#the most elaborate assassination ever

[txttletale]

can you elaborate on the reasons ? what criticisms do you disagree with?

criticisms i disagree with:

"they character assassinated jane" amiguita there was no character to assisnate.

"they character assassinated dirk" dirk is at his most interesting and likeable ever and is just about the only redeeming thing about these

"they were just written to spite the fans" if true tht would have been Epic, and Based. but they very obviously werent

"its too violent and sexual for cheap shock humour" did you. read homestuck, the web comic? what were you Expecting... also like it or not the sexual content isnt just random or gratuitous it is obviously trying to be a conclusion to the whoel coming-of-age theme of homestuck as a work.

"so-and-so is out of character" homestuck characters are malleable little dolls that can be rearranged to suit the narrative at a whim. this is true about all fictional characters ofc but it is like explicitly textually metaphysically true in homestuck

my criticisms:

the heavy-handed political messaging is fucking tedious and awful and so profoundly of its time in a bad way. its clearly a reaction to trump but it doesnt have anything interesting to say about him or fascism or racism or anything, really, except, um. Cheeto in the white house?. the whole Evil Jane plot is too stupid and contrived for the sake of the satire to take seriously but also its awful satire written by liberals who think fascism as invented in 2016 by the orange man

god can we fucking talk about how fucking embarassing the obama shit is. jesus fucking christ. for a start it's a callback to a running jhoke in homestuck that is straight up just super racist. and they decide to pivot from the joke being 'its funny that theres a black president', which is good, but they pivot it to 'obama seems so heroic and magical now that we're stuck with the Orange Man', which, admittedly, is better than Being Racist, but also sucks shit. he killed people amiguitas.

'post-canon' is cheap bullshit. like, the work makes a big deal about tryng to talk about What Canon Is, without ever acknowledging the concept of, like, IP law. claiming to just be a non-canon continuation like any other when it's made by people with the Official Exclusive Legal Rights just feels hollow and detooths any liberatory/deconstructive potential there. unironically my opinion of it would go up like tenfold if it had been actually published in AO3 instead of just joking about it.

in general i think that all of the attempt to deconstruct fiction or storytelling is rooted in a really weird and flawed model of storytelling. a lot of it seems to be taking an extremely long route to writing something bad on purpose and then saying 'see, if you wrote something like this, it would be bad'. Okay. i like deconstructive collapsing narrative shit in e.g. if on a winter's night a traveller because i think calvino has trenchant and interesting insights about literature and storytelling. i do think hussie also has those but they essentially dropped and explored all of them in homestuck and the epilogues just seem like an attempt to connect ohomstuck's disparate and contradictory approaches to Narrative into one overarching schemata and then crtiique that schemata, which i think is a doomed project that results in little of interest to me.

#ask #homestuck

[viaviv124]

Bullfrog Character Study and why i feel so bad for him

Did you notice that Bullfrog does not cry at all until his execution? Not when Jade died, not when Pey'j died and, to our knowledge, not while he was in jail.

When Bullfrog talked with Rayman and mentioned Pey'j's death he sounded so bitter. Yeah he probably said it to hold a mirror in front of Rayman but also i feel like at first he didn't intent to say this, that this just slipped out and he then decided to roll with it. I do not know much about Assassins Creed but i do know that he had to embody the Brotherhood's ideology of freedom, peace and equality. To my knowledge to "peace and freedom" also counts "free of vengance/hatred/bitterness" and so on because these feelings do not make you free, hence why Bullfrog tried to stop both Dolph and Pey'j from acting in vengance (allthough with Pey'j it also was so the Warden doesn't detonate the bomb). And espacially because of the survivors guilt Bullfrog thinks he has to be the perfect assassin.

However, Assassins are just people too. People are flawed and cannot follow this perfectly. And Bullfrog was incredibly bitter. Probably not just bitter too, one can just imagine what he felt. He lost everything he cared about again. He failed again. Not to mention, i doubt he ever allowed himself to grief. And i feel like feeling that horde of emotions also lead to self loathing to a degree.

Bullfrog is supposed to embody the Brotherhood's ideology, hell, the entire brotherhood considering he's, to his and our knowledge, the only one left. He's not supposed to feel everything he's feeling right now, yet he does and it eats him up. The survivors guilt forces him to perfectionism. If he can't be the perfect assassin, then what is he? To him he's failing his ancestors and brothers, his fallen comrades, the ones he's fighting for, everyone.

And despite all of that he never once allowed himself to cry.

Except when he was convinced he was going to die.

Bullfrog cried during his final words as he apologized to Dolph for failing him. And i can promise you these tears weren't just because of the apology, no, in these few tears was at least a bit of everything that happend. Because he didn't have to stay strong anymore. He thought that's it. This is where he and the brotherhood will die. And he probably felt two main emotions in that moment. Hopelessness and relief. Hopelessness for very obvious reasons i doubt i need to elaborate, but relief? He didnt have that burden anymore. He thought he was going to die so that weight he's been carrying for who-knows how long would be off his shoulders. It's a very small price, but at least it's something.

Everything i've said so far is why a certain comic by @pitafish hits so hard to me. I won't show it here because i didn't ask for permission, but basically what happend is that Bullfrog and Ramon were lying in bed and Bullfrog had a breakdown so Ramon sang to him and hugged him to soothe and comfort him.

[Edit] i just got permission to link the comic so here you go

Bullfrog let himself cry. He let himself be vulnerable. He lets himself be an individual with his own thoughts and feelings instead of an extension/personification of the brotherhood. And most impressively, he did that in front of someone else. He let someone else soothe him, hold him, take the place of comfort he himself always took for others.

And that's what makes it hit so hard.

In conclusion, Bullfrog deserves a hug, a blankie, hot chocolate, to bawl his eyes out and some well-deserved rest.

#Do i have to get up in 5 hours? Yes. Do i care? No. #captain laserhawk #bullfrog captain laserhawk #captain laserhawk bullfrog #captain laserhawk blood dragon remix #clh #clh bullfrog #clhabdr

[llamagoddessofficial]

Oh Llama, could I request general headcanons for evil Mc? Also, can you elaborate on how she met Skull? Cause I think it's so cute how she saved his life, and now he would give his in exchange.

Here's some tidbits on the supervillain Mc au!

The boys get on surprisingly well. They don't get on perfectly- there's still some natural jealousy as a result of all vying for the same villain. But they're all aware of the fact that they fill their own valuable niches in her life, and they take pride in those niches. Sans is her trusted friend, Red is her valued commander and occasional paramour, Skull is her utterly devoted guard dog. And at the end of the day, infighting would be detrimental to her plans.

@iridescent-serpent's banger art means her having a spooky veil is canon. Her boys are the only ones privy to her face.

People who commit particularly egregious crimes against her have three possible ways of being dealt with- death by one of Red's blades, being fed to Skull, or being sent to Sans' lab as a test subject if he so requests.

(Skull is the best way to go. It'll be quick. Red likes to make a show of it to impress Mc, and Sans... well. Sans will make it last a long time.)

Red's actually a very good general. Sure, he has a temper, but who doesn't? He's ruthless, strategically minded, and surprisingly forgiving of genuine mistakes by his underlings.

Red has stopped the most assassination attempts against her. You'd think it'd be Skull, but Skull's constant looming presence means very few have ever had the bravery/stupidity to get that close.

Sans designed her outfit.

To many, Sans appears like he feels absolutely nothing. She's the only one privy to his real emotions- they often communicate with single nods... and sometimes, even a nod is too much, and only a glance is needed.

Sans is the only one who's seen her cry. In complete private, they have nicknames for one another.

Skull has his own room. He rarely uses it, too busy being glued to her side. But he appreciates the gesture.

All three of them carry some kind of memento of her within lockets. Sans has a lock of her hair, Red has a piece of fabric with her kiss mark on it, and Skull has a small vial of her favourite perfume.

As for the subject of how she met Skull... he was most likely being held prisoner by heroes. They saw a beast lashing out and assumed he was a mindless monster that needed locking up- no one stopped to think there might be someone within that monster, crying out for help. He was simply muzzled and locked away to rot.

She set him free. But... more importantly... she was the first to ever treat him gently. She spoke to him in soft tones, soothed him with a hand against his cheekbone. Reminded him that he was still a person, a person who deserved warmth and love like everyone else.

... There was never the expectation that he would follow her. But he did. The moment she treated him with kindness, he would've followed her anywhere. Hero or villain.

#llamagines #evil mc au #i like the idea that mc also has some kind of scar on her face #hence the veil #another reason why skull is so deeply attached to her #she understands #and if someone can have a scar like that and still be so breathtakingly beautiful.... maybe his scars aren't so bad

[ceruleancattail]

Ooo open requests! Id like to request butlers of your choice protecting/taking care of their master from an assassination attempt. Thank you!

Guard Dog

Butler Jack x reader

Desire is a fickle thing, is it not?

It burns from within, forked tongues of flame licking at your heart. Some use the fire to stroke their weapons. Honing their skills, to appease this desires. Using these feelings as a stepping stone, to push themselves further.

Some fall into the flames, utterly consumed. Slaves to their own petty desires.

Today, you have the pleasure of meeting the latter.

A dagger, elaborate designs craved onto its edge. The silver blade gleamed with a grim determination, pressed against your throat. The edge kisses your kiss, a fleeting touch. Not close enough to cut through your skin.

Yet.

Heart thumping in your chest, throwing itself at its rib cage over and over again. As if it sensed the danger, and was trying to escape. Forcing yourself still, you take in a deep breath. An attempt to calm yourself.

Inhale. Feel the air rush into your lungs.

Ignore the blade held on your throat. Do not acknowledge the breaths on the back of your neck. Each burning hot, scalding your skin.

Exhale. Pretend that you’re somewhere else. Anywhere but here.

The pressure of the dagger increased ever so slightly, pressing itself closer to your flesh. Beads of red start to form, slipping down your neck like pearls from a broken necklace. There was something tragically beautiful about them.

Pearls of pain and deceit, pooling at your collarbone.

“What do you want?”

You ask. You didn’t dare to turn around, in the fear that the blade might find a new sheath to nestle. Your neck.

A gruff voice, heavily muffled. It was low, menacing. The sort of voice a battle hardened veteran might have, after seeing wave after wave of horrors.

The voice of someone who’s suffered hardship.

“Your personal seal.”

Ah, for all his crude mannerisms, this robber had some sense. Your personal seal was used to mark all your transactions. Custom made, it’s been personalised by a master craftsman.

It was the only one of its kind.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have it right now.”

The dagger pressed harder. Grey spots blurred your vision, nausea leaping up your throat. You could taste the acidic taste of bile, just threatening to spill over.

“Do not play games with me. Give me the seal, and I won’t hurt you.”

Your eyes began to water, tears slipping from the corners of your eyes. Vision growing hazy, spots of black only growing in number, blocking out most of your sight.

Squeezing them shut, you hear a voice. A familiar one, but never in this tone. A low, gravelly voice, stretched thin by anger.

“Oh, but I will.”

A deafening crash, as the assailant’s weapon was ripped away from him. Yanked to the side, you collapsed onto the ground, legs shaking. Struggling to catch your breath, you glance upwards at your saviour.

A board back, tail of grey pointing straight upwards. Standing at attention. You’ve never seen a more reassuring sight.

Jack Howl, your butler.

With a growl, he rushes forward. Clutching the robber’s shoulders, Jack tosses him onto the ground, arm shoving down on his throat, effortlessly pinning him down. Eyes widening, the man started to splutter his excuses. However, most of it came out as illegible babble. Jack increased the force, choking the man.

“Jack.”

His ears flickered, his eyes still intensely trained on the man, burning with rage.

“Jack.”

You repeated yourself, injecting as much force as you could muster into your voice.

“That’s enough. Don’t kill him.”

He looks at you, lips pursed into a fine line. A moment of consideration, before he gives you a sharp nod. Turning back to the man, Jack grabs him by the scruff of his neck, holding him upwards. Feet barely touching the ground, all the man could do was clutch at Jack’s arm, praying for mercy.

Leaning in, he bares his fangs at the robber, growling.

“Do not ever come near this estate, or my Master, ever again. Do you hear me?”

A shaky nod.

Jack thrusts him forward, shoving him out of the door.

“Get lost.”

His eyes stay trained on the man’s retreating back until he was out of sight. Then, he turned his attention to you. Eyes filled with worry, ears drooping. Jack hands reach for your face, pressing into your cheek. Tilting your face from the left to the right, he does a quick check.

Wincing at the movement, you paw at your neck. A feeble attempt to stop the bleeding. Thankfully, the man didn’t cut anything important, yet the cut still stung, nonetheless.

The rip of fabric cut through the air. Holding a piece of his uniform in his hands, Jack dabbed at your wounds, carefully holding the makeshift bandage in place. His hands were calloused, the roughness tickling your neck. Yet despite that, they were remarkably gentle.

You can’t help but lean into his touch, sighing contentedly.

“You’re a regular guard dog, aren’t you, Jack ?”

Raising your arm, you give Jack an appreciative pat on his arm. He stares at you in disbelief, before shaking his head. A small smile tugs at his lips.

“I’m your guard dog, Master.”

#twisted wonderland #twst #twisted wonderland x reader #Jack howl #Jack x reader #Jack howl x reader #twst x reader #butler au #lucky potion🔹 #JACK STANS WHERE YALL AT #SUMMONING THE JACK LOVERS THE JACK KISSERS

[anopenbookunderlockandkey]

The 118 Sauce Chat

Eddie: I definitely make spaghetti sauce extremely wrong but I’m not going to stop

Chim: please elaborate on the wrong way to make spaghetti sauce; it sounds highly entertaining?

Eddie: 1 chop onion and put in a pot

Eddie: Add 1 or 2 cans of diced tomatoes. Whatever makes the ratio of onion look right.

Eddie: Add a ridiculous amount of frozen peas. Peas should make up a notable portion of this sauce.

Eddie: Add frozen corn also if you wanna be real fancy. If I have bacon I’ll ad that too. But I very rarely have bacon.

Eddie: Cook on HIGH

Eddie: While sauce is cooking, grab the nearest bottle of mixed spices that isn't obviously for desserts. Add some. How much? I dunno, enough that you feel like you've added seasoning so it's technically cooking. (For me this is most often a mix called Moroccan, but it could be anything. Buck reorganised my kitchen recently so tonight it was something called Pizza Topping.)

Eddie: If you happen to have green herbs lying around, add those too. Whatever you have on hand that's green

Eddie: Let the sauce boil on HIGH until all the water is gone. Stir occasionally so the saucepan will be easier to clean later. Serve on cooked spaghetti noodles with no cheese

Eddie: Today I added a new step called "while the sauce is cooking, duck out for 15 seconds to text the group chat about spaghetti sauce, then get distracted and forget you are cooking." This adds a novel Extremely Burnt edge to the flavour profile.

Chim: I am not Italian, or of Italian descent by *any* stretch of the imagination.

I am also not one of those "cooking purists", who believes that everything must be done in a specific/ traditional way (unless you are making a cooking video with the title "how to make x" in which case if you don't specify mid video that your way is not traditional god help you).

I am a firm believer in "If it tastes good, then it is correct for you".

Chim: Except in this case

Bobby: This hurts every cooking bone in my body. The latent ancestors in my soul. The judgmental elf in my brain just bit a cyanide capsule

Hen: Why? The spices.

Using a different spice mix every time, based on what is ready at hand just ... hurts

Eddie: *sends SPICE IS SPICE meme*

Ravi: absolutely deranged, Eddie. Food crimes.

Bobby: Hey Eddie, looks like you forgot to mention the part where you obviously sweated the onions, because nobody would make spaghetti sauce that had straight up raw onions boiled in tomato juices.

Bobby: RIGHT????

Bobby: Please Eddie

Eddie: I don’t know what sweating the onions means

Hen: It means. It means you cook em a little in a pan with a bit of oil first

Eddie: A pan? How many dishes do you want me to have to wash here?

Hen: I mean you can also do it in the same pot you're making the spaghetti sauce in! The important thing is the onions get a little cooked before the wet stuff goes in, so they're not so wet and limp and boiled....

Eddie: Honestly this depends entirely on whether I remember to chop an onion first or I find the can opener for the tomatoes first. The ingredients go in in whatever order they go in.

Ravi: Eddie, who hurt you???

Eddie: A pack of wild chefs herded my mother off a cliff

Chim: Theres probably a hit out on you for this

Eddie: What kind of stupid idiot would waste money assassinating someone who's so clearly going to accidentally poison themself for free at some point

Bobby: hi Eddie, big fan of your firefighting, this is the sauce equivalent of the running up a metal ladder in a lightning storm to try to pull up a 6’0” tall man instead of lowering him to the ground

-Athena

Eddie: Athena, that is the meanest review my cooking has ever received

Chim: congratulations you found the worst way to do it! this feels like a spaghetti recipe made by AI before it got really sophisticated

-Maddie

Eddie: this group chat’s hate mail game is insane

Ravi: at this point please just eat every ingredient raw… please

Eddie: Do I look like Tony Abbott to you

Buck: As a former Committer of Food Crimes, I have decided to make this sauce this weekend after I have a chance to go to the store. I will report back.

Eddie: Excellent, I look forward to vindication.

Hen: No one's going to vindicate your boiled onion in cinnamonny tomato juice on noodles, Eddie

Eddie: Not cinnamon. Cinnamon is a dessert spice. You use the nearest non-dessert spice.

Ravi: cinnamon is absolutely not a dessert spice

Eddie: Yes it is! It's for muffins and pancakes and fruit pies!

Chim: Cinnamon powder is absolutely a dessert “spice” and Eddie if your cooking is this bad I can’t imagine your baked abominations

Eddie: I put lemon juice in everything I bake that isn't bread

Written for the only two gremlins (endearment) who find this as entertaining as I do @professionalprocrastinator22 and @gravelyhalversobbing

Inspired by:

#things i decided i could make about 911 #Eddie diaz commits food crimes #Buck is his accomplice #buddie fic #911 fic #911 fanfic #text fic #incorrect 911 quotes #911 abc #911 fox

[avaantares]

Wait, Zhao Yunlan's gun is actually a...?!

(I've never claimed production meta for @guardianbingo before, but after the amount of time and research I put in on this, I feel like I've earned the "Zhao Yunlan's Gun or Whip" square, haha)

SO. GUYS.

Maybe this is something fandom as a whole figured out back in 2018, but I, who didn't hear of Guardian until 2020, did not realize until now and I need to share the knowledge because when I finally noticed, I made an unholy sound.

I've tracked down where Zhao Yunlan's gun came from -- or at least, what it most likely started as. Not the in-universe dark-energy-maybe-uses-bullets-maybe-doesn't-device-that's-best-not-thought-about-too-long, but rather the actual fake-steampunk-revolver-that-is-best-not-looked-at-too-long-because-it's-awful prop.

Y'know, this disaster:

I was actually working on a different Guardian Bingo fill and needed to look something up for continuity, so I'd flipped through a couple of episodes at super high speed trying to find a scene. As luck would have it, one of my skips forward happened to land on the scene I screencapped above, when ZYL confronts Zhang Shi.

Normally we don't get this clear (or this stationary) a shot of the godawful gun prop. I'd assumed all along they had just taken a plastic gun, glued some extra bits and bobs on it to make it look fancy, and hit it with some dry brushing (fun fact: you can watch the paint flake throughout the series; check out the top of the barrel and the side of the cylinder in the above screenshot!) to make it look #steampunk like the abandoned aesthetic of 25% of the show (as I've said before, I have theories about what happened in preproduction, but that's another post). This sort of thing is exactly what I've done for cheap cosplay weapons or background props for film work that aren't going to be seen at HD detail range.

Anyway, since the detail showed up better here than in other shots, I paused the video to look at the random screws and hex bolts (why??) they'd glued on it, since I recalled that I had the aforementioned gun/whip bingo square to fill.

That's when I noticed a detail that had eluded me before: An inverted V shape at the bottom of the grip.

Only looking more closely, that's not an inverted V. It's a symbol that I've seen a whole series of variations of over the past 15+ years... every time there's a new installment of the Assassin's Creed video game series:

So I started hunting. The principal weapons in each game turned up no matches, but eventually I found a gun that looks almost exactly like ZYL's:

It's not a perfect replica, but the details are certainly all there: The stylized logo; the leaves and swirls on the grip; the feathers up the back; even the Victorian scrollwork beneath the barrel.

Now, what's really interesting is that this gun isn't actually from the AC game series. It's part of an elaborate fan project by artist David Paget that started as a class assignment back in 2014. Even though it gathered a bit of steam in the AC fandom and generated a couple of forum role-play groups, OCs and the like, nothing about this artwork was ever connected to a real Assassin's Creed title. So why would there be a physical version of a gun that was only someone's fanart?

This is where the smoking gun (*rimshot*) goes missing, because I can't prove any of this, and it's been long enough that digging through the archives of the internet to find answers is going to take way more time than I can afford to spend on a project I'm not getting paid for. But there are two likely possibilities:

Scenario A: Some employee in a toy factory somewhere in China got told, "This Assassin's Creed franchise is really big, so we need to be producing replicas from those games to sell. Work up some designs." So the employee Googles "assassin's creed gun," finds David Paget's very professional-looking art, and whips up a replica to mass-injection-mold without realizing it's not actually from a game. Later, someone on the cash-strapped Guardian production team needs a gun to mod, and finds a cheap toy revolver on clearance after several years of sitting in storage because there was little demand for a replica of a gun that was never in a game. They buy several, glue hex bolts on the cylinder for reasons unknown, and poof! Instant pseudo-steampunk!

Scenario B: Other fans were involved in the design. Someone did build a 3D model of David Paget's design that's still available on Sketchfab (screenshot below), and it's not unreasonable to assume that other fans could have thought it looked cool and built 3D printable models. Later, someone on the cash-strapped Guardian production team needs a gun to mod, and acquires the 3D print file of one of those models from the interwebs. They mod the file a bit, print some, glue hex bolts on the cylinder for reasons unknown, and poof! Instant pseudo-steampunk!

Personally, I find Scenario A far more likely than Scenario B, for two reasons: First, the hero prop looks more injection molded than 3D printed, especially given the technical state of 3D printing back in 2017-8. And second... Budget-challenged dramas do have a history of picking up bulk video game replicas and using them as cheap props. I made a post back in 2019 about the WoW Horde shields we spotted in a different drama...

Anyway, no firm answers about the source of the hero prop -- the world may never know! -- but we have now confirmed that in some alternate universe (possibly one of the first eighty?), Zhao Yunlan and/or Zhao Xinci is an Assassin.

Wait, wait, wait... *recalls mechanics of how the whole Assassin's Creed frame story is supposed to work* Uh... so... who wants to write a genetic memory explanation for the whole Kunlun -> [lots of lifetimes] -> Zhao Yunlan thing?

.

(I did actually check the catalogue of a friend of mine who makes replicas of props from various media franchises to see if he'd done a commission of the David Paget design, since a surprising number of his custom pieces actually do end up on film and television, but while he has a gorgeous replica of a revolver that actually appears in an AC game, it appears he has not done the Zhao Yunlan gun. I didn't really think it likely, since he's in the U.S., but you never know.)

#guardian #zhen hun #c-drama #guardian bingo #assassin's creed #tv props #it's always fun when my various hats end up stacked on top of one another

[gartenofbanny]

I'm not gonna lie, Stella is quite the bitch but she's a far better parent to Octavia than Stolas ever is. While we haven't seen Stella and Octavia interact on screen the stuff Stella says and what she doesn't do leads me to believe that she actually somewhat cares about Octavia. Stella probably didn't care about Octavia at first as she referred to Octavia as an egg, but so far I believe that Stella cares about her daughter. Though this doesn't excuse her being a pretty bad mom.

I know a few people are going to bring up how in Loo Loo Land, Stella didn't even bother to go help Octavia and she just told Stolas to handle it. But I view that as Stella slowly loving Octavia as Octavia grew older.

We knew from the get go that Stella was not the best when it came to taking care of things as revealed in Seeing Stars, but Octavia never really had a negative experience with Stella. I'll elaborate later on, time for me to list.

Stella accusing Stolas of putting Octavia against her

In Seeing Stars there is something that Stolas says that surprised me. Stolas says "No! I'm not turning her against you!" Which either means that Stella has a positive relationship with Octavia and that she actually loves or at least likes her or Stella and Octavia don't really have an actual relationship but they're neutral to each other.

Stella taking Octavia out on weekends

It's noted by Stolas that Stella takes Octavia out on weekends. We don't know when this started or if it ended, but Octavia never said anything about Stella that affected her negatively. I assume that Stella takes Octavia to royalty events or parties in order to get Octavia accustomed to the life of Royalty and the privileges that come with it. This is all just my speculation though because so far Stella doesn't do shit aside from spending time with her family members or friends that are also Royalty and attends or hosts parties that royalty or high ranking demons attend.

Octavia doesn't talk negatively about Stella

Surprisingly, Octavia never talked negatively about Stella or even referred to Stella in a negative light. Octavia has with Stolas as she said that "Home doesn't feel like home anymore, you ruined it". The only time Octavia even talked about Stella was when she said "When my parents didn't hate each other". Most of the time Octavia is talking about her parents she's only talking about Stolas and not Stella. Which leads me to conclude the same two things I concluded previously either Stella has a positive relationship with Octavia and that she actually loves or at least likes her or Stella and Octavia don't really have an actual relationship but they're neutral to each other.

Stella not caring about Octavia inheriting Stolas' possessions

So in Western Energy, Andrealphus mentions the fact that once Stolas is dead then Octavia will inherit all of his duties, his possessions, and his legions. But Stella just doesn't even care at first. However due to Andrealphus convincing her, she calls off the assassination. So Stella doesn't care about Octavia becoming just as powerful as Stolas when he dies, she just cares about Stolas dying. Because if she did care then she would've most likely done the same thing Andrealphus is doing, that is calling off the assassination or choosing not to hire Striker to begin with. Plus I already speculated that Stella may be taking Octavia to some Royal Meetings or parties so that Octavia can get accustomed to being a big shot Royalty once Stolas dies.

Conclusion

So..unlike Stolas I believe that Stella is setting up her daughter for success. Well prepare Octavia as much as she can because I don't know if Stella knows the contents of the Grimoire or if she's allowed to teach it to Octavia. So imo, Stella teaches Octavia to be a Royalty as best as she can while Stolas is supposed to teach Octavia how to use the Grimoire.

But due to Octavia not even knowing the Hell to Earth spell and IMP having access to the book 24/7, this leads me to conclude that either Stolas just doesn't care about teaching Octavia, Stolas once again is prioritizing Blitzo over his daughter, or Stolas is teaching Octavia very very very very very very slowly. Any one of those options doesn't make Stolas look good because if he dies then Octavia is screwed because she doesn't even know how to make herself a human disguise nor how to go to Earth. So she can't really do much for a certain amount of time until she's either taught by Paimon or herself.

Anyway, that's all I got for today. Thank you all for reading, Stolas is not a good father, and I hope you all have a nice day! ❤️

#helluva boss #vivziepop critical #helluva boss critical #vivziepop criticism #helluva boss criticism #vivziepop #helluva critical #helluva boss critique #vivienne medrano #helluva boss stella #helluva boss octavia

[fangirleaconmigo]

There are a lot of fics in the fandom where Jaskier is a concubine or bed warmer and is gifted to Geralt (usually warlord Geralt) and that becomes his path to freedom and love. Some of them are among the best fics in the fandom. One of them is one of my favorite fics ever.

But I do get to thinking...

Men who are physically strong and skilled in combat (like Geralt) can also be exploited. In fact, physical power is one of the most limited forms of power, and witchers are exploited and oppressed in canon. And by the same token, men who can't wield a weapon (like Jaskier), can be very powerful if they are born into the correct family.

So. What if we flip their roles in the narrative? (I'm sure there are flipped fics out there, but I'm going to spin my own idea for a minute.) Alright. Here we go. My idea for Prince Jaskier/Gladiator Geralt.

CW for references to past sexual abuse. Do not read further if you don't want to read any references to sexual abuse. As I said, it is a reversal of the trope mentioned above, so none of the abuse is between Geralt and Jaskier, but the premise does involve servitude and abuse.

---------

Jaskier is a prince sent out on his very first diplomatic visit. He has been chosen for this task (negotiating a treaty) because he has come of age, and his father wants him to make a match with the princess. His father has managed to keep his country's economic crisis a secret, but it won't stay that way for long. If Jaskier can impress his hosts perhaps he can marry the princess, and his people will be pulled back from the brink of financial ruin.

But before Jaskier goes, his father counsels him that he will see some barbaric practices in this other country. Though this other country is wealthy and advanced technologically, it still engages in things like gladiator fights and indentured servitude. Jaskier says that he understands. He can keep his mouth shut no matter what he sees. He knows that they are counting on him.

The first day of the visit goes well. During a long session of intense negotiations, Jaskier makes a brilliant first impression, so much so that the king invites him to be the guest of honor at a gladiator fight. Jaskier does not have a stomach for violence or gore. So he downs a few goblets of wine to take the edge off and to keep himself relaxed enough to not vomit at the first sight of entrails.

Their prize gladiator is a striking, white haired warrior with mystical powers. He has an enviable streak of wins, and the people love him. Part of why they love him is because he seems to hate killing people. He will do it efficiently and well, in order to defend his life. But when they push someone out into the ring that is ill prepared or a poor match for him, he does everything he can to stall or stop the fight.

Once, the king tells Jaskier, he refused to fight and managed to convince his opponent to refuse to fight. They publicly executed several prisoners in retaliation, so now he fights. But he curses them elaborately after every win.

Instead of it weighing on their conscience, however, the audience moons over him as a noble assassin, a killer with a heart of gold. It's the irony, it's the angst. They love him. Not enough to free him of course, but they love him.

Jaskier worries he is not drunk enough for this, but he manages. As expected, the warrior wins the fight. It is a tough match against a skilled and weathered opponent. But he fights with the mesmerizing grace of a brutal dancer and he wins in a spectacular fashion. The crowd goes berserk.

Though Jaskier finds the warrior incredibly compelling, his eyes drawn to him over and over like a beacon, he is relieved as fuck that the whole thing is over. He can't wait to go back to his room and cleanse away the memory of that horrible pulsing severed carotid with maybe a song or another drink. He can't wait to have more power and ban some of these horrific practices.

But before he can get back to his room, the king makes him an offer that he is entirely unprepared for. He has taken such a liking to Jaskier that he offers to send the champion up to his room.

That is when Jaskier learns that the royal ladies (and some of the men) take great pride in partaking of the warrior after a match. It is the highest honor.

It's partly his beautiful physique. They have special clothing made up for him that resembles his armor, but offers more access. It's partly the danger and the thrill of conquering such a violent beast. They bind him and they station guards close by so he can't retaliate. But the thought that he could kill them with the twist of a wrist is part of the appeal. It is also partly the exclusivity. The entire kingdom loses their mind for this warrior, but it is only they who have access to him. It gives these wealthy, bored, royals a rare thrill.

When his host explains all of this, Jaskier's stomach drops almost to the soles of his shoes. His first instinct is to be outraged. To say no. His kingdom has done away with bed warmers and...well...sex slaves, really. He has been brought up to believe that ravaging someone, anyone, is a base, cruel, horrible thing to do.

So he almost says no. He almost shouts it. Frankly, he would like to slap the king across his smug beastly face. Obviously he can't do that. But he wants to. But then a thought flickers across his mind. If he says no, then this warrior will be sent to someone else. And who knows who that person will be and what they will do to him.

Jaskier feels sick to his stomach when he accepts the king's offer. He hopes his disgust isn't apparent. He tries to make it sound lusty. To his own ears, he fails at it. Besides his disgust for the idea, he is also incredibly inexperienced. If he has to feign an intimate understanding of the specifics of sex, he'll reveal himself to be the young amateur that he is.

But the king is so drunken and self absorbed that he doesn't even notice. He claps Jaskier on the back, calls him my boy, and motions to his guards. The guards jump to attention. The king points down to the arena at the warrior. The warrior is slick with sweat and blood and grime. He is quietly cleaning his sword with a far away look on his face. The cheers of the crowd weigh on him.

Just then, the warrior looks up at Jaskier. His golden eyes feel like a punch to the solar plexus. He sees what is happening. He knows who is being conferred the honor of his body tonight.

Jaskier wants to mouth an apology. To explain himself. Of course he can't. They are too far apart and there is too much noise between them. Besides. Jaskier is currently pretending to be into this. But his eyes slide away guiltily. He feels queasy and he is regretting the wine right about now.

The king asks Jaskier if he wants the warrior grimy or clean. They can bathe him before they send him up, or they can just walk him up as he is, for a more authentic experience. Jaskier feels a cold fury bubbling inside. He shoves it down. He says to send him as he is. Jaskier will draw a bath in his own room and give the gladiator privacy.

The king makes a crude joke about Jaskier liking it dirty, and he almost bites through his tongue in order to hold it. He tastes copper.

Soon, Jaskier is alone in his room, pacing the marble floors, clenching and unclenching his fists. He is deep in concentration, trying to figure out how to play this. When the guards bring the warrior, will they leave? Or will they insist on staying close by? How will Jaskier hide his true intentions from them? Whatever they see, they will undoubtedly report to the king.

Jaskier chews his bottom lip and whispers to himself, practicing what he will say to the warrior if he can get them alone.

You'll be safe tonight.

You don't have to do anything.

Would you like to bathe yourself? I won't look.

Do you want...other clothes?

Suddenly Jaskier feels like the inexperienced, sheltered young prince that he is. His success during negotiations this morning feels like a fluke. He has never taken charge of anything. He's not even fully finished with his second decade of life. Why did he think he could do this? He can hear his own heart beating so hard that his chest cavity is vibrating. He is terrified. Terrified what this grizzled warrior will see when he looks at him. Terrified he will fuck it all up.

When the guards drag in the champion, he has to duck to pass through the doorway. His broad shoulders fill it almost entirely. He comes to stop in the middle of the room, his chains settling and his shoulders stiffening. They have changed him into his costume, which is little more than flimsy strips of leather. Wide expanses of skin glisten with sweat. He lifts his chin and his eyes bore quietly into Jaskier.

Jaskier swallows hard. He can feel his fingers trembling, so he clasps them at his waist. There is something about this man. He isn't like anyone Jaskier has ever met before. There is honesty and nobility but also flint and defiance in his eyes.

The young prince is indeed inexperienced, but in that moment, he understands something very important. He knows the truth in his very bones, and the truth is this...

He is in way over his head. He is utterly doomed.

Not because of the guards or because of his host, the lecherous king. He isn't even doomed because of his father or his obligations.

He is doomed because he already knows in his marrow that he will give anything, sacrifice anything, maybe even his own people, to give this man anything he needs.

PART TWO IN THE REBLOG

#the witcher #geraskier #geralt of rivia #jaskier #geralt x jaskier #the witcher fic idea #might be my darkest one #and i already have wips #but i'm gonna let this percolate here #lets see how far i get #descarada writes #descarada writes geraskier

[queenphanessa]

Why do people criticize the House of the Hearth (and Arlecchino) for taking in orphans that can be Fatui agents when they grow up?

Remember Klee? The Spark Knight? The kid who plays with bombs and causes property damage?

Klee is a little girl, and yet she's officially considered a Knight of Favonius even if she's the only kid there. She might be cute and her destructive tendencies might be played for laughs, but she's officially a child soldier.

Edit: I legit forgot about Mika

Mika is a kid/teen who's an official member of the Knights of Favonius who Grand Master Varka brought on an expedition. He's an older child soldier than Klee.

Edit: I also forgot about Diluc who was a teenager when he joined the Knights of Favonius, as per his father's wishes for him to become the most esteemed Knight of all for the sake of their home, which lead to him becoming the youngest-ever Calvary Captain. And Diluc explicitly quit after his 18th birthday when his father died. So yeah, Diluc was also a child soldier for the KoF.

Bennett and Fischl are both teenagers (Fischl, I'm a little unsure of, but I'm pretty sure she's a teen), and they both have jobs as members of the Adventurer's Guild, with commissions/quests that can range from benign to dangerous. Bennett is especially notable since he was orphaned as a baby and raised by a bunch of senior members of the Guild before he himself became a member. So Bennett and Fischl could also be considered child soldiers.

And then of course there's Sayu. You know, the child ninja for the Shuumatsuban? An Inazuman organization that reports to Ayato and deals with espionage, combat, and assassinations?

Remember how Lyney said that betrayal was not tolerated at the House of the Hearth?

And remember what Ayato had to say about the Shuumastuban?

And look what Sayu's character details say.

For those who have played Sayu's hangout quest, remember that she was given a mission to assassinate the Traveler. And she's a kid.

And the man who gave her the order was surprised and horrified that she actually carried it out before finding out she and the Traveler had tricked him. He wasn't surprised because Sayu, a kid, had allegedly killed someone, it was because he thought she would be too lazy to actually do it.

As lazy and silly as Sayu is, it can be easy to forget that Sayu is indeed a child soldier. Ayato and the Shuumatsuban are the most similar to Arlecchino and the House of the Hearth, but I haven't seen anyone throw shade at Ayato, who in spite of being one of the good guys, is a scheming and manipulative person when need be. So why do people side eye the House of the Hearth, but not the Knights of Favonius, the Adventurer's Guild, and the Shuumatsuban for having child operatives? Because the latter three are on the protagonist's side? Because they're treated in a lighthearted manner or only elaborated on in character stories that not everyone reads? A lot of fictional stories (especially fantasy media) have teen and child heroes who act as warriors/soldiers and it's not like Teyvat/Genshin Impact has any qualms about having children be fighters. In fact, Hoyoverse in general has no issue with having child and teen characters, protagonists or antagonists, be soldiers in their games (in Honkai Impact 3rd, there's a whole school dedicated to training teenagers to be soldiers to fight against the Honkai), so why do some people have an issue with the House of the Hearth? Especially since in Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet's character stories, there's no mistreatment by Arlecchino?

#genshin impact #arlecchino #arlecchino genshin #genshin arlecchino #kamisato ayato #genshin lyney #lyney genshin #genshin lynette #lynette genshin #genshin freminet #freminet genshin #this is something I've been wondering about #this also makes me curious as to how Ayato and Arlecchino would interact

[thepastisalreadywritten]

The day Princess Anne was almost kidnapped on The Mall — 50 years on

On this day 50 years ago, 23-year-old Princess Anne found herself fighting off a gunman as her bodyguard and driver lay wounded beside her. Emma Loffhagen takes a deep dive into the disturbing day one of the most senior royals was almost kidnapped.

By Emma Loffhagen

20 March 2024

“Your daughter has been kidnapped. The following are conditions to be fulfilled for release.”

In March 1974, Ian Ball used a rented typewriter to haphazardly type a letter intended for the then-head of state, Queen Elizabeth II.

Ball, 26, a funeral home worker, demanded £3 million — to be paid in £5 notes — in exchange for the return of the Queen’s daughter, Princess Anne.

After becoming fixated with the 23-year-old princess, he spent two years hatching an elaborate plan to kidnap her.

Today, March 20, marks the 50th anniversary of Ball’s kidnap attempt — one of the most bizarre and disturbing episodes in British royal history.

A “loner,” Ball had been inspired to hatch his elaborate kidnap plot by the novel Day of the Jackal.

He wanted to follow in the footsteps of the book’s hero, the contracted assassin the Jackal.

“He was a very strange man,” Ball’s neighbour later said. “The only time he ever went out was when he went down to the launderette or went out for some food.”

It was thought that he had developed a “fixation” on the royal, whipped up by the widespread and lavish coverage of her wedding to Captain Mark Phillips the previous year.

As part of his plan, Ball had moved from his run-down flat in Bayswater to a lush rented house in Fleet, Hampshire.

It was only a few miles from Sandhurst, where Anne lived with her then-husband Phillips.

After a quick phone call to the Buckingham Palace press office, Ball knew which engagements and events Anne attended each week.

He rented a car under the alias John Williams, stocking the boot with Valium tranquilisers and two pairs of handcuffs.

On the evening of 20 March 1974, Anne was travelling back to Buckingham Palace in an Austin Princess limousine.

She had attended a screening of Riding Towards Freedom, a documentary by the charity Riding for the Disabled.

Captain Phillips, her bodyguard James Beaton, and her lady-in-waiting Rowena Jane Brassey, were also in the car driven by royal chauffeur Alexander Callender.

At around 8pm, as the group drove up The Mall, a white Ford Escort swerved in front of the limousine, forcing Callender to stop.

Then a 31-year-old inspector, Beaton, who had been Anne’s bodyguard for a year, got out to investigate.

“I thought it was somebody who wanted to be a pain in the neck,” he later said. “There was no hint of what was to happen.”

Suddenly, a bearded man with light red hair jumped out of the vehicle and pulled out two handguns, smashing the passenger window with the butt of one.

Beaton had not even had the chance to pull out his weapon when he was shot in the shoulder.

He then attempted to fire back at Ball — but missed. Upon a second attempt, his gun — a Walther PPK — jammed.

Ball turned to the passenger door behind the driver’s seat and started shaking it. Anne was sat on the other side. “Open, or I’ll shoot!” he shouted.

As the princess and Captain Phillips desperately tried to hold the door closed, Anne’s lady-in-waiting crawled out of the door on the passenger side.

Beaton got back in the car, placing himself between the couple and their assailant.

Ball shot into the car, and Beaton’s hand deflected the bullet.

He shot the bodyguard a third time, hitting Beaton in the abdomen and causing him to fall from the vehicle.

“I felt tired and very drunk, although I hadn’t been drinking,” Beaton later told police. “I just wanted to lie down.”

Callender stepped out to confront the gunman, but Ball shot him in the chest and he fell back into the car.

Pulling the door open, Ball grabbed Anne’s forearm as her husband held on to her waist.

“Please, come out,” Ball reportedly told the princess. “You’ve got to come.”

As the pair struggled over Anne, her dress ripped, splitting down the back, which she later recalled prompted her to “lose her rag.”

But, rather than panic, she had what she described as a “very irritating conversation” with her potential kidnapper.

Unbelievably calm despite the commotion, Anne famously replied: “Not bloody likely!”

In an interview with the late television presenter Michael Parkinson, she recalled:

“He [the gunman] opened the door and we had a discussion about where — or where not — we were going to go.

“I said I didn’t think I wanted to go. I was scrupulously polite because I thought it would be silly to be too rude at that stage.”

A nearby tabloid journalist, Brian McConnell, arrived on the scene.

Recognising the limo’s insignia, he realised the commotion must have involved a royal family member.

“Don’t be silly, old boy,” he told Ball. “Put the gun down.”

Ball responded by shooting him too and McConnell collapsed bleeding onto the road.

A man named Ronnie Russell drove past at this point.

He was on his way home to Strood, Kent, from working as an area manager for a cleaning company in London.

In a stroke of incredible luck, Russell happened to be a former boxer. He had cut his cloth at the Repton Club in east London, an infamous venue sponsored by the notorious Kray twins.

Jumping out of the car, Russell punched Ball twice in the head before leading Anne and her lady-in-waiting away from the attacker.

He later explained that he “did not like bullies,” which prompted his decision to intervene.

Despite being injured, Ball still shot the first police officer to arrive on the scene, Constable Michael Hills, 22, before running off.

Detective Constable Peter Edmonds, who answered Constable Hills’ radio request for backup, chased Ball down The Mall and through St James’s Park before tackling him on the ground.

At Ball’s Old Bailey trial in May 1974, more details came to light about the plot.

Ball kept his head lowered for most of the proceedings, only uttering the word “guilty” to confirm the charges of attempted murder and kidnapping.

In his pocket, detectives had discovered the kidnap note addressed to the Queen, which demanded the £3 million ransom (the equivalent of £26 million today), a free pardon, and a plane to fly him to Switzerland.

He had planned to take the princess to a central London property he had rented under an alias.

In a police interview, Ball also said he believed Anne would be an easy target after ascertaining her whereabouts by phoning the Buckingham Palace press office.

“I had thought about it for years,” he said. “She would have been the easiest. I have seen her riding with her husband.”

Ball also showed no remorse for having shot three men on the night of the attempted kidnap.

“They were getting in my way so I had to shoot them,” he said. “Well, the police, that's their job. They expect to be shot. I took a chance of getting shot so why shouldn't they?”

He added: “I suppose I’ll be locked up for the rest of my life. I am only sorry I frightened Princess Anne. There is one good thing coming out of this: you will have to improve on her protection.”

Ball was diagnosed with schizophrenia following the trial and sentenced to a mental health facility under the Mental Health Act, “without limit or time."

He remains in the Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire to this day.

The facility has been home to a series of notorious criminals, including serial killer Peter Sutcliffe and London gangster Ronnie Kray.

Immediately after the attack, the royals ceased having only one protection officer.

When Anne visited Beaton in hospital, “she turned up with two policemen,” her bodyguard said. “From then on, that’s what it was.”

“I had nothing…There was no back-up vehicle,” Beaton told The Times separately.

“The training was non-existent; but then again, [we thought] nothing was going to happen. They are highly specialised now, highly trained.”

Beaton continued to work for Anne for another five years — before the Queen employed him.

After Beaton’s weapon jammed, the type of guns used by bodyguards were also changed: “The Walthers were got rid of overnight.”

Beaton was honoured for his bravery, receiving the George Cross — the UK’s highest civilian honour for gallantry.

Russell also received the honour. In a 2006 interview, Russell recalled what Queen Elizabeth said as she presented his George Medal:

“The medal is from the Queen of England, the thank you is from Anne’s mother.”

#Princess Anne #Princess Royal #Queen Elizabeth II #Captain Mark Phillips #British Royal Family #Ian Ball #Inspector James Beaton #Day of the Jackal #Buckingham Palace #Sandhurst #Riding Towards Freedom #Riding for the Disabled #Rowena Jane Brassey #Walther PPK #Alexander Callender #Michael Parkinson #Brian McConnell #Ronnie Russell #Repton Club #Constable Michael Hills #Detective Constable Peter Edmonds #The Mall #St James’s Park #schizophrenia #Broadmoor Hospital #George Cross

[faerietells]

“Princess? Forgive me for this intrusion but please wake up.”

Being the light sleeper that you are, you are quick to be woken up even from the lightest touch on your shoulder, especially when you also heard a voice of a man in your chamber at such an ungodly hour. Panic filled your chest for few seconds, your mind racing as you thought of the worst as you got up into a sitting position. You’ve never encountered any assassin before but what if someone did send an assassin to hurt you? In pure panic and fear, you quickly turned your head to the owner of the voice, already preparing yourself for the worst when you realized that the man in your room is none other than your trusted knight, Alastair.

“Alastair. By the gods, you’d give me heart attack one of these days,” you tell him, relief washing over you as you realized he’s not an assassin or anything of the sort. It didn’t last very long, however, as you see the conflicted and grim expression he wore on his face. “Oh, no. What’s wrong?”

“I really don’t know how to tell you this without sounding insane, but…" he paused, hesitation evident in his voice. "Do you remember when I tell you that I am a Dreamer?”

You nod slowly. Of course you remember. It’s not everyday you meet someone who could actually predict the future through their dreams. Not to mention that since Alastair is half-fae, his dreams are even more accurate than most Dreamers’ so it really piqued your interest ever since you found out about his gift. “Of course. What of it?”

He opened his mouth only to close it again, seemingly torn on what to do. You didn’t push him to talk, though, you just wait patiently until he’s ready to tell you. You trust him and you believe whatever he saw in his dream must’ve been very important for him to come to your room this late at night. He’s not even wearing his armor either so he must’ve rushed to go here as soon as he woke up, which only confirms to you that whatever he saw must’ve really haunted him.

“Please, I can’t apologize enough for intruding your chamber at this hour but you must believe me when I say you cannot stay here any longer,” he finally told you after he weighed his options.

“Here? As in this chamber?” you frowned in confusion.

“No, as in this Kingdom.”

You blinked in disbelief of what you’ve just heard. “I… I don’t follow,” you muttered softly, your anxiety growing by the second. “What do you mean by that?”

“I saw it in my dream. I saw how the new Queen had framed you, making you look as though you tried to poison your stepbrother. She then demanded for you to be punished for attempting to murder her son.” He looks at you, sadness evident in his amber eyes. “Princess… the King allowed the execution to take place.”

Your breath hitched in your throat as his words rung in your ears. You never did have a good relationship with your father. Ever since you were little, the King was distant toward you, cold even. Some said it's because you resemble your late mother but others disagree, saying that's just how he is. Nevertheless, you would never think that your father would let you perish. He might ignore you but he couldn’t possibly hurt you, right? You are his only child, after all.

Well, unfortunately for you it seems like you are greatly mistaken, judging from what your trusted knight saw in his dreams. You really can't blame him for deciding to barge into your room after what he saw. It must've really rattled him and if you were in his shoes you'd probably do the same thing, especially considering how close the two of you are.

“So what…” you paused as you try your best to calm yourself. “What should I do? Should I bring this up to my father or—”

“I think we should leave,” he suggested, much to your surprise. Your mouth hung open as you tried to process his suggestion and he quickly elaborated. “It sounds extreme, I know, but I genuinely think that the risk is far too high for us to stay and figure out how to avoid that outcome while you still live here.”

“We?”

Your question seemed to catch him off guard and you noticed how his cheeks are dusted with pink as he’d realized what he said. “Yes,” he replied sheepishly. “If you would allow me to come with you, that is. You’d need all the help you can get and I can offer you my protection.”

“Absolutely not. You’d break your oath to my father if you come with me. I can’t allow you to sacrifice your honor for my sake,” you refused. In all the years you’ve known him, he’s not only been kind to you, but he might as well be your only true friend. You simply cannot allow him to do that, even if it’s for your own safety because if he did break the oath not only he’d sacrifice his honor but he’d also be seen as a traitor, which is punishable by death. What kind of friend would you be if you allow him to take such a risk?

Clearly Alastair thinks differently, though. His face hardened as he was reminded of your father and his oath as a knight to him. Who’s to say your father would not make him turn his blade against you? His oath would've demanded him to do so should your father ever ask him to, regardless of what he feels for you. “I don’t care,” he said with this determined look on his face. “If helping you makes me an oathbreaker then so be it. Your father was the one who knighted and assigned me as your personal knight, it’s true. But he’s not the one I care about so I couldn’t care less about what he thinks.”

Your quickly shushed him as you rushed to put your hand over his mouth, panic filled your chest once again after he made that bold declaration. If anyone hears it, he’s a dead man and yet he doesn’t seem to care, which is both bewildering and frustrating to you. How could he not care about his own well being? In contrast of the panic and anxiety that marred your features, you don’t see even a shred of doubt in his eyes. You could only see determination and devotion there and you can't decide whether it's heartwarming or concerning for him to put you over everything else.

“Do not be a fool, Alastair. The walls have ears,” you warned him in hushed voice. This didn’t seem to deter him, but since he didn’t want to stress you out even more he decided to keep whatever he had to say about your father to himself.

“Let me come with you. Please,” he pleaded as he held your hand. “I’d beg if I have to, I just… I can’t let you go out there on your own. What if something bad happened and there’s no one to help you?”

You sigh, knowing full well how stubborn he is. He seems to have made up his mind about this and truth be told, you also didn’t really want to leave without him. And he's right, you can't really be sure that you wouldn't ever be in danger out there. You can barely fight as it is so having one of the best knights in the Kingdom by your side would definitely be helpful in the long run.

“Fine,” you finally relented, much to his delight and relief. “Pack up your thing. We’re leaving now.”

“Okay! I’ll be quick, I promise!”

He planted a quick grateful kiss on your knuckle before he left your room in a rush, leaving you completely speechless. You shook your head in attempt to clear your thoughts as you look around your room, trying to figure out what to bring with you while you try to process what just happened. You knew you’d leave your home one day, but not even in your wildest dream you’d imagine it’d be like this. Alas, it seems like fate doesn’t favor you this time. It truly is a shame, you would’ve loved to see your stepbrother grow up. Although you can’t deny that his mother is an unpleasant person to be around, you and him have grown to care about each other. You don't even want to imagine how he'd react to your sudden disappearance and although you wish nothing more than to be able to say goodbye to him in person, you knew it wouldn’t be wise so you decided to just leave a goodbye letter instead.

Taking in a deep breath, you tell yourself that you can cry about all of this later and just focus on what’s in front of you. For now, you need to survive and get out of this Kingdom, preferably without anyone noticing until you’re far enough.

“Well then,” you mutter to yourself in attempt to make yourself feel better, “I suppose it’s time to go on an adventure.”

#monster x reader #monster boyfriend #monster romance #fae x reader #fae #faerie #faerie x reader #female reader #teratophillia #terato #exophilia #monster lover #self insert reader #drabbles

[the-deadrobin]

Jason Todd Headcannons

I will probably add more later, because I surely forgot a few.

Half of these don't make sense, but they're fun.

Jason is a huge Literature nerd and an even bigger Jane Austen fan. He's also a huge romance lover. But he likes the wholesome cutesy shit. (I also think he just loves poems) But even so, he likes Shakespeare especially the tragedies like Macbeth.

He is the only Bat Alfred allows in the kitchen. Jason used to learn to cook from/help cook with Alfred back in his Robin days. Thus he is a surprisingly good cook, second only to Alfred.

Jason smoked when he was an Alley kid before being Robin and he still smokes as Red Hood. He also smokes on rooftops while Bruce has his Galas and the press are all over it.

This one is kinda funny but I love the idea of the Wayne family being like the Kardashians of Gotham (just much more useful) and Dick and Jason are absolute heartthrobs. (I'm so going to elaborate on this with detail in another post)

The Bat-fam don't know about the all-blades, or the all-caste. Because the situation just never called for it.

Anesthesia or sedatives either don't work on him, or wear off him much faster than normal. Same with alcohol.

Being a Gothamite, a Bat, and trained with the League Of Assassins, I imagine Jason has trained himself to have immunity to poisons and toxins (mostly but not all) (I believe its called Microdosing)

Jason has that good old white tuft of hair. Whether from head trauma or the Lazarus remains a mystery.

Jason is dramatic as hell. And extremely petty too. Spite drives this man. He does everything he can (no matter how small or big it might be) to spite Bruce.

Most of his younger siblings don't prank him unless they're looking for all out war, in which him, Dick and Steph form an alliance and go batshit insane (pun not intended)

Leading me to my next point: Jason is very competitive.

He's also a horrible role model because whenever any of the siblings fight (namely Tim and Damian) he just makes shit worse and watches the chaos he helped create.

Jason is big on revenge. He has a list is all I'm saying.

Jason probably has claustrophobia (what with being stuck in a damn coffin and all that)

I think that all of the bat siblings (except Dick, because he has the Big Bro power) has a blackmail list on everyone in the house. But no one can seem to find blackmail for Jason just because Jason is so damn good at covering up what he does that even if it was obvious he did something, there'd be no evidence of it.

Which leads to the fact that I think Jason is an extremely good liar. And he uses that to make his lies really weird and borderline crazy but people still believe him because he's just so convincing. Like, whenever he lies to Bruce, Bruce just believes it. And the other batkids are in the corner like: what??? It wasn't even a convincing lie!! But then they find out about an instance Jason has pulled this shit on them and realise how believable it actually is. (And that was only when he was caught) but Jason never does this to Alfred, because no matter what Alfred can always catch his lies.

Jason regularly has tea time with Alfred. They talk about books, food, Jason's schemes to fuck with his family and Alfred secretly gives him ideas. But everyone else in the family aside from Bruce and Jason always think Alfred is this innocent old man.

Also one of my favourites is that Jason jokes about his death. A lot. Everytime he sees an opportunity he takes it. Bruce and Dick (and to some degree Tim) are so uncomfortable everytime he does it, but Steph and Damian find it the funniest thing ever. Duke has absolutely no clue why Jason keeps making these jokes about dying, because no one told the poor guy. Cass is as clueless as Duke and Babs is always caught so off guard by it. Alfred is always mortified but he doesn't show it because he knows its Jason's coping mechanism.

I wholeheartedly believe that Jason drops off the face of the Earth occasionally. He just goes completely off-grid, no one (except sometimes Roy or Steph) know how to contact him or where he went. Not a single bat can find him when he does this. And that half the time he's doing this, he's just going to the Fields Of All to hang out with Ducra and some monks, or having mother son bonding time with Talia. Then the other half he's either having a nuch needed vacation in the beach, or going on a extremely dark and broody conquest to solve a large case and ultimately failing into its rabbithole and never attempting to get out. (He hates to admit it, but it's a lot like Bruce sometimes)

When Jason is out as Jason Wayne he totally wears makeup. Either just foundation to cover up his scars, or when he's feeling it maybe some black eyeliner and eyeshadow for Galas. So almost nobody recognises him as Jason Wayne while he's in normal civvies and he can wander Gotham freely. (Unlike Dick, who has to style his hair differently, wear a cap, change his wardrobe and still gets paparazzis)

Jason regularly quotes book and poems and the only person who has a chance of understanding him is Alfred.

This whole tumblr post.

Jason died before the Internet became as huge as it is now. So, Jason is the least technologically advanced in the family. He's the equivalent of a grandfather. Barely can use a computer without yelling for someone. Goes into Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss mode upon realising the stupidity of the scenario. It drives Tim and Babs insane. More of that here.

Everyone knows he loves Wonder Woman. He has Wonder Woman clothes, a bottle, a figurine, comics, etc. Once, he got a small tattoo of her logo under his ear mainly to spite Bruce. (Because he has accepted that, that's half his life purpose at this point).

But secretly, under the Wonder Woman jackets and tucked in between the pages of the comics are Green Arrow shirts and bookmarks. Only because he knows Bruce notices these small things and it gnaws away at him because Jason has never touched Batman merch since his ressurection. Roy does the same thing but with Batman merch.

Jason and Damian met in the League Of Assassins and were pretty close before going to Gotham for entirely different reasons. No one in the family knows about this and always wonder why they can communicate so well without using a word. (They did that a lot while sneaking around Nanda Parbat so Ra's wouldn't notice).

Jason and Steph are absolute besties. They're a chaos duo who love tormenting Bruce and are practically bff soulmates. But it's strictly platonic.

He's the kind of guy who would unironically recite a monologue from Macbeth without a hit him, just to motivate his goons.

#jason todd #jason todd headcannons #idk why its so detailed #red hood #red hood headcannons

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

What kind of character development do you think Tanizaki could get?

Oooooo ok so other people have answered this far better than me but - have you seen any of those theories that Naomi is a creation of Light Snow and that the real Naomi has died? That Tanizaki may be selected to join the Port Mafia? That he may have been recruited by the Agency to stop him from showing up on the Mafia's radar?

I recommend looking through @tachiguin's blog for Tanizaki stuff; the analyses are supplemented by information and references to the real life Tanizaki-sensei's works and definitely worth a read if you're curious about him!

But really... Tanizaki has to get some kind of focus at some point. We know so little about him compared to the rest of the Agency. He's still a big question mark despite appearing at the very beginning. And... there's something really off about him.

His narration in the first part of Untold Origins has him basically repeating over and over what a normal guy he is. He does not remember his entrance exam because he blocked it out. He is one of the most comfortable with killing. His eyes go darker and more unstable than anyone in the Agency (even some in the Mafia). He cares little for morality if Naomi is in danger ("world-burn" anyone?) and in Beast, he is supportive of Akutagawa killing the people who took Gin, which shocks even Naomi herself. He puts his ability down as not useful in combat, only for it to repeatedly be shown to be invaluable for assassination. Ayatsuji, in a side story, considered him suspicious enough to capture and tie up (this was more for comedy... but still). Asagiri mentioned that he considers Tanizaki to be the member of the Agency that is "closest to evil". ...yikes.

Anyways, I definitely think we're setting up to reveal something about him. He's been there since the beginning, and even minor characters we thought we probably wouldn't get much elaboration on or would play a major role (Tachihara, for instance) did eventually get some background. The only characters in the Agency we really know nothing about are Tanizaki and Kunikida, though at least with Kunikida we have the Azure Messenger backstory... with Tanizaki we have literally nothing. I'm sure that's not unintentional.

Personally, I am hoping that whatever ends up happening, that we get more Naomi focus too, since she's actually so so cool. There's a post here about how Naomi actually has an inner voice and a definite consciousness, which has some fascinating implications for Light Snow if she really is a created construct. There's also her quick thinking (she's canonically very clever), and the fact that she has picked up little tricks and some strategic thinking from observing Dazai (someone on here brought up the possibility of her learning to do the handcuff snap he does and I have not known peace since. I need to see her do that so bad). She's also apparently something of a trusted figure for Fukuzawa and comfortable going and getting him when the Agency is waffling over whether or not to save Atsushi. She's openly annoyed by Fitzgerald which is really funny. Naomi is also super protective of Tanizaki and Haruno, she's sweet to Kyouka and playfully teasing yet supportive of Atsushi. If we ever get a focus on Tanizaki, I need that focus to split between the both of them. There's foundations to do some fascinating storytelling with each of these characters!

#sorry this got long lol and i'm not sure I even answered the question. oh well. happy reading? #thanks for the ask! #bsd #bsd tanizaki #bsd naomi #storyrambles #picture naomi handcuff snap scene. picture it. picture it please. it'd be so cool.

[whimsiandwild]

Come To Me: Part One

Pairing(s): Female!Durge x Gortash; Astarion x Wyll; Karlach x Shadowheart [mentioned]

Word count: 1202

Triggers: Some slightly gruesome Dark Urge thoughts from Tav but that's about it... so far.

A/N: It's Durge meeting Gortash for the first time; original I know. This is definitely going to be something I continue. Hopefully. Tagging a few moots who might wanna read.

@ixora111 @durgeteriormotives @feydstan

Tav had been pacing a hole in the dusty floor of their camp for the past hour, her companions bored of waiting.

“Darling, what’s the problem?” Astarion finally asked, gripping his friend’s shoulders to stop her in her tracks and force her to look at him. “The ceremony starts in less than a half hour.”

“I know,” she snapped, her brows furrowing in frustration as she let out a little huff. “I don’t know!”

“Very helpful,” he sighed with a roll of his eyes, taking her hand and leading her towards the city, the rest of their merry band following.

In truth, she really didn’t know what the problem was, but something was niggling at her, right at the back of her brain where her memories had deserted her. Ever since finding out that this Lord Gortash wanted them at his ceremony, she’d been antsy and on edge, filled with anticipation and almost a… a longing. It made her uncomfortable to say the least; she didn’t want to feel desperate to see someone she’d never met.

They passed through without issue once they eventually arrived at the fortress, Astarion and Wyll taking the lead on this one; the vampire always seemed to know when she was most anxious. Karlach was situated very much at the back of their little party, though the tiefling’s rage was palpable; this man would be lucky if he survived this with his head attached.

The closer they came to the dais at the front of the hall, she could clearly see Duke Ravengard, glassy eyed and unaware, and Astarion gripped the top of his partner’s arm as Wyll began to dart forward, the vampire giving a quick shake of his head before letting go; the Duke may be their mission, but there were too many witnesses right now to cause any kind of scene.

Beside the Duke, stood a tall man with dark hair and elaborate, expensively tailored clothes with his back to them, yet something stirred in Tav upon seeing him, something she couldn’t understand. And then he turned, catching her gaze, and she all but forgot how to breathe.

She watched the same recognition flicker across his face, except he was far more certain than she. He smiled as he approached them, the sight melting her insides to butter whilst simultaneously filling her with a hedonistic, terrifying desire to cut that grin into his face permanently.

Where had that come from? Yes, she’d had these strange urges ever since receiving the tadpole but never this strongly, and she was normally able to push them aside or to resist. There was something about this man… he was making her forget herself. Making her feral.

“If it isn’t my favourite assassin,” he purred as stopped before her, seemingly ignoring the rest of her little group. He did, eventually, glance at Karlach’s seething form and laugh wryly through his nose. “I must say, kitten, your taste in associates has truly deteriorated.”

“You fucking-!”

Karlach went to attack but was stopped by the tip of Tav’s dagger pressing threateningly against her throat, all three of her friends staring at her in disbelief as she stood in front of Gortash. Protecting him. Tav dropped the weapon like it had burned her. The man’s laugh bellowed around the hall as she rounded on him, her panic wild in her eyes.

“Still the obedient little attack mutt you always were,” Gortash smiled, stroking Tav’s cheek with his cold, metal fingers and causing her to jerk away.

“Who are you to me? Tell me!”

His face fell and he sighed, his hand dropping to his side as he shook his head.

“So, Orin wasn’t lying,” he frowned, gazing briefly to the floor. “Allow me to reintroduce myself. Lord Enver Gortash, soon to be Archduke of Baldur’s Gate,” He couldn’t stop himself flashing a treacherous smirk at Wyll before closing the distance between Tav and himself, bending down so his breath was hot against her ear and making her dizzy. “I’ve missed you, kitten.”

The silence that fell was unbearable as they made their way back to camp, Tav having to run to keep up with Karlach’s hasty pace.

“Karlach! Karlach, please! I’m so sorry!”

“You pulled a fucking knife on me,” she growled, the flames licking at her body threatening to engulf her, and Tav with it. “And you still don’t have a fucking answer as to why! You tried to protect him… what the fuck is going on with you, Tav?”

Before she could even attempt an answer, one she already knew she didn’t have, Karlach had stormed off, her hands balled into tight fists; Tav hoped Shadowheart would be able to calm the tiefling enough for Karlach not to accidentally damage something. Astarion threw Tav a pitying look as he and Wyll followed, neither of them really knowing what to say about the whole debacle.

Tav’s face fell and she let out a sigh of defeat as she reluctantly made her way, too, though not without sparing the fortress a final glance before she did.

Clutching the neck of the wine bottle, Tav took another hearty swig and stared into the fire flickering before her. Thing’s hadn’t gotten better after they’d returned; word spread fast around such a small camp; especially after she and Astarion had told the others of Gortash’s offer. They understood wanting to side with him until Orin was defeated, but why was Tav so convinced they should work with him? He was a monster who needed defeating; it was as simple as that.

Except, it wasn’t for Tav. She was no closer to understanding her connection to the man than she was before; she just knew she couldn’t let them kill him. Her mind wandered, visions of Gortash crying out as her dagger cut open his soft stomach, her eyes wild as she shoved a hand into the wound.

“Fuck!”

Shaking her head with a yell, she tossed the half finished bottle into the flames and put her head in her hands, gripping at her hair. What the fuck was going on? What was happening to her? Who the fuck was this man?!

A soft swoosh alerted her to a new presence and she was on her feet in an instant, the same dagger from her vivid vision clutched in her palm.

“Show yourself!”

A cloaked figure stepped forward, their hands held up to show they were no threat to Tav. Still, she didn’t let up her defensive stance. The stranger said nothing to her as he approached and lay a letter at her feet. Bowing, he was gone before she could register what had happened.

Her heart was racing, adrenaline not allowing her to let her guard down. Swallowing, she crouched, her weapon still held out in front of her, and she snatched up the letter. Flipping it, she saw it was sealed with wax, the insignia familiar to her. Taking a quick breath, she sheathed her dagger and opened the letter, curious.

Dearest Tav,

I know you have questions. Questions I am willing to answer.

Come to me, kitten.

I’ll be waiting.

Exhaling with a huff, her knees almost gave way. She couldn’t… could she?

#gortash x durge #gortash x tav #gortash x dark urge #bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate #enver gortash #lord gortash #bg3 gortash #durgetash #astarion #wyll #wyllstarion #karlach #shadowheart

[bluegekk0]

If anything I think you should speak more, because I love everything you write (and draw.) You've been one of my biggest inspirations to go back and give all of my ocs actual stories instead of just designs.

In fact, ever since you mentioned having non-fpk family ocs before, I have been incredibly curious.

Please feed me all of the information like a bird feeding its young, except its letters going into my eyes instead of food going into my mouth

you have no idea how much that warms my heart, i'm really flattered that you see me as an inspiration. it's all i could really ask for

i do have some ocs, yeah. though i will say, the fpk au characters are definitely outliers when it comes to the amount of personality and lore they have. most of my ocs have very basic backstories, and many of them only do because i used to roleplay as them with my friends. a lot of my original designs that i'm attached to don't even have names, let alone personalities

since i'll be posting a lot of pictures, i'll throw this under a read more so it's not too long

i guess i'll start with my oldest oc, a lion king character who used to be my "fursona" (well not exactly, since i've never considered myself a furry. but persona wouldn't fit here) years ago, back in 2012 i believe. she went through a lot of changes over the years, but i've settled on a design that i really like

her name is swahibu (used to be swahili, i wasn't particularly creative, and i changed it recently since it was a bit awkward for her to be named after the entire language hahaha), and she has a little brother named kobe. their lore isn't anything too elaborate, they're essentially scar's grandchildren who used to be outlanders, but after the events of the second movie joined the pridelands. swahibu is bitter and a bit mean, but cares very much about her little brother. she got her scars in a fight with rogue lions which unfortunately ended with their mother's death, so they're now on their own. kobe is a smart cub, and brings a bit of joy and innocence to his big sister's life. as they both resemble their grandfather more than they'd like, they're often the object of nasty comments from those who lived under his tyrannical rule, though they do eventually earn the pridelanders' respect. not much else to say about them, except that i like to hc swahibu as gay. also, they have a very simple family tree that i made to show what their parents looked like, here (might not work if you don't have a deviantart account, but i'm not sure)

--

next up, there's a character i've considered my persona for quite some time, and one i used to put in many funny scenarios with my friends' ocs. he also changed the most out of all of them throughout the years, and recently i gave him a more furry like design as i hate drawing human faces haha

his name is rick, and he's a hybrid of all kinds of different animals. he's very laid back and lazy, though the fact that he's a hybrid gives him some animal-like traits and behaviors. he used to have a backstory but it's kind of stupid so i'm considering changing it, but he was basically created in a lab and then released after it was shut down. now he lives on his own with his cat, jon. he's one of those characters who are very flexible, so if i wanted to, i could modify him to fit into any scenario (for example, he used to have an assassins creed universe version which i used for roleplay years ago hahaha). not much else to say since i'm still in the (slow) process of changing him

--

i also have a lot of dragon characters, most of them were made for the purpose of a larger roleplay story with my friends. in general i take 'dragon' as a very vague term, since to me a dragon can look however you want and all those classification rules are kinda stupid. but you'll still a bit of, idk, i guess a paleoart like direction for their designs, since i like speculative biology and such. also, some of these originated as heavily based on some of my favorite characters at the time, you'll see that with the first one especially

his name is stark and he's probably the dragon that has the most lore behind him. i won't go into too many details regarding the backstory since it's long and very connected to the roleplay (you know, bit of a "you just had to be there" moment haha). but tl;dr he was taken in by a village and raised from hatchling, so he's very docile and a little bit confused. the village was attacked and he was able to survive, but one of his legs was scarred pretty badly, so he noticeably limps while walking. he's a semi-aquatic dragon, so he's an excellent swimmer. funnily enough, he went through a complete "reboot" a few years ago. in the original rp, he was a massive asshole, he'd hurt others for his own amusement and was generally very aggressive and not pleasant to be around. also, he had a prosthetic leg, though i scrapped that as it was far too advanced for the setting i envisioned him in. i much prefer this direction, i love my giant himbo gator-dragon. and i wonder how many of you can guess what character was the inspiration for his appearance (it used to be a lot more obvious in his first design iterations)

(and no, his wing isn't missing. this is just to show his back haha)

these next three don't really have too much backstory to them. well, except for the first one, his name is ithaar, and he was one of my first ocs ever. he went through a massive redesign quite recently, so he has close to nothing in common with his first iterations. the other two characters, eurus and ash, were made for rp purposes quite recently, and so don't have too much lore behind them

ith is a bit of a coward, he struggles with his self-confidence and believes everyone sees him as insignificant due to his small size and inability to fly. he can camouflage, though, so he's a lot cooler than he thinks. also, he moves by hopping around like a little kangaroo. his design is very dromaeosaur-like, with short stubby arms and yi-qi inspired wings

eurus is very pterosaur-like, though much larger than even the largest azhdarchids. he doesn't like the company of others, he's a bit of a loner (with trauma!). he may seem mean on the surface, but his past experiences make him unable to walk past someone who's in need. not quite a gentle giant, though. i think it's easy to see which pterosaurs in particular were the inspiration for his design, though his crests are very dilophosaurus-like

the last one is ash, and she's the newest addition to the roster. her rp session was very short and didn't really add much to her lore, but she's generally a huge jerk who likes annoying others and stealing from them. but of course, it wouldn't be an oc of mine if there wasn't some trauma involved, and she's no exception. she believes she doesn't fit anywhere, she felt rejected by her own kind for her unnatural abilities (she can move things with her mind), and so she copes with it by being a prick. her design was inspired by junker queen from overwatch haha

---

i also have four night fury characters i made during my httyd phase, and i redesigned them about a year ago to be a lot more "natural" in their appearance. they used to be quite a bit more colorful back in the day, and not in the good way haha

their names are vel'ri, sherok, atis and marivo. no real backstory, just vibes. the first one used to be my "main" character during the httyd phase. vel'ri and atis are female, sherok and marivo are male

--

and lastly, some non-dragon characters. these don't really have any backstory that i think is worth sharing, but i still love them very much

this one is named rugat and they're a genderless, shapeshifting magma alien thing. i don't know what they are. i just really like their design. they're aggressive, but they have a soft spot for small, weak creatures. god knows what their reasoning is, but i thought it was a cute personality trait

and these two are named lox and bagel. they're a ragarox, an original species i made years ago when it was cool and hip to have a closed species. they're eyeless cave dwelling lizard things. very chubby. these two guys are not related but they hang out all the time. 🏳️‍🌈 perhaps?

lox, on the left, is the more active and territorial of the two. but he's also super affectionate towards bagel

bagel, on the other hand, is the couch potato. very round and chubby, 10/10

as a fun fact i like to think their long tongues have very distinct smells. lox's smells like lime, while bagel's smells a bit like blueberry

--

and lastly, here are two unnamed characters. i like their designs but i haven't had the chance or inspiration to think of any details about them

the first one is an okapi-like thing. with a kitty face. the second is like a weird mix between a ceratopsid and some kind of mammal

oh and, here's some redesigns of old dragon characters that i forgot to mention earlier. they used to be very different (all but one were inspired by other characters, but you can't see it on their current designs), and i don't have any backstories for them yet. their names are also going to be changed, so consider them nameless for now

(fun fact: the top left one was one of the first iterations of eurus' design, but i decided to turn it into a different character cause i still like it)

#ask stuff #gekko.art #my ocs

[lazlolullaby]

temporal temp work, a Batman Beyond and WFA style fluid comic canon crossover (but mostly Bruce amnesia recovery/character study)

Bruce lost his memory. He has no idea who Batman is, or what he's done for the past 30 years of his life.

Bruce is still a detective, despite the holes in his memory. He keeps noticing little tells, bruises, signs of lying. He knows he did something in his spare time, he's not sure what.

The batfamily decide that if it's not going to come back easily, then they should treat it as a retirement for Batman. They all came to an agreement, that they would be "as civilian as possible" around Bruce as to not put pressure on him to perform as Batman when he's not ready.

Alfred and Dick had gently explained that they won't tell him anything until he comes to a conclusion by himself and tells the family. If he gets it correct, then they can talk about it. If he doesn't, they can't. The Batcave is still open for him to find.

(he's in the world's most elaborate detective game, basically.)

in the meantime, Bruce focuses more on the company, on bonding with his suddenly large brood of kids, and legal methods of fixing Gotham.

Everyone's backstories remain similar to what the press knows. Jason's case is special, as he's dead. So Jason explains that he did survive, he was mad at Bruce for a while, so he got out to get his own place. They are slowly repairing their relationship.

Damian also flat out goes: "Yeah I was grown in a jar for the League of Assassins." and everyone nods and goes along with it. Jason even says he's seen the jar.

He even starts to bond with Tim, Jason, and Duke again over investigating crime. (well. More for the kids to solve it.)

The ones that fight the most for Batman to come back, the ones that make the most progress in getting Bruce to remember are Tim and Terry, since they were the ones that got him out of his funks in canon.

Bruce has nightmares. Despite losing the context of the fears, he still has them, he still can remember some Caped Adventures. He blames that for his nocturnal sleep schedule.

The Justice League dropped by in capes, trying to get him to remember.

Bruce gets totally suspicious that he's funding an entire space station. It takes him a week to crack every. single. founding JL member's ID, and even some sidekicks...Except Batman and his merry brood of birds and bats. (It doesn't help that the Dark Knight has been missing. no new data.)

The Gotham Rogues are starting to get gutsy. The Batfamily is stretched thin. It gets to the point where either scientists or magicians step in and try to "Summon Batman".

This is where Terry comes in. He gets summoned with Ace the Bathound. They survive on the streets of Gotham, then find Nightwing and Red Robin facing off against a Joker that's "pining for his eternal rival"

Tim is barely in danger but Terry's instincts go full throttle and he starts to roast. They see Ace has a harness with a Wayne Security badge and a license that are both dated for decades in the future.

Dick and Tim take Terry home. Say he's a friend in a tight spot, but Bruce sees right through it. Terry is the seventh black haired kid to be sheltered by Bruce and he knows it's a ploy to jog his memory. He's not having it. Terry also isn't interested in playing along with that either, instead loudly acknowledging he's got family already.

Ace gets along well with lots of the Batfamily. Terry makes a comment that he was trained as a PTSD-support dog. He knows how to sit and block people from getting into your space, how to use his weight as a grounding method. Bruce starts researching getting one for the house.

The batfamily train Terry on the streets for a few nights just in case. Nightwing goes back to Bludhaven. Dick does as well, and Bruce figures the connection quickly. The Justice League is seen with a new Batman.

Terry decides to annoy Bruce into becoming Batman again. Being ever so slightly off kilter, but still dedicated to helping. Always saying "If the guy I'm temping for doesn't like it, he can come out and do the job again."

Terry sees Bruce's psych profiles and list of Batman and Batman II suspects and makes a comment. "You writing a murder mystery or something?"

"Or something."

"What's the seventh rule of Knox's 10 commandments of detective fiction?" Terry asks.

"The detective must not commit the crime?"

"Mmm-hmm. Good thing you're not writing."

Bruce is getting tired of not knowing. Not getting better. Terry talks about how he was an assistant to an old man. That he also had trouble with being less active than he used to be.

Batman II shows up to save a hostage Bruce Wayne, and Bruce plays 20 questions. "why are you here in Gotham?"

"someone has to. And I already promised that I would."

"who did you promise? Why does it have to be you?"

"What makes this work is that I chose it. I work so I won't destroy this legacy. Me. My choice."

"You didn't say who you promised."

"The last guy who wore the bat...he got swallowed up by it. Didn't even think of himself as anything but Batman at the end." He shrugged. "Separating yourself from the mask is important. You know about Superman, yeah? He needs that job. He needs his friends and family, if not to feel human, just to be the best he can. Bruce. You have your friends and family. What are you willing to do to protect it?"

idk i can't figure out a suitably appropriate and dramatic emotional situation where Bruce figures it out. But he does.

Bruce gathers all of the family in the Wayne Study for a Classic Detective Reveal. He goes through the Batfamily one by one an unmasks each of them correctly, even confirming the ones who had other identities.

Bruce takes up the Cowl again, this time with a little more restraint and respect to his Bruce Wayne identity.

Terry goes back to Neo Gotham, stronger and happier that he knows the Batfamily.

#batman beyond #Batfamily #bruce wayne #fic ideas #terry mcginnis #ace the bathound #Idk pick out your favorite thing #there's lots of jumping off points and potential fics here #but mostly it's about Terry the kid with no real goals until Batman #see Bruce flounder without a goal until he remembers he was Batman #Bashing my action figures together because emotions are hard #no capes au #But only for Bruce Wayne I guess #also yeah i implied that Old Bruce died and Terry is working through some of that #don't worry about Neo Gotham Max and Matt have got it covered #lazlo's lulls #anyway thank you for reading!