham, they passed mercilessly without allowing you a single moment to stop and think. After all, the weekend was over in the blink of an eye, and Monday came, marking the start of the work week and a possible meeting with the company CEO. "Just to sneak unnoticed to my office," you thought as you entered the building. Head lowered down, eyes fixed on the floor, you wanted so badly to become invisible. "Why can't I hold my tongue," you were angry with yourself, "I insulted him right to his face," you thought as you passed the security guard and forced yourself to smile. Your heart leaped to your throat every time you heard footsteps on the shiny marble floors, "it's a giant building, there's no way I'm going to meet him," you tried to calm down as you entered the elevator but your imagination was spinning a million possible scenarios. "Fuck, what if he gets in the elevator?" you thought, "Mr. Wayne? Bruce? How will I ever look him in the eye!" you panicked every time the elevator stopped at one of the floors. You were exchanging polite good mornings and have a nice day, but your thoughts were completely elsewhere. They couldn't stop pondering what if. "What if he comes here?" popped into your head as you finally waited in the comfort of your office space for the coffee maker to pour a drink, "why would he come here? He's the damn CEO!" you tried to rationalize as you sat down in front of your computer and tried to focus on your work, "the CEO who said himself that he often looks into TechDev," another thought raised your panic level. "Why the hell am I panicking like this! Not everyone in the world knows who he is! I had the right to make a mistake! How could I know!" you tried to justify yourself, "if he was going to fire me, he would have done it by now!" And yet with every beep of the electronic lock, with every opening of the door to your department, your heart froze for a split second. You wanted to focus on the new experience, you wanted to enjoy every new moment, every second of your first day at your new job but you couldn't. "Well, he invited me for a walk after I insulted him," you realized, "why?"

On the first day, nothing happened. You were relieved to leave the building, glad that it wasn't as bad as you had imagined.

*

On the second day, you tried to build up your confidence from the very morning. "Even if I meet him, I smile, say hello, wish him a good day! Full professionalism!" you planned as you observed the gray, gloomy weather outside the window. This confidence did not last too long because as soon as you approached the building you began to paranoidly look around in search of the black Rolls Royce. "Don't be an idiot!" you scolded yourself, "he's a freaking billionaire! Surely he has more than one car!"

On that day, however, you greeted the security guard with a polite smile and bright good morning. On that day, instead of staring at the floor, you decided to focus your eyes on the classic architecture and decor around you. That day your heart froze for a second only a few times in the elevator and then in the office. "If this keeps up, I'll finally have a heart attack!!!"

To concentrate on work, that was the key. "I'm here to work and not overthink my fuckups!" you decided just in time as like a blessing your first project from the head of the department appeared. Lucius Fox, the head of WayneTech and a member of the board of directors to your knowledge, turned out to be a man in his fifties with a kind apparition and a warm demeanor. And yet he spread around him a gentle dominance which, in your eyes, he must have built up through years of hard work and invaluable contributions to the company.

"How are you finding yourself in the new reality?" he asked, shaking your hand gently but firmly.

"I found a coffee maker so I feel at home!" you smiled brightly which prompted a short burst of laughter.

"Good, good! The most important thing is to know your priorities!"

"It's impossible to work without coffee!" you smiled innocently and he just pulled the other chair to your desk and sat down comfortably. He placed a thick folder of papers beside him.

"You've got everything?" he asked, inviting you with a gesture to sit down as well.

"The chair is comfortable, the ergonomics are like out of a health and safety manual, and the computer works like a dream," you listed, "the only thing I'm missing is work!"

"You're eager to start huh?" he smiled from under his graying mustache.

"I'm getting a little bored," you clarified, "I've done all the initial training, health and safety, fire awareness training, ethics, security. I know it's the inherent charm of any new job, but I joined Wayne Enterprises hoping for new challenges and opportunities for growth, and I can't wait for my first project!" as you spoke the company's name, your mischievous mind summoned those blue eyes and warm smile, but you kept a poker face.

"I'm not surprised, for people like you boredom is the worse thing that can happen," he smiled again and reached for the folder, "I've read your resume. I saw your concepts, your ideas and projects, and I personally chose you for this position."

"Thank you very much!" a blush spread over your face, you were not good at accepting compliments, "I really appreciate the opportunity and trust in my ability. I won't disappoint."

"I know," he replied briefly and handed you a folder, "these are several drafts and projects that existed some time in the past but for various reasons were never realized. Most of them are in the initial concept stage," he explained, "choose which one suits you best and treat it as your own."

"I can choose whichever one I want?" you asked surprised, flipping through the pages.

"Whichever one you want," he confirmed, "sooner or later you will come to work on most of them. As you've probably noticed this is not a large department," that was true, except for you and Fox you saw only a few people, "I'll expect weekly reports from you."

"Of course, Mr. Fox," you replied, not taking your eyes off the countless possibilities you held in your hands, "now only the question remains, how do I decide?"

"Unfortunately, with this, I cannot help you," he smiled warmly and said goodbye leaving you alone with your thoughts.

By the end of the second day, you stopped thinking about Bruce Wayne.

*

The third day began with fantastic humor and enthusiasm for work. The autumn sun greeted you with a cool pale golden glow reflected in the surface of the Gotham Bay water outside your living room window. It took barely more than a month of living in Gotham for you to appreciate rare sunny days like this one. With a smile on your face, you decided to make the most of it. "Maybe I should get in touch with Harleen as Professor Crane advised," you thought as you made your way strolling down Grand Avenue, "I got nothing to lose."

In your mind, you were planning a busy, productive and creative day. You planned to brew a delicious-smelling cup of coffee and tackle one of the two projects that caught your interest the most. You planned a walk to the park on your lunch break, or perhaps take a slightly longer trip to the bay for a bit of autumn sun. With your independent position as an engineer, you didn't have to worry about breaks or strict working hours. You didn't have to punch in your clock at the same time every day and leave the office after nine hours. The monitoring systems recorded your every entry and exit anyway, you didn't even have to report it. You started at whatever time you wanted, in the morning, in the afternoon, you could work in the evening as well as even at night, and the latter suited you best. You always felt more productive at night, you preferred to sleep until noon. You have always been called a night owl. This week, however, you decided to work mornings, you wanted to get to know the company better, you hoped that the morning hours would allow you to get to know your co-workers better. But you quickly realized that for such a thriving branch of the company, WayneTech had very few employees. They were mostly middle-aged people who had probably worked at the company since their youth. Compared to the rest of the company, WayneTech seemed frozen in time. An asylum of great creative minds and, and as you assumed, the most trusted ones. Usually, they were hidden behind their computer screens, behind countless stacks of blueprints, behind bound folders of documents. On that day, however, upon entering the department, you were surprised to see two of them immersed in a hushed intense discussion. Luke Fox, the boss's son, and Claire Russell, the only WayTech employees who, in your estimation, had to be of a similar age to yours.

"Hey guys!" you greeted them in an attempt to get their attention.

"Hey Y/N!" they replied simultaneously and returned to the conversation.

You didn't want to insert yourself between them, you were new and well aware that participation in hushed conversations had to be earned. As usual, you made yourself a cup of coffee and sat down at your computer. You had planned to get to work right away, and yet, that strange feeling so familiar to you returned along with sudden chills on your skin. You opened a browser and typed in the Gotham Gazette website address. You've never done this before, you never read the news, preferring to keep your mind calm and undistracted unnecessarily by things over which you had no control anyway. And yet, a strange hunch, a quiet voice somewhere in the back of your head whispered to investigate, and it was right. On the front page in giant letters, the headline read: JOKER STRIKES AGAIN! BATMAN STOPS THE MANIACAL CLOWN ONCE MORE. You quickly clicked on the article and delved deeper into the content.

On the night of November 22/23, the Joker once again attacked the residents of Gotham. The attack occurred around 10 pm in the Port Adams area. According to witnesses' statements, the terrorist clown's target was supposed to be the shipment of unmarked chemicals delivered the previous night to the port. Police quickly arrived on the scene and, according to a statement from Commissioner James Gordon, no one was hurt in the shooting. The safety of residents and security services was once again ensured by the lone vigilante who restrained the clown after a brief fight. Reporter Jack Ryder, who was on the scene, captured the fight between Gotham's mysterious protector and the Joker's gang.

The photos in the article brought cold chills to your spine. Police cars, an intense shootout between police officers and people with faces painted in white as if they were clown masks, and between them a black figure descending from the sky like a giant bat, as if it wanted to stand between them.

At the moment, it is unclear whether the Joker planned to steal or destroy the unknown toxins. It's also unknown where the toxins were delivered from and whether Gotham residents should fear another wave of attacks from the hands of the Joker. As of now, all the chemicals have been secured and the Joker has been transported to Arkham Asylum.

You could not take your eyes off the dark, masked figure. Against the blackness of the night, even in the perfect photo, the reporter captured only an indistinct shadow. The headlines of the linked articles read: WHO IS BATMAN? VIGILANTE OUTLAW OR HERO? MASS MIGRATION OF CITIZENS TO CENTRAL CITY AND METROPOLIS. GOTHAM CRIMINALS, GANGS, SUPERVILLAINS - HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF?

"Hey, guys!" you called out in the direction of Luke and Claire, "Is this kind of news normal in Gotham?" you asked without taking your eyes off the computer.

Before you had a chance to read the next article they both pulled their chairs over next to you and looked at your computer screen.

"Pretty normal day in Gotham," Luke commented and Claire just nodded, "it may not be every day, but at least once a month a similar headline appears in the press."

"Really, after some time you stop noticing them unless Batman appears in the headline or in the pictures," Claire continued, "it's always newsworthy."

"Ryder or Vale have a keen eye for photos," Luke interjected.

"And a good instinct for being in the right place at the right time," Claire finished for him.

"Sometimes they manage to catch a close-up on Batman but that's a rarity, to be honest…"

"Hold on, hold on," you swept your eyes over their faces trying to keep up, "Who the hell is Batman?"

They both smiled broadly as if your question was the funniest and most delightfully ignorant thing they had heard in a long time.

"Nobody knows," Luke replied, "he appeared presumably seven, maybe eight years ago. No one knows where he came from or who he is."

"People thought for a long time that he was made up," Claire continued as a blush of excitement appeared on her face, "they thought he was an urban legend made up to scare Gotham's criminal underworld."

"But then pictures started appearing in the press…."

"People whom Batman saved started giving interviews…"

"The police stopped denying his existence…."

"It is said that he even began to work with them. They installed a big spotlight on the roof of the GCPD, everyone calls it a Bat-signal. People say that he is the only one who can enter Arkham Asylum without special permissions…"

"Batman can enter anywhere!" Claire chuckled with excitement, "Nothing or no one can stop him! He protects us all!"

"Fangirl," Luke teased, "but the fact is, I don't think anything can stop him. I don't think he's human at all."

"And who would he be! An alien!?" on her face you could clearly see how fascinated she was by the mysterious vigilante, "Batman is a hero! He protects us! He protects the city!"

"You want to tell me," you finally interjected, "that I moved to a city where a guy dressed as a big bat, possibly an alien, fights psychopathic clowns and that's totally normal?" you asked rhetorically and they just smiled with amusement, "I really should read more news…."

"Don't worry…." Clair tried to sound comforting, "This is a big city. You have little chance of ever finding yourself in the middle of a fight between Batman and Gotham's psychos."

***

The night began to spread in the enveloping darkness over Gotham as you sipped warm coffee and pondered your life choices, staring at the sea of light like an endless constellation of stars. You couldn't help but think that Bruce was right, the view from the observation deck was truly unforgettable. The huge city stretched before your eyes with a million paths and roads, the glow of countless lights, the vastness of endless possibilities. A city that seemed to never sleep, a city that even under the cover of a cold autumn night seemed to pulsate with a quiet steady life. A city that housed crime greater than any other, violence more brutal than you could have imagined, the pain and suffering of tormented frightened people. But there was something else within it. In the shadows of darkness and despair, there was a beauty that no one could kill, a beauty that you saw every day. In the dark alleys, in the dark corners, quiet faith in a better tomorrow hid, an inextinguishable hope that was signified by a symbol lit up in the night sky time after time. At least, that's what the people of Gotham said. That's what you read from Luke and Claire's hushed voices, from the endless articles the rabbit hole of which you had fallen into for hours.

"Monsters in the sewers, maniacal clowns, deadly riddles," you kept recapping in your mind the descriptions you'd read, "the Italian mafia that rules the city, corruption, complete apathy, and a mysterious protector in whom people find hope," every single article you found contained a mention of the Dark Knight, Gotham's only hope. A man, presumably, who alone decided to stand between all that is vile and cruel and the people of this beautiful city. "Who is he," you wondered, "what determination and courage must he possess to stand alone against them all?"

You took a sip of coffee and gazed wistfully into the night as its warmth spread pleasantly inside you. "Batman…what a ridiculous nickname," you smiled in disbelief, "he's either a complete idiot or a hopeless idealist," and yet you knew perfectly well that naivety and idealism went hand in hand all too often. Listening to the quietly beating heart of the city, you could imagine how one man could be willing to do anything to protect it. Even though you had lived here for barely more than a month, you felt like you belonged here.

The wind blew harder and you only closed your eyes enjoying the quiet murmur of the night. The night you loved so much, the night in which you always felt more alive than during the day. You listened to the sound of the cars, the quiet whisper of the wheels and the hum of the engines that passed through the many streets of the city like blood quietly flowing through the veins. Somewhere in the distance, a ship signaled its arrival in the bay, somewhere farther away the cries of seagulls rose into the night sky and echoed through the silence of the night. You smiled and with your imagination's eyes, you saw the people of Gotham, in their homes, slowly ending their day. Cuddling their children to sleep, relaxing while watching an evening movie, walking their dogs for one last evening walk, falling asleep in the embrace of their loved ones. "I wonder what the Dark Knight is doing when he's not fighting maniacal clowns," you thought, completely ignoring the quiet sound of footsteps coming from the entrance. You didn't have to open your eyes or turn around to feel his presence. The familiar feeling you trusted more than anything returned. The aura in the air suddenly changed, as if the air around you was filled with an electrifying tickle as he silently approached and leaned against the railing beside you. You let this new feeling tickle your senses. You let the cold wind cool the warmth of the coffee inside you, let the hum of the city drown out the silence that lingered between you, let the chill of the autumn night be warmed by the woody scent of warm spices that floated around you. You breathed deeply enjoying the fusion of sensations, smiled, and opened your eyes.

"You were right," you broke the silence in a whisper, "it is breathtaking," there was no trace of nervousness in your voice. Suddenly, every worry you had, every scenario of your awkward meeting that you had created in your mind over the past few days, seemed distant and so utterly ridiculous. For when you looked at him you felt nothing but peace. You felt this quiet excitement that seemed to be growing inside you.

Bruce only smiled faintly while gazing at the ocean of lights against the blackness of the night. For a long moment, you stood like that in silence, and to your surprise, it didn't bother you at all. Both of you gazing at the city, both of you enjoying a moment of peace and quiet after a hard day.

"I like coming here," a soft, low voice snapped you out of your reverie, "I like to listen to the quiet pulse of the city," blue eyes glimpsed at you, "usually I'm here alone."

"I'm sorry," you smiled innocently, "did I ruin your me time?"

"No," he replied softly, "it's a nice change," he added and gazed into the distance again, "it's just usually no one is here at this hour. What are you still doing in the office?"

"I like the night," you replied and leaned against the railing next to him, "I like to work at night, my brain is usually more productive after the sun goes down."

"I can relate to that," he murmured quietly then added, "I do not suppose you want to tell me that you have been working…"

"I'd like to," you replied realizing yet again that you were talking to the most important person in the company, "I've fallen down the rabbit hole called the Internet and endlessly scrolling through articles about Gotham and its more colorful inhabitants," you glanced at him stealthily but his face remained calm and stoic, " today's morning article on Batman triggered my need for knowledge."

"She reads after all!" he teased.

"Hey, not cool! It's not that I don't read at all!" you defended yourself, "I just like to keep good mental hygiene and not clutter it with unnecessary information!" you looked angrily at the barely noticeable smirk, "I regret a bit that I haven't thought about reading more about the city before I moved here…"

"Why didn't you do that?" he asked while looking into the distance.

"I realize how this is going to sound," you began, "but I had nothing to lose, and nothing to risk. I needed a change of scenery, I needed something new, something exciting in my life. I saw an opportunity and took it!"

"Some might say that this was stupid and unreasonable…" he quipped without looking at you.

"Perhaps, but damn… life is like poker you know! Sometimes a hand is dealt poorly and you have to wait it out. And sometimes you just go all in!" you glanced at him again looking for some reaction, "We don't get to choose how we start in this life. Real greatness is what you do with the hand you're dealt. That's what I believe, that's how I roll!" blue eyes flicked at you and a warm smile once again dawned on Bruce's face.

"I like that, those are wise words," he said softly.

"A moment ago you said you thought it was stupid and unreasonable," this time you teased forgetting again who you were talking to.

"I didn't say that I think so," he denied, "I said that some people may think so. I find that…" he hesitated while his blue eyes scanned your face as if searching for the right word within you, "admirable," he decided finally.

You smiled proudly and returned to gazing at the city spreading before your eyes. You couldn't say why, but talking to him came so naturally, so casually, as if you had known each other for many years. He didn't exude the same ego that Lex Luthor did, even though now as you looked at him you saw an undeniable strength in him. Although you tried not to, your eyes kept wandering in his direction. Toward his powerful figure, towering even as he leaned nonchalantly against the railing. The perfectly tailored suit displayed the position and power he possessed, the expensive watch whose dial reflected the moonlight represented prosperity, and that luring scent attracted and seduced without even trying. Yet there was ease and authenticity in his demeanor, honesty and genuineness in the tone of his voice and smile, sincere interest in the glow of his eyes. Beneath the facade of an influential powerful billionaire was a real human, a young man with tousled black hair and sparkling fascinated eyes whom you were eager to learn more about.

"If you had read about Gotham earlier would you have turned down the job offer?" he asked breaking the silence.

"I don't think so," you replied honestly, "but at least I would have known what I was signing up for. Instead, in one day I had to catch up on information about the Joker, Riddler, Poison Ivy, Killer Crock…" you began to list, "like forgive my French, but what the actual fuck!? Killer Crock!" Bruce chuckled quietly, "Seriously has anyone actually seen him, or is it just an urban myth!"

"Well, isn't it the fact that there's a grain of truth in every myth?"

"Perhaps, but somehow I find it hard to believe in a monster with the build of an oversized man but the appearance of a crocodile! I find hard to believe in a lot of things I've read about today but one thing is for sure, reporters in this city are remarkably brave!"

"Or unreasonable," he chuckled with a smirk.

"Or that!" you laughed quietly, "Maybe this city attracts unreasonable people…" you wondered aloud, "after all, at night it is protected by Batman…" you emphasized the last word, "Like seriously, dude calls himself Bat-man."

"Apparently Gotham has a thing for weirdos with ridiculous aliases," he snarked.

"You've lived here all your life, what do you think of all this as a native Gothamite?"

"Well, guy who dresses up like a bat clearly has issues," he replied with a sneer.

"True," you chuckled, "I wonder what childhood trauma drove him to do that. Instead of going to therapy, he kicks criminals' asses! At least he doesn't have to listen to endless 'how do you feel about this,' 'how does this make you feel,' 'your anger lies at the root of unresolved issues you've bottled up and hidden inside,'" you chuckled.

"You sound like someone who knows," the blue eyes gazed at you curiously.

"A friend told me," you joked and yet Bruce didn't take his eyes off you, as if he wanted you to continue, as if he wanted to ask, and yet something was holding him back.

You didn't know why but you wanted to tell him. You wanted to tell him everything that troubled you, a million thoughts that ran through your mind as he stared at you as if trying to understand you without the need for words. You were usually cautious around new people, you usually hid behind a giant wall you had built for yourself, you usually didn't say anything about yourself, you usually assumed a mask of confidence, sarcasm, irony adorned with a devil may care attitude. And yet there was something about him that for a moment ignited within you a desire to be real for a change. A desire not to pretend this time. Maybe it was the casualness of your encounters, maybe it was the nature of your interactions, or maybe it was the simple sincerity and human kindness he expressed. You just wanted to be yourself…

You took a breath calming your excited heart wanting to continue the subject you had jokingly started when suddenly the sky lit up with a pale yellow glow illuminating the bat symbol against the blackness of the night sky. It shone intensely, making you suddenly feel uneasy as if all your senses suddenly turned into a mixture of excitement and anxiety.

"I've never seen it before…" you whispered quietly. Bruce only turned around and looked at the symbol in the sky. For a split second something shifted in him, a change barely discernible under the cover of darkness, so subtle that you were sure a normal person wouldn't even notice it. But not you. You noticed the subtle change in posture, the tense muscles of his neck, and the blue in his eyes that seemed to have taken on the color of the deep ocean.

"We should get home," he said in his usual warm voice, and yet there was something different in it, "I know you're new here, but when that symbol shines in the sky, it's a sign that the city is not safe," you nodded observing him carefully, "do you have a car in the parking lot?"

"No, I haven't bought a new one yet," you replied and Bruce only reached for his phone and without asking you, called one of the cabs that drove for Wayne Enterprises, "no walking today huh?" you smirked.

"Raincheck?" he asked and you smiled in agreement.

"What about you?" you asked.

"The end of the month is approaching, I'll probably be working until morning," he replied, "I'd drive you home but I really don't know how long it will take, I'd rather you be home as soon as possible. On a night like this, your curiosity could put you in danger."

"You sound like you think you know me, Mr. Wayne! " you sassed.

"I don't," he leaned closer and for a moment the depths of the ocean took on the color of blue sky again, "but I'd like to. Consider me curious."

The shadow of the night in its blessing hid your flushed cheeks as you left the observation deck heading in a hurry home. As you left Wayne Tower, thanking Bruce for arranging the cab and for the delightful conversation, exchanging last glances and polite smiles, you knew that this night would be a restless one for the people of Gotham as well as for you.

That night you didn't sleep. That night you pondered about what to do with the hand you're dealt.

***

Chapter three: Madness and old friends

***

Author note: Thank you for the warm response to first chapter. Hope you enjoyed this one as well. I want lie, I was kind of regretting my decision to set everything on a work background, because it challenged me to write mundane stuff and not make them boring! Hope I managed to do so! I am so eager to write all the craziness that Gotham has to offer but story needs to have a flow. Cause and effect. So I really need to hold myself back for now. I have an idea which I want to realize. Hope that at the end it will be worth it ;) But for now, my Dear Reader, I thank you for reading.

#batman x reader #batman x y/n #bruce wayne x reader #batman imagine #bruce wayne imagine #batman x you #bruce wayne x fem!reader #batman x fem!reader #batman #bruce wayne #dc comics #batman fanfiction #bruce wayne fanfiction

[mega-ringsandthings-world]

This could be a totally crack pot theory and you may bap me on the nose and point in another direction if so but..

Is the reason the Marines and World Government are so dogged about getting Shanks because he's part Celestial Dragon? I mean, he can totally be something else; our lord and savior, Oda sensei, has yet to say it’s gospel. But are the Celestial Dragons trying to bring this wild card back into the fold? I mean, he is also Roger's chosen to take the mantle of the Straw Hat, so that might be why. But they could also be like, "Oh good, former mentor out of the way now, come home now," or something? Could be a mix of both? Like, bring the baby Celestial Dragon back into the fold but also have this possible problem in the future under control.

Or maybe they want him to denounce his former captain use him as a propaganda piece. Like look Rodger stole an entire child and kept him as a slave on his ship. As the former Rodger pirates and Buggy see him slowly deteriorating threw the paper— You know Peata and Johanna hunger games type of situation—and God that would break Shanks.

Idk could be absolutely off base. I’m just shooting into shit into wind and hoping I hit something.

As you mentioned in the last question I sent, I’m very intrigued to see Mihawk break under these circumstances. I feel like it will be a very interesting character study. We don’t have a lot of that with his character in fic mostly, I think, because he's so solid in his older incarnation that it just seems almost out of character for him to fall apart. But younger and less settled, still haven’t reached the highest heights or lowest lows... It will still definitely be a challenge but not improbable. After you're done with this AU, I might write something about canon Mihawk meeting this version of himself- or canon Shanks meeting his version, that won’t end horribly. Especially since these two would be trauma-bonded and practically crawling into each other's skin type of close. While canon characters would have the luxury of non-vulnerability and emotional stability.

Also would you like art? Because I can make art? No promise it’ll be good but I feel like this au deserves some art!

One thing about me is that I love a good crackpot theory, lol. Give me a rabbit hole and I'll never come out. So, that could be! It is very, very compelling for Shanks to be a CD. And one of the big reasons why marines want Shanks is because he's basically the son/successor of Roger, in this AU they are taking the crackdown on Roger's line/crew/associates to the extreme. Shanks is the perfect target, because he's the successor/plus he's young, emotionally attached to Roger, and was at the heart of the Roger pirates' doings. All these things the marines intend to exploit for their own purposes. And they've been gathering intel on Shanks for a while, too. Propaganda purposes? YES. Also, all the pirates they've captured in Loguetown either know who Shanks is, or they find out due to the Marines. So, Shanks is going to be used to break the morale of the captives they have. And not just Shanks. What happens when you single out the greatest pirates in the crowd and systematically break them in front of everyone?(Shanks knows he should stay strong. he knows it. But after so much time has passed...he can't.) Who is going to resist after that? And love the Peeta/Johannna parallels!

As far as Shanks being a Celestial Dragon...hm, there's a reason Doflamingo wasn't caught. And also...the marines gathering intel on Shanks is important to that, because they are also gathering intel on everyone and everything in order to move towards ending piracy for good. No stone is left unturned. During this search they will find certain things, and origins of certain people. And Shanks being a Celestial will give them a good reason to not outright kill him after they do their worst. Oh, I'm eager to see him break myself! (I say that like I won't be doing the breaking, lol) "because he's so solid in his older incarnation that it just seems almost out of character for him to fall apart." One reason why I'm putting so much into this AU is because of exactly that. Drama and angst and hurt is my thing, but with the older versions of Shanks and Mihawk, there is not much that can phase/hurt them to the point of evoking severe drama/angst/hurt, unless it's an overpowered threat. With their younger selves, it's a different story. Their lowest lows lead to the their highest highs in this AU, the idea that marines attempted to wipe their enemies off the face of the earth and instead only created a monster for themselves is a driving theme. So yeah, that'll be fun. OOOOOOH, I'd read that in an instant! please, please do. The juxtaposition of the independent and powerful men the canon Mihawk/Shanks are against the glued-at-the-hip, jointly feared and entertwined Mihawk/Shanks this pair will be. I'd love art! Anything that gets made for this I'd eat up! Fire away! I actually have some sketches I've made too while writing, I'll throw those up pretty soon.

#one piece #op #opla #dracule mihawk #akagami no shanks #hawkeye mihawk #red haired shanks #mihawk one piece #shanks one piece #mishanks #mihawk x shanks #op marines #loguetown au

[hood-ex]

Finished JJK S1.

Woooo this fight scene with the song and editing fucked so hard. Had to be my favorite fight of the series so far. Nobara and Yuji worked great as a team, which I suppose makes sense because they kinda seem to run on the same wavelength. Like they'll always be screaming and yelling about the same things while Megumi is either indifferent or embarrassed about it lmao.

When Yuji asked Nobara if she felt bad about killing Eso and Kechizu, and she said no, but Yuji pointed out that Eso cried for Kechizu... I resonated with that sense of compassion Yuji has.

I'm glad Megumi actually won a damn fight at the end of the series. He's a cool dude. but his skills weren't quite up to snuff just yet, so I'm glad that Yuji's progress inspired him to be better. Or, really, he just kinda let himself go off the rails fully.

It's really interesting to me how a lot of the characters in this series are motivated by a particular person(s). Like Yuji and his grandfather, Nobara and that lady that her village chased away, Megumi and his sister, Kasumi and her little brothers, and Noritoshi and his mother.

Mahito just pisses me the fuck off. He was fine at first, but then when he wouldn't just die, I grew tired of him and his deranged giggles. And his whole talk of the soul and stuff. Like yeah yeah shut up.

I actually grew to really like Todo. I thought he was just some annoying brute at first, but when he fought Yuji and formed a sense of friendship/brotherhood with him, that's when I found him really fun. His clapping while fighting Hanami was sooo lmao. And his love for that celebrity girl is alskdja.

Nanami ofc is one of my favs so far. I already ranted about him earlier, but I like that he feels reliable and protective. He's just cool.

Wasn't sure how I felt about Toge until I got to see him in action. He's cool as well, and I want to see more of him in the future.

I want more Sukuna bro. Wish he talked more. Though I suppose maybe less is more in his case. It makes it more impactful when he does appear briefly. But I also won't be mad if he does come forth more frequently in the future. And I will also be thrilled if he's the one to end Mahito. I'll pay him to wipe that smile off Mahito's face.

Gojo is just a fun character. A badass who also acts as comic relief. I kinda like him better with his mask on though lmao his blue eyes are kinda intense.

Oh oh oh, I loved that moment when Nobara was fighting Momo and told her she could dress pretty if she wanted and be powerful. Like yeees! Duality~

All the techniques are pretty interesting. Megumi's lightning bird thingy is probably one of my favorites. Toge's ability is awesome in action. And I wasn't really sure about Nobara's hammer and nails, but her use of them, especially in the last episode, became more interesting.

...While looking up a character's name just now, I just stumbled across a spoiler... haha fuck you Mahito.

No but the Junpei situation was sad, and it was set up well enough that I felt okay about his death because I felt like it served it's purpose in motivating Yuji more. Like obviously it would've been nice if Junpei survived, but the tragedy of his life truly did serve as just, well, a tragedy. (That being said, fuck Mahito, all my homies hate Mahito.)

I don't understand why I'll be like 9 minutes into an episode and then all of a sudden the opening credits will randomly start playing. Like bro?? Why not just play that at the beginning?? I know I've been out of the anime game for a long time but surely that's not a typical thing in modern animes, is it?? Or was it always that way and I forgot??

Overall, I'm enjoying the characters and plot. It does drag a bit when the characters constantly have to explain their abilities or certain things about curses and such, but I suppose it's the same as sport animes when they constantly talk about new techniques.

#idk if there was anything else i wanted to comment on i'm too hungry to focus #buuuut yeah i'll watch the movie now i suppose and then season 2 #jjk

[chirpsythismorning]

Rick Conroy's Recent Rentals:

Teen Wolf (1/2/3)

As a refresher, this is a shot from 4x02: Vecna's Curse. Robin, Max, Dustin and Steve are using the video store's database to look through the most recent rentals of all the Ricks in town as hints for which one Reefer Rick is, so that they can get his address and track down Eddie.

Unfortunately for them, this selection here from Rick Conroy didn't give off 'reefer' vibes and so they moved on to the next one.

However, luckily for us, this could very well have been hinting at events that are either already happening in s4, or are perhaps still yet to fully come to fruition in s5.

2. Teen Wolf (1985)

This is easy/hard because although it could be fairly simple, it could also be complex, to the point where it may very well go even further than this film. So I guess I'll just humor the implications, both simple and complex, because why not.

The entire plot of Teen Wolf revolves around a protagonist who is tired of being average, only to find out that he's actually the opposite of average: a frickin' werewolf.

There are a lot of possibilities for where elements of this film could align with certain concepts in the show. I even feel like it could be related to a specific arc on the most basic level (ie. Sixteen Candles = Birthdaygate).

Ironically, something I also noticed related to this, is that in the same episode we get the Rick selection with Teen Wolf, we also see the poster for it in the exact same spot as the Sixteen Candles poster was at the end of s3. We even see the letters ARC(ADE) in the right corner of the frame for both (probably just a coincidence, but a cool one at that).

Notice the pole going straight through the Teen Wolf poster here? More on that later...

Initially, I was going to just associate this film with the storyline related to the basketball team, because we do see a prominent arc related to basketball in s4, and so that felt like an easy way to pinpoint that reference?

However, I did feel sort of inclined to dig deeper, and this is because the other two films from this specific Rick selection connects to Will's character more than any of the other characters arguably.

Basically, after being stumped with the Teen Wolf mention, and intending to just stick with the simplicity of how the reference could apply to s4, I moved on to Romancing the Stone, only to find out it screamed Will, and so a part of me began wondering if it could be more complex than it seems when it comes to this reference.

And so, what exactly would Teen Wolf (1985) have to do with Will and his present/future arc, assuming that these three movies are indeed related to his character?...

Well, Twelvegate.

Just take a look at the film's slogan at the top of the movie poster:

He always wanted to be special. But he never expected this!

Upon rewatching this scene I also noticed there are twelve Ricks total...

As many of you probably know, there has been a decent amount of imagery with Will's blocking being obstructed by rods/poles/stakes, etc. (ie. Phineas Gage). So the fact that a pole interferes with the poster for TW could also be intentional in its attempt to give it some association to Will.

Here are the several other shots we get of the TW poster in this same episode:

I remember so much discourse about how this shot above was foreshadowing Max's confrontation with Vecna, which I do still fully believe to be the case. However, now I'm also rethinking about how that claw representing Venca looks just a little too aligned with the TW poster to not at least be a little bit intentional...

Look at Dustin and Max's bikes! They're blue/yellow directly in front of the poster!

And that's that on that!!

Though, if I’m being honest, this all still felt a little too simple to me.

The poster with Michael J. Fox opening up his shirt to reveal the title Teen Wolf also reminded me of the official reveal that Vecna was 001? Where the UD vines sort of scatter to reveal the number on his wrist...?

While it could be relevant as a potential hint for Will only now discovering as a teen that he has powers/is connected to the lab, similar to the protagonist of Teen Wolf only now discovering as a teen that he is a werewolf, I still want to try to take it another step further.

Now, going back to the basketball plot in s4, because I do think there still could be some connections between the show and the basketball theme in the film, is that there's actually a really layered connection to Teen Wolf going on here. And it has very me intrigued.

Although, this connection can be easily overlooked, as it's not related to the 1985 version, but actually the 2011 drama series, loosely based on the 1985 version, which goes by the same name...

As it turns out, Mason Dye’s most notable role before he was cast as Jason Carver in s4 of Stranger Things, was his role as Garrett in s4 of Teen Wolf.

So I guess the casting department decided to typecast tf out of Mason, by giving him the role of a character in a storyline potentially inspired by elements from the movie Teen Wolf? A role which also happens to be almost identical to his role in the series Teen Wolf?

Jason Carver character description in Stranger Things: popular basketball player ends up hunting down Hellfire Club (ALSO peep his #12 jersey... yep.)

Garrett character description in Teen Wolf: popular lacrosse player ends up hunting down Scott's pack

This also reminded me of the Duffer's talking about the casting of Amybeth McNulty. For those who don't know, Amybeth starred in Anne with an E (2017-2019), which is a drama series based on the book Anne of Green Gables (1908). There's also a well known TV mini-series based on said book which came out in 1985. After casting for Vickie was announced, the Duffers revealed that they were fans of the AOGG book and the mini series as kids (which is why the book was referenced in the show a few times), but also made a point to add that they were big fans of AWAE.

This is interesting to me because I feel like TW and AWAE are the kind of shows that have a bad rep (mostly deserved for TW atp), but specifically because of how they present themselves on the surface?

Werewolf teens and a talkative red-haired girl in braids don't exactly scream quality TV to most people? Which like, fair enough. Not to mention, both adaptations were based on stories that were very popular in the 80's, being modernized for future audiences. And so a lot of people hated them for that reason alone, without even giving them a second glance.

However, within the context of the Duffers, who are well known film nerds, who literally watch anything and everything under the sun, I think it's possible (and even likely) they watched Teen Wolf the series.

Arguably, TW's most impressive narrative moments come from season 3b. Which interestingly enough brings us back to the main focus I had for this post, which is how exactly this could all relate to Will.

Answer?

Will being possessed by the Mind Flayer is EXTREMELY void-Stiles coded:

Void-Stiles is easily recognized as one of the strongest arcs in the entire series, and for good reason. S3b season truly tested the limits of Dylan O'Brien's talent, along with a lot of other elements in the show just really hitting the mark that season. The story-building, the vibes, and the acting from the cast overall was pretty good, making it well regarded as a fan favorite (sound familiar?).

At first it starts with Stiles sacrificing himself, essentially dying for a short period of time, only to come back to life, but to have also left a door open in his mind. This door (ajar) makes Stiles vulnerable to the Nogitsune (an evil spirit that feeds off of chaos, strife and pain), who of course takes advantage and attaches to Stiles.

Slowly, Stiles starts experiencing an inability to focus, sleepwalking, vivid dreams during the day, while also not being able to tell the difference between dreams and reality. Eventually this leads to the Nogitsune gaining control, who then starts to have more influence on Stiles' behavior, leading him to trick his loved ones around him into believing that it's him by acting like Stiles at times, when really it's the Nogitsune. He uses Stiles' body as a vessel to wreak havoc on the town of Beacon Hills, but also specifically Stiles friends/family.

He even goes as far as to make Stiles do things like twist a sword into his best friends chest, then finally detaches himself from Stiles' body only to in that very same moment kidnap Lydia (his love interest), and ending in a battle with him orchestrating the attempted murder of an entire floor of a hospital, along with successfully killing a beloved main character.

While I do think it's possible we could see some similarities between these storylines here (we arguably already have), something I realized a while back when researching for birthdaygate, was that it did remind me a great deal of Stiles' arc in s6a of TW.

What makes this arc kind of ironic in the context of this post, is that there are some parallels to Back to the Future...

Basically everyone forgets Stiles existed, to the point where he's completely erased from reality, including photographs (Back to the Future reference). Other details about him, like his name and his connection to the people around him, is what plays a big part in his return (including radios being used between realms to communicate with him... yep).

As it's happening, Stiles starts going up to everyone he knows, first casual friends, and slowly down the line to people that mean the most to him. Suddenly his best friend doesn't know him, then his dad, finally the only person left who remembers him is Lydia, only for him to be taken and for everyone to forget (including Lydia). And this was basically the big cliffhanger that closed off the first episode of the season, with it being a guiding force to them getting Stiles back in the following episodes.

Now, I just want to make it clear that I do NOT think that this is how s5 is going to play out, like barely, if at all.

My main purpose for this post was to look at the simple and complex in relation to this reference and how it could relate to what is to come, in any shape/form.

Like, we know they draw a lot of inspiration from Star Wars and Lord of the Rings (along with 100+ films and more). And yet still, that doesn't mean we're expecting the show to play out exactly like it does in those stories.

What we're expecting is some inspiration & parallels.

S5 is said to be drawing a lot of inspiration from s1-2, which are two seasons most tied to Wills disappearance and possession.

Clearly in the case of this reference, there are A LOT of possibilities for what this could be hinting at related to Will's arc in particular.

I'm excited, but also terrified to find out what...!

#byler #stranger things #movie inspo #twelvegate #teen wolf (1985) #teen wolf (2011) #ALSO I love how Michael J Fox is just chilling in all these layered references going on here related to Will #just wait until we get to romancing the stone... #also I have a theory that the duffers were big tw stans pre-downfall #that it plays a small part in why they insist on not going past 5 seasonns... bc they don't want their show to go downhill either #they've seen tw and dozens of other shows go from impressive to unwatchable #TW has gotta be the biggest example of this in recent years #i'm not even talking unliked endings #i'm talking UNWATCHABLE endings #i feel like the duffers set themselves apart bc as time went on they actually clued their cast in on the overall series arcs/plans/ending #which made it easier for the cast to stay as opposed to leaving around s3/4 #with the creator of teen wolf he kind of is just allowing the show to go on forever and ever #and so he's sort of been forced to work around the casts desire to even continue participating #and so ever since they lost the bulk of their cast but especially dylan obrien (the heart of the show) #it just become unwatchable #like imagine ST losing gaten but just continuing to roll out new seasons??? #i don't want to imagine it. it would suck. it simply wouldn't be stranger things anymore #and that's also why i think the duffers refuse to kill of their mains for shock value #bc everyone knows the less og characters you have as the seasons go on #the more the show becomes a shell of its former self and what used to make it so good in the first place: #it's fucking characters #i can guarantee you after s5 that this is the end of these characters story forever... #and i'll be fine with that!

[tails-artwork]

Gaming Thoughts - October 2023 - Xenoblade Chronicles X

Ever since the announcement of the Wii-U's internet being discontinued, I had found myself going back to this game after so many years. Also, knowing me as a small disclaimer, you may be seeing this game a bit from me as well. XD

I had actually picked up XCX back at Launch and played it quite a bit, but because things got busy and also there was a point that I was stuck in the game, I had put it down for a period of time and said that I would come back to working on it later when things calmed down a bit. Well...now became that later so I may be a little scrambling to get things in it somewhat gone through. At least get some of the online-only content in there at the least before it is no longer accessible. (I know that Pretendo could be an option in the future, but I'm not 100% confident on if they will be able to get XCX up and running through their service since looking at their roadmap it isn't quite a priority yet and also I just have great skepticism on fan projects of this large of a scale ever getting finished as well, so it is more or less a 'I'll believe it when I see it deal')

Though coming back to this game now, I've been enjoying it a LOT more now that I'm finally able to understand certain mechanics. The game does jack-shit to explain how some mechanics with the battle system works (ESPECIALLY Overdrive most of all) and the digital manual is like a pain for me to even go through as well (and why I miss physical manuals in games, dammit) either way, after a bit of research and such I've been finding myself highly enjoying it more and more now at this point. It already was my favourite game as it was even with how difficult it was being before, but now only just cemented it even further.

Just as a note for anyone that may want to try to get into the game, DON'T ever approach it the same way you do with normal JRPGs, if you do and just try to go at it entirely for the main story and only hit the side missions here and there, you will find yourself disappointed since the main story itself doesn't present a lot of development for the other characters as it was with the exception of one. You get more of your development of the characters and even of the world itself through the affinity missions and the side missions most of all. Even most of the sidequests have a lot of their own little storyline to them as well too that helps expand more on the world and everything.

I actually wish this game will get at the very least a port to the modern consoles, though. Or even at least Nintendo's next console since because it was on the Wii-U it hardly got a lot of attention as it was and not a lot of people would have played it, but more of all, I would actually also would love to see there be a sequel as well considering there are so many things that are still unanswered as well that I would love to find some resolution to.

Anyways, when I played this game, I made my primary OC, Conrad, being my custom character as well. So I tried to draw him with at least the equipment that I have currently in-game. Out of the weapon types that there are, because of some of the prior things that I have done with him, I felt that out of the weapon options in the game, the Sniper Rifle was still the best one that did fit him as well and I'm still keeping that as being the main weapon that I'm basing my build around. (You have a LOT of options of how to make your build and a few different weapon options to use. You have to have one ranged and one melee weapon in your setup, but with how the game is designed, you really cannot balance your build between the two and it becomes more of one being your main damage dealer and the other being essentially there for support because of the arts that are available to it.)

Either way, odds are likely I'll be playing this game quite a bit either until I get a lot of things finished up finally or after the end of April, whichever comes first so if I end up needing to cover this game again because of this, I'll try to at least make it more on that month's summary as opposed to the game as a whole. XD

(All in all, I don't think I will ever see this being dethroned as one of my top favourite games anytime soon)

#Xenoblade #Xenoblade Chronicles X #my work #my OCs #conrad strasburg #Gaming thoughts

[nekrophoria]

Tell us your 3 fave OC ships and the song(s) or other media you associate with them. Pass this on to 3 others (on or off anon) and let's keep the game going!

Thank you so much for this ask! <3

Honestly this is hella hard to answer for me given that

a) I can't get myself to keep going with Volatile for some fucking reason so a lot of potential ships in my story aren't realized yet or worse the characters in it haven't even been properly introduced yet (kill me, I'm bad at this)

and b) I'm really not that good at this whole romantic ship thing I'm realizing, the relationships that I personally find the most interesting in my story are either platonic, friendships, parental, sibling like relationships...that kinda stuff.

There are very few ships that I have planned in Volatile at the moment. And a lot of them are kinda crack ships or ships that are completely doomed by the narrative aka me.

Then of course there's the fact that I would spoil the hell out of people by dabbling into ships that haven't been introduced yet so....eh.....

That being said, I don't know if I can really give a good answer to this, much less an answer that anyone reading this could actually follow or find interesting at this point in time x_x

Anywhoo...I'll try.

Let's start with Roland and Liz,which is like the only potential canon ship I have in Volatile at the moment xDD

(some spoilery pics cuz I feel like it)

I absolutely adore these two together but as of now I don't think they'll have a future unless I decide to do a major rewrite. Idk. We'll see,

Anyhoo...these songs always makes me think of them:

---------------------

Then my favourite Crack/AU ship, Mabon and Caspian (courtesy of @drawing-way-outside-the-lines)

They're not really a crack ship xD But I didn't really have the chance to develop them much just yet, so as of now they're just an outlet for more nsfw and edgy shit and a more unhinged Mabon who wouldn't really be in character in the canon universe.

I find their dynamic interesting though because I feel like they both see the worst parts of themselves in each other which validates them and their behavior in certain ways, but also causes them to low key despise each other. It's a picture book co-dependent relationship that could force them to confront parts of themselves that they'd probably much rather ignore.

They have a couple of songs that I relate to them but I feel like these sum up their relationship the best:

---------------------

Aaaand last but not least:

Mel and Simon

I am not entirely sure yet how this ship will evolve, again, since Simon hasn't even been introduced in Volatile yet despite him being present on my blog for quite some time now.

But I think they're cute af together, and they have the potential to do each other a lot of good or absolutely wreck each other . That's all I can say as of now.

They also get two songs

One from Simon's view:

One from Mel's view:

#sims 3 #tag #Oc: Melvin Holloway #Oc: Simon Davis #Oc: Roland Lynch #Oc: Liz Thompson #Oc: Mabon AU #Caspian Jacob D'Angelo #I left out certain ships deliberately because they would be waay too spoilery #This is a whole lotta unnecessary rambling #I apologize for that

[ladygoth]

tbh another thing that bothers me about the whole situation is like some of those people i followed for a while when i first joined the fandom on tumblr and to find out they support and encourage that :(

and like everyone gets mad at you saying kys and focusing on that but not the other actual important shit and main point (for a reason id assume) and like just the defense of you have written dubcon and noncon like, its very diff than literal rape and thats the stuff thats used at the coping skill not actual rape itself. you never said anything is wrong with coping with it using dubcon either like ? idk its just im angry but more-so just sad and disappointed people i admired for their work romanticizing something that ruined my life as well as many others

idk like everyone says you’re stupid but they’re getting mad about one post and i get some people being triggered and having diff opinions about that and jokes etc but missed the complete main point and continue to miss the main points youve made and taking it out of context putting words in your mouth? maybe im rambling and makes no sense i usually just sit back and let shit happen when its online but like i just had to say something. plus them saying youre just a troll and a hater for your responses like, when you keep trying to tell someone something and they are adamant or just cant listen or recognize your points plus keep harassing you you’re just gonna stop trying at a certain point?

and the whole thing about you like not supporting victim’s coping mechanisms confuses the ever living shit out of me because you speaking up about the rape (not noncon/dubcon) fetish which is literally standing up for that and speaking against it? idk. lot i wanna say but wont cus people on here clearly lose their shit but tldr you haven’t done anything wrong, thank you for speaking up and keep trying and for just being a good person and advocator, it means the world and warms my heart to see 🫶

sorry people are so mean and hateful (ironic they say you are yet look all they are doing and saying) and i hope you’re doing okay from it all❤️

mwah <3

yes, me and my friends were laughing at how bad they were missing the point when they were crying in my comments and asks. they can call me stupid all they want, i'd rather be an idiot than be someone who plays into SA culture, and it was intriguing how they said i was writing about dub-con when both characters were both still heavily aware of their surroundings and what they had wanted with each other. and i know that because i was the writer, the way they speak you'd think they were with me in my room when i was writing it, but oh well.

and them doing that either way still is a win for me because that means they agree with what my main perspective was LMAO. they were doing essays with my writings, and i'll give them an U for how bad their assumptions were.

glad to know that i got middle aged broke back women who will barely know what it actually feels and means to be loved and doesnt need to turn to SA culture to feel something panties in a twist. and thank you for this ask, i'm doing well and have been focusing on my future projects! <3

[aquadestinyswriting]

By Any Other Name

Summary: Meredith finally loses her temper after a Lord on the Fangthane Council continues to us a name and title she is deeply uncomfortable with after being told not to

Words: 624

Tags: @druidx @homesteadchronicles @sparrow-orion-writes-orion-writes,@warriorbookworm, @odysseywritings, @blind-the-winds , @thesorcerersapprentice ,@writeblrcafe , @ashirisu, @flashfictionfridayofficial

Warnings: None.

Notes: this is more or less directly followed by 'What's in a Name?'. This just gives more context as to what Yoruk is despairing about there.

"Lady Copperheart!" I freeze and glance around for the tell-tale jangle of jewellery or a snide remark from somewhere nearby before I finally realise that the call was, in fact, meant for me. I take a breath to calm the flare of annoyed anger in my heart before turning in the direction the voice had come from. 

The middle-aged dwarven merchant now standing before me is gazing at me with a befuddled confusion. I take another moment to school my expression, lifting the glare from my face a little. Despite my repeated requests not to call me by that accursed name, several members refuse to discontinue old habits. Actually, I'm fairly certain the man now asking me some inane question about the budgetary report for the Church Inquisition is one of those who take great delight in deliberately ignoring such requests. I listen, politely, and answer his question in the same manner. I'm just about to take my leave, when he decides to make one last comment;

"In future, High Inquisitor, you would do well to acknowledge the other members of the Council the moment they call for you." He remarks, "I'd also advise you to refrain from glaring at them as though they've done wrong." He adds with an imperious sniff.

It takes all the willpower I have not to punch him, never mind keeping my expression as neutral as possible. I manage a tight smile,

"My apologies, Lord Stenskärare, but I am quite sure I have previously requested that the Council refer to me by Gruksdottir where possible." I tell him. The nobleman scoffs and shakes his head, sneering at me,

"Refusing to acknowledge the prestige of a House you now belong to is a dishonour to your husband." He snaps, "Then again, I wouldn't expect a peasant girl like you to know anything about that." 

It's a very good thing for Lord Stenskärare that we weren't the only people still in the antechamber of the meeting room. I dread to think of what might have occurred were we alone. As it is, I do finally lose my temper. I’m not really all that aware of what I yell at him, I only know that I’m swearing in at least four different languages and he doesn’t understand the majority of them. I only stop when Captain Bloodvein finally shoves me out one door and gets one of his guard to shove Lord Stenskärare through another. I’m still fuming even as I apologise to His Majesty, Her Highness and Captain Bloodvein and storm out of the palace.

It's not that I don't want to acknowledge the honour and legacy of the Copperheart name – by all accounts, the late Captain Copperheart was a highly regarded Kingsguard – but I cannot rid myself of the memory of her every time I hear that name and title in combination with one another. There are just too many bad memories associated with it. Especially given everything she did during her relatively short reign of terror, which the entire Council are aware of. I did go into great detail in my report to King Storri once all was said and done. It's ridiculous, she's gone for good, locked in the deepest recesses of the Pit for the rest of eternity. By all rights I should be glad to reclaim the honour that the title deserved this whole time. And yet.

It's no good. I'll either have to talk to Yoruk about changing the name, or just learn to live with the dread that climbs up my spine every time I'm in a damned Council Session. In the meantime I think Uncle Snorri's boiler needs bashing back into shape, I can practically hear the thing chugging and sputtering from here.

#aquadestinyswriting #flash fic friday #writeblrcafe #titan fighting fantasy #meredith gruksdottir

[marinerainbow]

Ok I'm too excited, so here's a deatailed post for my new gal

Shiny Weasel

I am not an artist so I don't have any visuals for Shiny. I'll try my best to describe her appearance.

Also, please note that she's still not 100% developed. So there may be changes in the future. I'm happy with what I've got right now, but still.

As the image implies, Shiny is pretty much a flapper girl for the 40's. She drinks, wears whatever she wants from short skirts to trousers, and lives how she wants. She's honest, in that brutal sort of way; unless she's trying to deceive you, she'll say whatever is on her mind, no matter how witty, sarcastic, or brash it may be.

Shiny works as a performer in a somewhat high-end (high-end as in they got nice props) yet seedy club in Downtown Toontown. I'm debating on whether or not she owns the club, or she's just a worker. Though that's her 'day' job. Her real job is making her own moonshine and selling it to whoever seeks her services. From upstanding citizens to lowly criminals. Technically, by the events of the movie, alcohol is no longer prohibited. But moonshine was still considered illegal to make because of how dangerous it can be. Not to mention making it at home, which Shiny does. (I hope my research is correct.)

She's confident, she's loud, she's stubborn, and she refuses to let others dictate how she should act or present herself.

Appearance wise, Shiny's got the body type that the Toon Patrol has. So she doesn't have the humanoid body that Whinnie Weasel does. Her belly/neck/palms are a brown sugar shade, and her back/legs/arms are sienna brown. I'm debating on making her eyes the generic black pupils like Smartass and Stupid, or giving her vibrant green eyes (it'd complete the whole eye color set for weasels if they were green, but I don't want to risk making her look like a weaselfied Jessica Rabbit either)

She doesn't have human-like hair like Greasy, but she does let the fur on her head grow out to make hair like Psycho. It's short, and she styles it when she's working in the club, but leaves it as a fluffy pixie style when she's off duty.

She does wear sparkling/fancy clothes clothes when at the club or just dancing. But when she's at home or just doing her chores/errands, she wears more casual clothes. I can't think of anything specific, I still need to work on her style.

Now, hopefully I was able to paint a clear enough picture XD now, onto tid-bits!

As I said before, Bernadette Peters is my voice claim for Shiny. Both for her speaking voice and singing voice (yes she sings)

Moonshine isn't her only crime. If she doesn't like you and/or you give her a reason, Shiny will steal your wallet and use whatever she finds. Cash, credit cards, you name it. If you really piss her off, she'll put you in debt.

She can be brash, but she can be nice too. Nicer than Smartass at least. Basically, if you play nice, she'll play nice too. And if you earn her trust, she'll be quite the loyal friend and ally.

Shiny has ran into the Toon Patrol plenty of times. They've had to pay her a visit a few times while acting as a police force for the judge. They 'check up on her' and sometimes have had to arrest her for appearances... Though in reality, she pays them for protection to continue her moonshine business, and has even sold them some of her best alcohol. She's gotten well acquainted with them because of it (especially with a certain zoot suited weasel)

I was actually originally going to make her related to Smartass (and by extension Stupid, with my hc that they're brothers). I was thinking about families for the weasels, and I wanted to make him a sister. Though when I started developing Shiny more and more, I couldn't figure out how to make it work. So it's a scrapped concept (I still like it though, so maybe she and him develop a sibling bond? I'm not sure).

The reason why I colored her name purple is because I imagine that would be her color. She'll wear purple hued dresses at work. It's her favorite color. And it could be her designated color if she became a part of the TP.

Her birthday/the day she was drawn is March 28'th, 1913 (making her 34 years old during the events of the film)

Considering that she dances nightly, I imagine Shiny is pretty fit. And she also knows how to move her body to quickly evade danger and wandering hands if needed.

My biggest inspiration for Shiny is Ms. Scarlet from Clue the Movie. Though other characters were her inspiration; Granny Boone from 2001 Maniacs, Wendy from Gravity Falls, Velma Kelly from Chicago, Joy Turner from My Name is Earl, Daisy Duke from The Dukes of Hazzard. Even a little bit of Jessica herself. There are other characters, but these are the ones that come to mind at the moment.

And that's Shiny! Please let me know what you think! ^^

#my own OC's #my own characters #Shiny Weasel #WFRR #Who Framed Roger Rabbit #Toon Patrol #Disney #Disney Villains #Judge Doom #Youtube