#Oracle Think Tank

[khainovo]

day 3; favorite clan/archetype and day 4; otp

have my phone sketches and doodles silly guys on my phone

[cxlrose]

once ir reached 3am im gna plsay ml

[rosemaryhoney27]

Dont mess with our daughter

Wrath of the Fentons

Jason Todd had seen a lot of weird things in Gotham. Lazarus pits, immortal assassins, fear gas-induced nightmares—hell, he'd been one of the weird things, once upon a time. But watching a bunch of black-market meta traffickers haul a very pissed-off redhead into an unmarked van in broad daylight was quickly climbing the ranks of what the fuck moments.

She wasn't screaming. That was the first sign that something was wrong. Most metas—or normal people—would be terrified. Instead, this girl looked annoyed.

Jason had been tracking this particular ring for weeks. They specialized in kidnapping metas with "unique features"—horns, glowing eyes, animal traits, things that marked them as different. The bastards made a killing selling them off to the highest bidder.

The girl—Jazz, he caught one of the thugs saying—fit their usual type. Her hands, bound behind her, had faint green veins pulsing under her skin, as if something otherworldly coursed through her. Her eyes flickered a ghostly green before settling back into a sharp, human blue.

Jason knew that look. It was the look someone got when they were waiting.

For what? Backup? Did she have a tracker? A hidden weapon?

He was about to interfere when Jazz sighed dramatically and muttered, "You poor, poor idiots."

Jason didn't have time to wonder what she meant before his comms flared to life with a frantic Oracle.

"Red Hood, stand down—I repeat, do not engage—the girl's parents are en route, and—holy shit—these guys have no idea what they just did."

Jason frowned. "Parents? Who—"

And then he saw the tank.

It barreled down the street, mounted with weapons that absolutely should not be street legal, glowing green with ominous energy. The side of the vehicle had a logo painted in jagged white letters:

FENTON WORKS

The doors flew open, and a massive man in an orange jumpsuit leaped out, wielding what could only be described as an anti-aircraft cannon converted into a rifle. His wife followed, a visor covering her eyes, her sleek blue bodysuit glowing with strange symbols.

"JAZZ!" the man bellowed, aiming the cannon at the traffickers as if they were just another ghost to blast into oblivion.

"Hey, Dad!" Jazz called, still completely unbothered as one of the thugs tried to hold a knife to her throat. "You might want to be careful. They think I'm a meta."

"Oh, honey," her mom said, pulling out a gun that looked like it belonged in a sci-fi horror movie. "They won't be thinking anything in a few minutes."

Jason took a slow step back.

He'd seen Bruce handle hostage situations with surgical precision. He'd seen Dick talk down armed criminals with nothing but charm and a smile.

He had never seen two civilians go full scorched earth on a meta trafficking ring without so much as a plan beyond "rescue daughter, destroy everything."

The traffickers barely had time to react before green energy blasts tore through their van, their weapons, and the street around them. The sheer destructive enthusiasm was a sight to behold.

One thug made the mistake of aiming a gun at Maddie Fenton. She shot him with a glowing net that phased through his skin before electrifying him into unconsciousness. Another tried to run—Jack Fenton threw what looked like a modified bear trap, which snapped shut around the guy’s legs and dragged him back, screaming.

Jazz, still tied up, sighed as one guy tried to use her as a human shield. "You do realize that you're standing between me and them, right?"

The thug barely had time to consider his life choices before Maddie calmly shot him in the leg.

Jason, crouched on a nearby rooftop, slowly exhaled.

Well. The ring was definitely out of commission.

As the Fentons loaded the unconscious criminals into their highly illegal ghost-proof containment units, Jazz finally noticed Jason watching. She arched a brow.

"Hey, Red Hood, right?"

Jason, still processing, just nodded.

Jazz smirked. "You look like you're having a what the fuck moment."

Jason stared at the still-smoking wreckage of what used to be a human trafficking operation and then at the grinning, trigger-happy Fenton parents.

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, that about sums it up."

[jaiwritez]

Phantom Pickpocket Part 2

You would think with all the cameras around that it would be easier for him to find ‘Bat Bait’ or BB as him and his eldest siblings have been calling him. After the kid turned invisible and ran off with the tires. He thought he was going to be able to be just track down the tires back to the kid’s little hideout but it seems the little ankle biter had critical thinking skills.

He tracked down the tires only for them to be on the roof top of an abandoned building. He checked the building from basement to attic for any signs of a kid or kids staying there. There was no signs of life. Its like the kid vanished without a trace……literally and figuratively.

Jason sighed as he kept checking his phone for oracle updates. He was sitting in a local coffee shop. Owned by an old Italian lesbian couple. They always made the best iced coffee after all nighters. Always throwing him and the local kids cookies on the house. Plus he always felt calmer in here.

There weren’t many people here today as it was raining outside. However that was fine by him as he was currently trying to unwind with a new book to get his mind and the pit off the kid. However given he’s been sitting there for 30 mins and hasn’t gotten past the second page, it wasn’t working. The pit was telling him something but he couldn’t decipher.

“Hun what’s wrong? I left yah a coffee cake on the table and you haven’t even noticed it.” Elena said walking over, throwing her towel over her shoulder. She was wearing a lightly opened white button up tucked into blue jeans. Her black curly hair was held up in her red bandana that matched her lipstick.

“Im telling yah. It’s that red head boy. If he dumped yah. I know a guy. We can have him sleepin in tha hahbar by mornin.” Her wife Cecilia called from the kitchen before coming out. She had her long brown hair tyed in a messy bun, wearing jeans, a black tank top and a white apron. Her hands and wrist were covered in flour.

He laughed at that. He was surprised that they even remembered Roy. He had only brought him by once. “No, it’s not about Roy. Who even said me and Roy were dating?” He said raising an eyebrow at the two women, who looked at each other then looked back to him.

“Honey you barely took your eyes off him.” Elena said sweetly.

“You were staring at his ass when he went to the bathroom.” Cecilia said bluntly causing her wife to laugh. “Listen kid I get it, he’s built well but let’s not lie.”

He could barely contain his blush at being caught out like that but smiled and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Me and Roy aren’t dating…. YET, but, I’m working on it.” He replied.

“I’m sure yah are. So if it’s not him. What’s eating yah.” Cecilia said walking over and bumping her wife in the rib at her joke. Elena smiled and rolled her eyes but looked back to him with the same questioning look. He felt the feeling of the pit pulling at him again. He sighed.

“Honestly. I’m worried about this kid. He stole the wheels off my bike and ran off. I’m just worried about him getting caught up in the wrong crowd. It also brought up old memories.” He replied.

“Ah. A fellow thief. Serves you right. I remember when you used to steal our metal spoons.” Elena said with no real bite. She looked up as if she was remembering the day with a smile.

“That was only one time.” He tried to defend himself.

“Three times and the last time you took fork. However I do remember you sneaking in and leaving a large wad of cash. After you got adopted.” Cecilia said crossing her arms and leaning on the counter. All he could do is chuckle.

“What does the kid look like? Maybe we can give you a clue or keep an eye out for him.” Elena said taking out a notepad from her pocket.

“Well. He’s not too tall. Very skinny for his age by the looks of it. He has jet black hair and almost unnatural icey shade of blue eyes. He was wearing a black hoodie but it looked like he had a scar on-“

“Hey I finished washing the dishes. Do you have anything else for me to do?”

THE KID?!!?

Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3 (pending)

[friskalicousbiscuits]

Neglected The Mask!reader x platonic Yan!Batfam

Ch.1 Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8 Ch.9 Epi

I’d also like to say this Reader is Gender Neutral or at least you can pick your gender. Most of the pronouns are “you” and when they are referred to by other people, it’s “they” so… Yeah! Have fun reading and tell me if there are any spelling mistakes or things that don’t make sense.

Chapter Six

Bruce Wayne - Batman POV

10:12pm - Thursday

It was that time again. Review time before the family goes on patrol. Oh and Constantine’s here too.

As per usual, they decided to go over the previous patrol. Specifically the fight between the shadow thief, the mask, and his family. Like the fight between him, Robin and the mask, it’s safe to say this one was embarrassing as well. Everyone either sat or leant on something while they watched the Batcomputer.

The footage start off relatively normal with Bruce running atop of rooftop. Then in the distance, both the mask, and the shadow thief could be heard jeering and laughing like a couple of children on another rooftop. The mask was wearing a green suit, similar to its face in color, with a bunch of orange swirls on it. No hat this time.

Bruce rushed over while telling Oracle over the comms to call for back up. Bruce had decided to tackle the shadow thief first. It didn’t have the same powers as the mask, it’d be easier to handle as long as Bruce didn’t lose his shadow.

Bruce tackled the little kid over the edge of the roof, catching both of them by surprise. “Skillit!” The mask could be heard calling after the thief. Another video popped up on the Batcomputer, now side-by-side with Bruce’s. It was from Red Robin’s point of view. Tim, Stephanie and Cassandra went after the mask, if only to distract them while Bruce took care of the thief. Robin would’ve been there, but he was still out of commission due to the fact he was an old man.

In Bruce’s video point of view, the shadow thief batted him around. Literally. He threw several batterings at it, which it dodged. Bruce was then kicked in the back by its shadow…

…right as the thief wound its comically large bag, perhaps also full of shadows, back and hit him like it was holding a baseball bat. Bruce slammed into a dumpster, took about .5 seconds to recuperate and then dodged out of the way as the thief tried to hit him again with its gigantic bag. In the corner of the footage, they all watched its shadow melt into the shadows of the alleyway.

Footage-Bruce leapt out of the way of more swipes from the thief, still trying to whack him with the bag. During this, the thief, shadow would pop out and try to land a hit on him.

Bruce remembered it being annoying.

Meanwhile, in Tim’s footage, it showed the mask getting ganged up on by the three. It seemed to be going well too for the trio too, though looking at the video now it was pretty obvious the mask was playing with them. When it seemed to have enough playing, it dodged a kick from Stephanie, pulled an entire cannon out its pocket, seemingly complete already with its fuse, cannonball, and gunpowder, put on a helmet, and shot her off the roof.

Tim went after her, leaving the monitor to switch to Cassandra’s point of view now. She punched and kicked at them. The mask either jumped out of the way or tanked the hit all with that damning grin of its. It then suddenly kicked her way and pulled a can of spinach out of his pocket. It pulled a Popeye, ate it, and then inflated cartoonishly, putting its hands up.

“Come on at me, chum!” They said as they waited for her to throw a punch. Cass instead threw a battering at them, which hit them in one of their inflated biceps.

Now, one might be thinking that the green-faced rogue might finally start to bleed, but no. Instead, the batarang popped out, and air started gushing from their wound and they flew away like a balloon after having its bottom untied.

Cass’ point of view ended after that and Bruce’s instead became the main focus again. He was still fighting the thief, but suddenly… oh suddenly. Suddenly, a body flew out of nowhere and slammed him from behind. Bruce remembers the air, leaving his lungs.

Bruce remembered blacking out for a small moment after that, but thankfully the footage from his cowl kept rolling. The person who slammed into him got up, skin hanging off them like their skeleton had suddenly shrunk. The person’s clothes told him everything he needed to know though.

That damn green and orange suit.

The mask spun like a damn Tasmanian Devil until the skin magically shrunk back and they looked normal.

The Bruce from the footage suddenly grunted. He must’ve woke up again. This was confirmed when Bruce suddenly spoke, interrupting the conversation between the mask and the shadow thief.

“Hand over the shadows. Those are innocent people suffering for your greed.” Bruce gritted out as he pushed himself up. Just as he said that several of his children jumped down from above so they could join in the fight.

Bruce likes to think they would’ve struck true if allowed, but the mask literally called timeout and they were all stuck suspended in the air. Everyone both in the video and in the Batcave got a front row seat to the mask scolding the thief like they were a little kid. Which, yes, the thief did look like a little kid, but to think that they actually got it to let all the shadows go.

The talk between the two confirmed a couple things. The mask’s user had morals, though clearly not strong enough ones. Constantine was right about the user affecting the mask’s personality. They were going to steal more shadows more different people. If the moral thing was correct, Bruce would have to look in places where scum resided. Gotham Jail, some of the patients in Arkham Asylum, ectera.

This was going to be an extremely long night.

Though, at least now, they might have a solution to dealing with the mask.

Bruce’s eyes slid over to his newest gadget on one of the Batcave’s work tables.

Hopefully it would work.

11:52pm - Thursday

Bruce and the family were once more fighting the pair of rogues again. It had actually taken a while to track the two down as they were in a park eating ice cream together instead of stealing shadows and causing mischief.

The shadow had an ice cream too.

The pair were promptly jumped as they were the previous night. Though this time, with Bruce’s gadget.

The Bat-Vacuum!

It was going to suck the mask right off that little green weirdo.

While both the mask and the shadow thief were literally playing ping pong with his kids as the balls, Bruce whipped it out and turned it on. That made all of the Mask’s nonsense cease as its hands went to its face, so it wouldn’t be pulled off. The shadow thief also stopped whatever it was doing. Why, you may ask? Well, its shadow got sucked into the vacuum.

“No!” The thief which was now regaining color. Hair turning black and skin turning beige as it held onto the bench so it also wouldn’t get vacuumed up. “No! No! No!” It yelled. “Masky! It stole my shadow!”

“I— know, bud!” The masked rogue yelled back still trying to keep it mask from being vacuumed off. It suddenly reached into its pocket and pulled out a goddamn piano. It threw it at Bruce and it clogged the Bat-vacuum, nearly demolishing both it and Bruce.

Finally. Finally the green-face rogue looked frazzled. Its grin was gone and the distinct sound of something suctioning could be heard, likely the mask sticking itself back to its head. Its suit’s heart-patterned suit was disheveled, and it had a mad look in its eye.

It was angry.

“You little fucking man-mal!” The masked hollered, winding its fist back. It inflated comically and when Bruce dodged out of the way a crater was left from where it collided with the ground. It looked to the shadow thief who was hidden under a bench. It spun over to it, picked them up, grabbed its sack of shadows and spun off. Not before spinning over the bat-vacuum and breaking the thing in half.

Surprisingly, its shadow didn’t follow them. Instead, it flew off to somewhere else in Gotham.

Bruce supposed he’d have to take care of that later. For now though…

He tapped one of the buttons on his glove. The Batmobile came rolling in and he hopped in and sped after them.

For now, it was time to catch a thief.

Bruce unfortunately did not catch the thief.

[Name] Wayne - Unpossessed POV

3:34am - Friday

[Name] was having a nice dream. You were a bunny, nibbling on carrots while the sun shined in your grassy little field. Then, in your dream, a blue bunny came up to you. It was saying something, but all you could hear was squeaks. That was, until you finally heard an intelligible word. Or at least the tail end of one.

“…asky…”

What?

“…Masky…”

Masky? What Masky? You were just a humble rab—

“Masky, get up!” A sharp smack snapped against your cheek

“I’m up! I’m up!” You sat up, rubbing your eyes. Who the heck just smacked you? Your eyes suddenly landed on the little kid who was sitting on your bed. Black hair, olive skin. Looked a little Asian.

…?

“Who’re you?!” You exclaimed, pulling your covers up higher as if the shield yourself from the little kid.

“It’s me! Skillit!” The kid reached out and pulled the cover away from you with a frustrated expression.

You stared incredulously, repeatedly looking him up and down. “You don’t look like Skillit?”

He smacked you again.

“Ow!”

“Obviously! I lost my shadow!” He grumbled that last part as he turned away to grumble some more. “When I catch that stupid bat, I swear.”

You watched him grumble a little more before you finally spoke up again. “…I sort of remember last night.” You mumbled, rubbing your head. “Why didn’t your shadow return to you when I ran the vacuum thing over?”

“Whenever me and Shai get separated, he looks to go off and do a bunch of stupid stuff. Then, I have to run around and go catch him. The bastard enjoys the chase.” He huffed, crossing his arms.

Wow. Skillit even looked 12 as a normal human.

Was he even human?

Skillit suddenly paused his pouting. He whipped around a look at you. “Wait, did you just say you remembered that stuff?”

You warily nodded. “…yes?”

Skillit blinked at you. “Huh.”

“Huh what?”

“Well, it’s just, no one remembers…” The kid looked at the mask lying on your nightstand. “…unless you’re that synergized with it. Geez, the last person who could remember anything as the mask was Nero.”

“Nero…?”

“He was a Roman emperor from a long time ago. You might know him.” Skillit waved his hand dismissively. “But enough about that. Put some shoes on. We’re going shadow hunting. You can’t be Masky right now, but you can still help!” He dragged you to the door.

“Wait! Skillit, today’s Friday! A school day!” You barely got some sandals on as he slammed it open…

“So what? School Schmool.”

…and walked right into your little brother, Damian, whose hand was frozen in the air as if he was about to knock.

All three of you stood in silence for about a minute. Damian suddenly turned to you. “Wayne, who is this?”

“This is uh…” Both you and Skillit looked to each other before looking back to Damian. “My friend’s kid brother…?” It sounded more like a question leaving your lips.

“Yeah. Mary’s.” Skillit said dryly.

“He means Maria.”

“Is Maria not a Spanish name?” Damian asked as he looked Skillit over.

“It’s also Filipino!” You forced the best fake smile you could and placed your hands on Skillit’s shoulders. “…Which is what he is.”

(Damian felt a spike of jealously at the closeness you displayed with the other boy.)

Another silence popped up. You coughed and started to steer Skillit away and down the hall. “Now, uh… Damian, if you’ll excuse us.”

Damian watched you go for a moment before speaking like a darn medival knight. “Halt.”

And for some reason, you actually halted?

“Why is this boy here?” Your younger brother asked.

“…Sleep over?” You offered weakly.

“Hm.”

That sounded extremely judgmental, but you decided to keep pushing forward, looking forward.

Just keep looking forward.

“Masky?” Skillit piped up after awhile.

“What?” You responded.

“The baby is following us.”

That made you pause your steps. “Baby…? What bab— oh, you mean Damian.”

The boy glared at the both of you. “I am not a baby.”

“Oh, I know that, bud.” You tried to assure him, momentarily letting go Skillit’s shoulders. Your brother just crossed his arms and rose a brow at you. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Skillit wrinkle his nose at that. The thief grabbed your arm and started pulling you again. Damian, left stunned for a moment stomped after you both.

He grabbed your other arm. “Sibling, I wish to do a puzzle with you.” Damian pulled you in the opposite direction with his usual stoicism. The tug caused both you and Skillit to stop.

“What? At three in the morning? Maybe another time, Damian.” You said exasperatedly.

Skillit tugged you back. “Yeah, kid. Maybe another time.” He mocked, sticking his tongue out at your little brother.

“We’re probably the same age!” Damian was sounding like he was starting to get annoyed.

You just muttered to yourself. “Oh, I doubt it.”

Thus started the tug of war with you as the rope. This lasted for about five minutes with both kids yelling at each other until you finally gave up being the rope and forced a compromise.

“Okay, Damian, we’ll do a puzzle. A quick one. Preferably a 64 piece, strawberry shortcake, meant for six-year-olds one. Okay!? And as for you—” You turned to Skillit. “We’ll go search for that thing after the puzzle and some breakfast, alright?!”

Both kids grumbled their respective “okays” and “alrights”. And that’s how 15 minutes later, you were in the kitchen doing some puzzle of a cat with your brother. 128 pieces instead of the 64, but it’ll do. Meanwhile, Skillit was eating some pancakes, glaring a hole into the side of your head.

Duke Thomas - The Signal POV

5:53am - Friday

Duke was walking to the kitchen for some morning grub when he came across Stephanie peering around a wall rather… suspiciously to say the least.

“Steph?”

The girl jumped and whipped around before sighing and relief that it was just Duke. He wondered why. He also peered around the wall and glanced to the kitchen.

Huh. Would you look at that?

[Name] was here. Man, he doesn’t ever think he’d seen you here past 5. (Even though school starts at 7:45. You leave around 4:30 and then that long walk and two buses normally ends with you there at around 6:10. You’ve said this before, but you really really don’t like being in that house.) According to Damian, you’re normally gone before it.

Steph was sort of vibrating in place beside him. His gaze slowly slid over to her. “…Ste—”

“Gah! I wanna join them!” She moaned dramatically.

“What?” Duke looked back into the kitchen. None of the people there seemed to be doing anything interesting. [Name] and Damian were doing some puzzle and some kid, Damian’s friend maybe, was eating pancakes while watching. “What do you mean?”

“I mean I wanna join them!”

Duke looked back at the kitchen again. Now he was just extremely confused. “If I ask why, is it gonna be a really weird reason?”

“No! It’s just… [Name]!”

“…[Name]?”

Where was this going?

“They’re so— so cool! But standoffish. They kinda remind me of Bruce before I knew he was Batman, but in a good way. Like a cool older sibling kinda way!”

“…uh huh.”

“And when I first came to the family, they would help me with homework, and listen to me rant, and y’know?”

Duke did in fact, not know. He’s had maybe three conversations with you. “…sure.”

“But then out of nowhere, they started pulling away and stuff. Like, they’d talk to me less and whenever I went looking for them in their room, they wouldn’t be there.” She sounded upset now. (You talking to her less was a result of witnessing how she was welcomed into the family rather warmly. You didn’t want your envy to shine through in your interactions with her. As for not being in your room, nine times out of ten, you come home from school around 5:30-6:30, because you want less family time, even though it gets out at three. She would normally come to your room right after school.) “I don’t know if I did something wrong or…” She went back to peering around the edge.

Duke also peered around the edge. You were looking for the final piece of the puzzle supposedly. That is, until the kid who might’ve been Damian’s friend said that Dami swiped it and was purposely hiding it. From there, a fight broke out between the kid and Damian.

Yeah, definitely not his friend.

Duke then looked to Steph.

Would it be wrong to say she looked jealous of Damian?

Like, unhealthily jealous?

Extra Info:

1.) I don’t know if I have to clarify this, but the “man-mal” comment was a play on the word mammal. Bats are mammals and so by calling Bruce man-mal…? You guys get what I mean, right? 2.) Steph’s been a yandere for you.

Taglist: @yourtypicalhuman09 @cupid73 @yhin-gg @galaxypurplerose @xxgrimripp3rxx @hai-there-how-are-you @suckmyballzfr @yarn-mony @patatasolitaria @deathbynarcisstick @depressed--therapist @eyeless-kun @mary-jinx @natllo @d4rkf10w3er @mintynilla @whognuthis @bat1212 @blapbloep @vanessa-boo @randomlyappearingartist @otakusimp1 @iansimpsforeveryone @like-thechocolate @cruzerforce4256 @sirenetheblogger @mrmacwaffles @p1nkh3artz @23xfgg @venomsvi @ceramic-raven @conqcakes @flightless-magpie @numbu5 @moon0goddess

[mambodork]

Hi!!! So sorry to bother but I miss the isekai au and made some doodles for it! Is there possibly any more crumbs?

Either ways I love your aus!! Hope your day goes well!!

AHHH HAZEL OMGG THANK YOU SO MUCH <33 THESE ARE SO CUTEE 😭😭

Grian just looking longingly at his Scar design. Oh my god this guy is such a cringefail loser. How is he supposed to save the world... we are so doomed 💀

I LOVE HOW YOU DRAW SCAR SO MUCH, what a handsome fellar (^.^) and the big jellie is so cute WAUGHHH i love this smn Hazel you dont understand...

Anyways, some crumbs:

Boatem crew is like an RPG team in here... Mumbo is support, Scar is mage/sub DPS/AoE, Pearl is main DPS/fighter, Impy is tank/fighter/defense.

Rn Grian is completely useless, man cannot fight at all and can only help them by giving them hints via his "intuition" (nobody believes him when he says that all his life saving decisions to just be "intuition" they think that he's an oracle or something. There are many running theories).

[justreadalot]

Through Your Eyes Part 7

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Sam stared at the empty hole where the Fenton’s house used to be.

A minute ago, there had been a loud noise, then a bright green light and then the Fenton’s house and land vanished, and everything was silent. 

She couldn't breathe or think.

“That wasn’t an explosion, it was an implosion.” Dick said beside her. “They have gone somewhere.”

He looked at Duke, “see if you can see anything unusual in the area. I'll ring and see who answers.” He got out his phone and started dialing. 

Sam got her phone out and rang Jazz. 

“Hello Sam.” Jazz answered her.

“Jazz, get back here! Get your parents back here! Jazz, the Fenton house is GONE! Danny and Damian are gone!”

She listened to Jazz scream “What! How?”

“Just get back here,” she interrupted, “I've got to ring Tucker.”

As Sam rang off, she heard Jazz calling out to her parents “Dad! Turn the car around! The house is gone! Mum! Dad! Danny was in our house!-”

Sam pressed a couple of buttons on her phone, shaking badly. 

“Tucker, Tucker.” her voice cracked. 

“Sam, what is it? What's wrong?” Tucker's voice came out.

“Wait a moment Tucker.” called out Duke from behind her. He pushed her to the gutter on the side of the sidewalk. “Sit down Sam, take a breath, a deep breath, wait a moment before doing anything else.”

Sam sat down, started breathing, staring at the ground. 

Duke knelt beside her. “I know the lack of knowledge is scary but I promise we will find out what is happening.” He said quietly, 

“I know you kids have been through a lot of fighting, with just Fenton equipment and online info. Bruce Wayne can call on a lot more resources and I suspect we can access a lot more info. But you and Tucker are unique witnesses on what has been happening. So we will need your help, and we are going to help Danny and Damian. Don’t lose hope.”

Sam found her mind clearing and her body relaxing. She picked her phone back up. “Tucker,” she said into the phone. “The Fenton’s house has vanished, Danny and Damian also. There is an empty hole there. I have informed Jazz, she will bring her parents back.”

Silence came from her phone. 

“I don’t know what happened, but I think we need to see if this has happened anywhere else, like in the last hour.” She added.

“Also, any missing people,” commented Dick coming over. “Damian's phone isn't answering, neither is Danny’s. Also Damian’s bodyguard Red Hood's phone is also off line. He must have also been in the house.”

“I can do that.” Tucker said

“Get Tim to help, he can call in a favour with Oracle also.”

“Really?” Tucker voice faded as he turned away from his phone “Tim? You know Oracle?-” the phone went dead.

Tim pulled Duke a little away.

“Have you seen anything unusual?”

“The only thing is the lack of ghosts' energy,” admitted Duke, “normally there is always something around. The Fentons property had a very strong amount, like a pool, same as the Batcave. It's all gone, like it's been sucked out, gone somewhere.”

“Gone home?” 

“Maybe, the question is how do we get the boys back?”

Duke and Tim looked at each other, as the Fenton’s tank slid to a stop in front of them.

“I'll contact Bruce,” said Tim, “You see if you can calm the Fentons down and see if they have any useful information.”

“Hmmm, Bruce or Fentons? I think neither are going to be easy to deal with.” said Duke heading towards the Fentons. 

[gothamite-rambler]

Batman: Oh God, I fell into a septic tank!

Oracle tossed her pen behind her back, grabbed her coffee and calmly pressed the comms button to learn more.

Oracle (serious tone): My word... A septic tank? Like a filled one?

Batman (stressed): Yes, I'm going to be sick. Don't record this!

Oracle (already recording it, delighted tone): Don't worry buddy I wouldn't do such a thing. I'll relay this and someone who can really hold their breath will come to your aid. I'm gonna put you on hold.

Batman (hearing the hold music): Just realized it was a massive mistake to add a hold function. Yeah they're definitely mocking me. Alfred is going to freaking kill me.

Meanwhile Oracle had told everyone who was on patrol about what happened and the reactions were what she wanted.

Nightwing (trying not laugh): Oracle... hold on.

Nightwing and Red Hood laughed loudly for a minute as Red Robin chimed in.

Red Robin: I'm not dead inside enough to go near someone covered in shit.

Spoiler was with him and sat down while chuckling then she questioned one important part.

Spoiler: You think it was liquidity or caked on?

Nightwing and Red Hood could be heard laughing harder in the comms as Orphan and Robin did rock, paper, scissors for which one would go first.

Orphan lost. Robin walked off happily as Orphan had to go meet her father.

Orphan: This is not how I wanted my night to go.

[ultimate-marysue]

My personal body headcanons for the Batfam

Bruce: He is a tank made of pure muscle. Like many other users have put forward (recommend especially @frownyalfred posts on the matter), that's not an easy feat to pull off. It is a testament to Bruce's willpower and dedication to Batman that he's even able to maintain it. Also, I think he took really good care of his scars in the beginning so they would be as inconspicuous as possible when sleeping around as Brucie. Once he gets older and leans more into the father persona he stops caring as much for anything that's going to be covered by his suits and shirts.

Barbara: I hated the fact that her disability got completely erased, so that's the first difference. If you want to have her be Batgirl again, you should do what Gotham Knights did and make it so there are lasting effects and limitations. I'm sorry, but it feels so cheap to me that they just erased disability rep cause they didn't know how to write a strong disabled woman. Skill issue. Also Barbara is built like a brick in my heart of hearts, she's a rectangle with the density of a neutron star. I also think she has one of the healthiest and normal diets of the Bats, mainly cause the physical requirements of Oracle aren't nearly as demanding.

Dick Grayson: I'm not going to reinvent the wheel here by saying Dick Grayson has the perfect acrobat's body. My headcanon is that he gets it naturally. Not that he can just do whatever you want, sadly with their line of work you need to meet a series of requirements. I mean it in the sense of 1) proportions 2) really high metabolism from constant exercise since he was a child, probably the fastest tied with Cass 3) he doesn't need to work out as much outside patrol as the rest to keep his body mass. Every single robin after him low-key hates him for creating a fighting style that only he can do effortlessly.

Cassandra Cain: like mother like daughter, my girl is thick. None of that waifish, delicate ballerina shit. She's short and she has muscles most humans haven't heard of. Average goon tries to knock this 5 feet nothing girl only to be met by an unmovable object. Also, probably contender for top most scarred bat of all. She just looks like she could fuck your shit up without breaking a sweat and that's probably because she could. Also I think she has short legs, giving her an even lower center of gravity. She's just a brick wall.

Jason Todd: my man is one of the few bitches in this family with a normal, healthy, percentage of body fat. He's built like a strong man instead of a body builder, and the fact that he can be sneaky with all that mass is terrifying. I think for a minute there he wondered what he was doing wrong and why he didn't look as lean as Bruce. Then he figured what Bruce had to do to keep Batman's body in line and Jason said "fuck that, I'm not doing all that". In his villain self destructive era that waist was snatched, but the second he started taking actual care of his body it did what body's do. Considering how he mixes so many fighting techniques I can see him building his fighting style around his needs instead of the other way around.

Steph: she's the curviest of the Batgirls, which is why she favors so much the "indistinct blob" silhouette. As any woman with a boobs size above an B cup will tell you: people get disgusting really quick. I think part of her struggles with Robin was trying to wrangle her developing body into a fighting style designed for a very naturally lean boy. Balancing is harder when you have a large set of bazonkers, they don't tell you this in the comics but it is the truth. She also lacks the super fast metabolism other Bats have, and I can see her trying really hard to fit in the mold only to realize as she grows older that she can do her own thing.

Tim: I think Tim, growing up as society kid and then forcing himself into the Robin role, never learned what eating healthy is. I headcanon him having some sort of ED (I think he would evolve through a few of them as he grew up), not because I like throwing angst at characters (though I do) but because it makes sense to me giving his background and personality. EDs are not only about "looking thin", but also about feeling in control. Also, Tim hanging onto the Robin title reminds me of child actors trying to force their developing body's to stop at a kid size so they can keep playing their character. I could write a whole post about it, but for what's relevant, the ED headcanon doesn't mean Tim is just super thin. I think his body is fluctuates the most out of any of the Bats, depending on where he's at mentally and age wise.

Duke Thomas: my boy is built for parkour. He's got the longest limbs in the family, he's got the reach. He keeps waiting for puberty to hit him like a train and give him Jason/Bruce levels of muscle mass, but he's just too tall. Like, yes, he can bench press Jason, but proportionally he's so much taller than all of them by then he just looks noodly. When he puts on the body armor though he makes Batman look like a Barbie doll. Anytime he's looming about, Jason accuses him of overcompensating. Duke just pretends to not be able to hear him from up above. Also pls DC give him long hair that floats around him in the same way Batman's cape does?? Pls, just give him magic girl hair that defies gravity.

Damian: I've said this before but this poor child grew up being told he'd one day be as huge as his dad but grows up to be Talia 2.0. I think he does inherit Bruce's height, but is distraught to never be hulking mountain of muscle like OG Batman. Little does he know Bruce isn't naturally that big either, and it's only through frankly unhealthy means he maintained that body. Everyone else agrees to never tell Damian about it so he won't even think to try it, and instead focus on reassuring him he's more than strong enough to inherit the title if that's what's bothering him. It ends up playing in his favor, Cass is proof that you don't need to be huge to instill the fear of God into people. And the way he moves, like a panther stalking his prey, is more than enough to make the rogues quake.

[radioactive-earthshine]

greetings comic oracle im curious: is kon el actually punk in any way or does he just have a leather jacket on? i cant help but notice none of the posts about him being punk mention. anything else.

He really isn't that much of a punk.

Metaphorically he is punk by rebelling against what Cadmus intended him to be initially, and he BROKE out of his tank (with help) and ran towards life, but he only stopped being "Superman" because Clark came back to life... and he was still sort of Cadmus's agent and special interest until Cadmus went deep underground towards the end of his solo series.

He is a punk because he is a lippy yappy and impulsive teen.

He is a punk because multiple people tried to tell him who he needed to be, who he was, and he rebelled against them to find himself.

But really, he just has a leather jacket, and that didn't even stay forever and was something just given to him (it was stolen) by a child. His personal wardrobe that we see when he's NOT in his hero suit is pretty basic and plain unless he's wearing what is clearly his own merch.

The earring itself is pretty punk for the time and may have been scandalous in some circles, there were some letters to the editor about people commenting about the earring and either hating it or loving it.

But when you think of what a punk is, what punk rock is, what a punk stands for there really isn't much that pinpoints he is part of the punk scene. In spirit, maybe. Fashion, extremely loosely.

His Rebirth design in Young Justice (2019) is MUCH more visually clearly punk with the addition of spikes and patches, Lois even referred to him as "punky" but we really don't see him being a punk, getting involved in social issues, getting people pissed about the injustices of the world etc. Visually, yes he is punk in 2019 but socially? Hmm...

So sorry to say, DC didn't really commit to him being a punk as we understand punks except for in the most broadest sweeping definitions.

Additionally, it is very hard to reconcile him being a punk when for a good chunk of his solo series he was very much a tool for capitalism, took up residency in Hawai'i and embraced himself as its hero. Kesel very briefly tried to address this deeply problematic theme with characters like Silver Sword who told Kon he had no business being Hawai'i's hero, but it really didn't go anywhere meaningful.

So sadly at this moment in time Kon being a an outright punk is very much inflated in fandom. I do strongly believe however that there existed space for him to be a punk and fandom is right on this interpretation.

TLDR: He is only punk in the most broad of definitions.

He's also no longer wearing the punk outfit in the comics and got a new suit. So...

[adequate-alliteration-axolotl]

What Animals Percy Jackson Characters Would Be (Part 2)

In the last post I made about this, I didn't add a couple of characters because I didn't have any ideas. Now, I do have those ideas, so here we go.

Clarisse La Rue - Chianina cattle

My first instinct was to go for the boar for Clarisse, but that just didn't feel right to me. In the least insulting way possible, a cow felt way more accurate; a tank that will absolutely fight you for its herd. The Chianina is one of the largest breeds and the mothers are often quite aggressive about their calves. Look, Clarisse can be a jerk, but she protects her herd. except for that one time, but those were extenuating circumstances

Tyson - English mastiff

English mastiffs are 1) built like a tank 2) incredibly gentle and sweet 3) very social and 4) have bad separation anxiety. Just like Tyson! And look at that face. Absolutely adorable.

Bianca di Angelo - Tuxedo cat (Layla)

So, the di Angelos are obviously all cats. I already covered that last post. Bianca, I think, is a tuxedo cat mostly because of Christian Digilio's cat, Layla, that reminded me of her. You know, the upside down cat.

Zoe Nightshade - Atlas deer

So, she's obviously a deer because Artemis. The atlas deer, not only lives roughly where the garden of the Hesperides used to be, but it was also hunted almost to extinction in some countries. Zoe's dead, so that seems fitting. Also, the atlas thing.

Connor Stoll - Chinese crested dog

Trials of Apollo book one: The Hidden Oracle, chapter 13, pages 126-127

Travis Stoll - Corsac fox

I had to do a fox for the Hermes kid because sly and mischievous. The corsac fox lives in many parts of Asia, including China. It is also a similar enough size to the Chinese crested dog, just a bit bigger. I guess that fits because Travis is a bit taller than Connor.

Calypso - Inaccessible Island rail

So, I originally planned to do a colorful tropical bird for her, but then I found out about this island and this bird. So, Inaccessible Island is an island in the Tristan da Cunha archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean. Its called inaccessible because the archipelago itself is only accessible via a days long sea voyage, there's only a few days out of the year where the harbor on Inaccessible Island is open, and you have to get government permission to go to the island. So, pretty inaccessible, like Ogygia. The rail itself is one of the smallest flightless birds. All the other flightless rail species have gone extinct because they just can't survive anywhere but this island. So, basically this bird is stuck on this island, like Calypso. As a bonus, this species was formally described by this physician named Percy Lowe.

Ethan Nakamura - Canadian goose

The Canadian goose almost went extinct, we saved them, and now we have to deal with the consequences. The Canadian goose is divine retribution for our hubris--playing god with animals--like the Africanized honeybee. That feels very Nemesis kid-esque.

Silena Beauregard - Swan

Swans are very pretty and have romantic connotations and behavior and stuff, like Silena. The thing is that swans are actually pretty dangerous. DO NOT approach a swan. You won't end up with a broken limb or anything, but it'll hurt. A lot. Its way stronger than you think. So, Silena really messed up and got a lot of people hurt, so I think it fits.

Charles Beckendorf - Malaysian exploding ant

Listen, he exploded to protect his friend and these ants explode as an act of defense for their hive. It fits, unfortunately. Also, Beckendorf kind of got captured by those giant ants (the myrmekes) in the Bronze Dragon, so I think its funny.

Alabaster Torrington - Rook

Alabaster already has the general vibes of a corvid, but I chose the rook for an actual reason. So, Henry VIII did that whole Vermin Act in 1532 and people went around slaughtering rooks because they ate crops and stuff. The gods kind of mascaraed the Hecate children after the war and Alabaster was the only one remaining, so it feels about right.

Howard Claymore - Cuban crocodile

Crocodiles are very intelligent and clever, often seen as pretty cold, and impressively powerful. Seems a lot like Dr. Claymore, no? Also, frequently in The Son of Magic, various characters mention that Claymore is a very unique human. The Cuban crocodile is "considered to be the most morphologically and behaviorally distinct of any of the Crocodylus species" (according to the Cuban crocodile Wikipedia page), so its pretty special. Also, the Cuban crocodile is critically endangered and Claymore is technically dead so yeah. Also, this is my new favorite reptile.

Paolo Montes - Axolotl

Bro keeps getting his limbs cut off. Now, he doesn't regrow them--Will reattaches them, somehow--but that feels in the same spirit as the axolotl being able to regrow its limbs. Also, I just really like axolotls (could you tell?)

[ava-starrs-girlfriend]

Calm Before the Storm

Werewolf!Bob/Reader

Summary: After a second Ava-sourced revelation, almost two weeks pass and the days are full of learning, training, and bonding. After some one-on-one time with Bucky, Lena, and Bob, you decide what's next.

Word Count: 7k

Warnings: mentions of alcohol, Reader has a few sips. Brief descriptions of childhood abuse (vague but implied physical and mental/emotional).

A/N: I didn't even get to everything I wanted to in this chapter and I STILL wrote 7k words. Cheers for me!!! I also went back and re-read chapters 1-3 and made a couple grammar, wording, or spelling updates. Finally, you can now find these fics and my first one, Corner Store Sock Aisle Angel, linked in my pinned! Ok, now for the chapter :)

Previous part

Next part

~~*~~

Since you didn't know Ava well, you didnt think anyone could blame you for starting to believe she had awful timing or no delicate sense of putting things.

You had an idea, too, of what your magic might be related to. Now that it was a less mystifying concept to you that something was different about you, it became easier to put things together.

But what it *meant*? What did *that* mean?

You set the plate down on top of the others. And you asked her.

"What do you mean, what it means?"

With that, she grabbed your arm and the light and sounds of the water running and Bob's scrubbing warped. Your stomach felt like it was literally twisting.

What must have been only a second later, but felt like ages, somehow, you were somewhere... completely different.

And you were about to get a crash course in witchcraft.

~*~

The first experience of Ava's shadow-walking was awful, and so were the next few times, but the teleportation was handy. And she learned to warn you but never really asked before warping you away from wherever you happened to be.

You learned that Ava was mostly just excited to have another witch to talk to, to share with. It seemed an important part of witchcraft, to share magic with someone, even if they practiced a different kind to you.

Really, you learned a lot over the next few days, about witchcraft and magic.

You were, as Ava did finally have some elegance of putting, a witch of storms.

Apparently, in addition, that meant that you were the best equipped, outside of Oracles, to tell the future and receive visions of it.

"And Oracles are... witches."

"They cover a multitude of si- subjects, subjects," Alex nodded. He lifted his fists, and beckoned you to try again.

In addition to your lessons with Ava, Alex and Lena insisted you also know how to defend yourself, if things ever came up so that your magic ability was blocked.

Mostly it meant you landing flat on your ass on the mulch floor of a sparring ring. There was a clearing past the garage, where there were archery targets, old punching bags hanging from beams that were stronger than they looked, and crates that you'd only gotten to peak into.

This attempt, you were able to land a blow to Alex's stomach, but he didnt flinch before lifting you back and dropping you so that once again your view was the cloudy sky.

"You're takin' a risk," you muttered.

"I dont see any risk, do you, Lena?" Alex asked.

Lena released the bolt from her crossbow, aimed at the archery target. She nodded as you heard the thud even from your place on the ground.

"No risk anywhere," she said casually.

You sighed.

"Maybe- maybe I could at least try against her, for once?" You asked, sitting up and barely brushing yourself off this time. You knew you'd probably land right back in the dirt.

Lena laughed, but put down her crossbow and shrugged off the light hoodie she was wearing, revealing a tank top underneath. Her arms were more muscular than you expected. Maybe you should have stuck with Alex.

"Sure, maybe that will help."

Too late.

The sarcasm rolled through her words, but Alex helped you up and patted your back. "Fight rough," he muttered, surprisingly close. And it wasnt in Russian, which you had learned he and Lena spoke, nor was it English.

It was the language Ava now knew you had grown up hearing from your grandmother, the language that witches taught each other.

Lena frowned, but didnt linger on the moment.

Maybe Alex was right. It would be nice to finally land something.

You'd seen Lena and Ava fight, when you'd complained to Alex that Ava didnt have to spar.

Bob had spoken up, then. "We all get our asses handed to us. Alex is right, you need to know this. Learning means more practice."

Before you could think about how it felt, to have Bob be a little bossy, Lena was moving her feet.

But so did you. You dodged her first blow, but her other hand got your shoulder.

You groaned and wanted to drop your knee, and give up.

Or maybe you could drop your knee and lift Lena up like Alex had lifted you.

You tried it, dropping quickly and, in the moment Lena inhaled to laugh, you pushed your shoulder up into her stomach, hand on her hip and her waist, grunting as you lifted her into the air.

A little breeze flowed along your arms. It was reassurance, confidence. This was right. Lena left your hands, flying in the air away from you.

This time, it was Lena who landed with a thud in the mulch.

You rubbed your shoulder, but felt the breeze again on your neck.

'Nice,' you thought, helping Lena up.

"That was very cool," she said and grinned. "Well done! Now, again."

"Again?"

"Repeat it, yes, if you can." She affirmed. "Fear not the man who has tried a thousand kicks once, but the man who's done one kick a thousand times." She slapped your shoulder, the one she'd hit, and gave you a thumbs up before getting back into her starting position.

You were going to hurt tomorrow.

~*~

"Do you have any plans tonight?" Bucky asked you after dinner.

You'd been at the cabin just over a week now. Long forgotten was the idea that Lena (or, technically, Yelena, apparently) implied that you'd only be with them for a night.

After that first weekend, you sent an email to your boss asking for some time off for a family circumstance. While you didnt know if you'd quite go back to that life from before, it was worth at least trying to give a heads up.

But every day, the life you led before seemed miles and miles farther away. You didnt quite understand how this place was run- how Bob owned the property, or paid the bills, or how Alex and Lena brought back groceries- but it was working.

And for the first time since your Grandmother had passed, you felt like you had family again. Even though you arrived as a stranger, this place was... beginning to be home.

Would you stay?

"Not beside a shower," you told him as you handed him a washed bowl to dry. "Why?"

He shrugged. "You've gotten time with everyone else. Figured you might... have questions for me."

You hadnt gotten as much time with Bob as you had wanted, usually ending up in the workshop or in the training grounds, but every spare moment when you didnt have anything to do, you had tried to find him. Usually you could.

But you did have questions for Bucky, too. About himself, and about vamprisim. Whenever you'd asked any of the others, they would hesitate and suggest you ask Bucky.

Bucky had a sort or presence, though, that didnt make you seek him out.

He was always watching the training you did with Lena and Alex, and he was somehow always finding excuses to drop in on you and Ava in the workshop.

The cold stillness around him felt wrong.

You had, at this point, begun to better feel the air currents around you. Like you couldnt help but notice now, continuously surprised you never noticed before. The pressure change before storms- manufactured or natural. Where the wind would turn.

Like feeling a breeze, a coldfront, before you could see it.

So not being able to feel anything of that around Bucky was... weird.

"I have a few."

"You too tired to stay up for a bit?" He glanced at you, and there was something in his voice that was almost alluring.

"A bit, huh."

He shrugged.

Once you'd finished putting all the clean dishes away, he gestured toward the glass wall's door and you led the way through it.

"Im thinking a little off-roading," Bucky said once you were outside. He stretched a little in the dusky light.

"You mean on one of the trails?"

"That wouldnt be very "off"-road-y," he said.

"Oh. Um, well, i should get my other shoes, then," you said, and gestured to your sandals.

"I'll wait," he said, and leaned against the railing, his hip against the top of it. He crossed his arms as he watched you walk away, toward your cabin.

His gaze was very distinct. Sometimes it still made you shiver.

You emerged from your cabin a moment later, with more proper attire for what you expected.

"Jeez, we're not bouldering," he said, rolling his eyes at you.

You'd changed into your sturdiest pair of leggings, your hiking boots, and a hooded jacket over a tanktop. You shrugged. "Maybe share a little more in your communication, dude."

Bucky looked you over once more and then turned, gesturing for you to follow. "C'mon."

There was a feeling in your gut that maybe you shouldnt be alone with him. He hadnt threatened you, even indirectly, since that first moment you'd met him a week ago.

But just as much as Bob was a werewolf, Bucky was something other-human, too. All of these people were still unfamiliar territory. All of them could still pull surprises out at you.

So you had a guard up.

Just in case.

Entering the woods made the sun's warmth almost immediately disappear, or maybe it was that you were walking closer to Bucky in order not to lose him in the shadows of the trees. You didnt know what kind of powers he had as a vampire, if any.

You *had* seen him standing shirtless in broad daylight, only wearing sunglasses and shorts as he carried groceries inside a couple days ago. So he didnt burn in the classic way.

"You know, you can ask, whatever you want, now," Bucky said ahead of you.

"Why'd you take me out here to chat?" Was your first question.

He glanced back at you and then off to the distance, slowing his paces.

"It's become my element, i guess," he said. "Like Ava's is her workshop and the hunters' is their clearing."

"So you grew up in a place like this?"

He laughed. "Hell no. No, i grew up in a city."

"Which one?"

"New York," he said after a moment. Like he wasn't sure if he should tell you.

"Oh, fun," you said, stepping over a log, ignoring the hand he held out for you to take for balance. "You ever been back?"

"Yeah," he said, but this time it was layered in annoyance. "Yeah. Family events."

"Your family's alive?"

He glanced at you again, uncertain. Then, "My vampire lineage family."

"Oh."

He shrugged. "Can't quite ever get out of blood family."

"I mean, if theyre all dead, you can," you said, and chuckled to yourself.

"What?"

"Vampires are dead."

He stopped and squinted at you.

"Arent they?" You asked as you stopped next to him.

He sighed.

"You dont breathe, you dont eat, you most definitely consume blood," you counted off your fingers. "You dont burn in the sunlight, at least not in any way i noticed, but you're definitely fast and strong."

He didnt comment.

"I imagine you either dont see me as a threat or wouldnt be any more harmed by a sharp stick to the chest like a normal person would be," you gestured to the various sticks littering the ground around you. "So... Can you turn into a bat?"

"Thats your first question?"

"It's, like, my seventh," you looked up as you tried to recall your conversation, ticking off the questions you could remember on your fingers. When you looked at the vampire again, he looked confused. "What?"

"You asked about me."

Now you were confused. You put a hand on your hip. "Yeah? Because we're bonding, dude. Cant bond without knowing each other a little. Ive been assuming a lot about you, sure, but more related to what the- what media says about vampires. You're a guy first. With history. I'm curious about all of it, i guess, but I can learn about vampire stuff from any vampire, if i ever meet another. I cant meet another you."

He shifted his weight, looking to the ground.

"You did avoid the "Can you turn into a bat" question though."

"What kind of bat are you expecting?"

"I dunno. A... brown... one?"

He smirked, and he seemed to be back to the guy you were more familiar with, sitting at the supper table. "Very precise."

"I'll have you know I'm not a wildlife expert, ok?"

Bucky hummed and returned to forging the way for you.

As you followed, you decided to ask something else. "Alright, how can you not burn in the daylight?"

~*~

The shower water ran over your body, cleaning off the day's sweat and dirt. You'd worked hard.

After days of practice, you'd been able to be consistent with a few moves against Lena and Alex, and practiced overturning their various defences.

You hadnt felt stronger in your life. More confident in your control of your body.

And you'd made progress with Ava, keeping up with her trivia and impressing her with your handle on your witchcraft.

The steam covered the bathroom mirror as you stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around you. You reached forward and cleared off the condensation on the glass, and almost dropped your towel as you stumbled back.

It wasn't you in the reflection of the mirror. It was stranger. A man.

He was tall, with red hair. A blue uniform outfit, with a few red stripes crossing his chest horizontally. He wore gloves on his hands and his eyes were... they were very blue.

He stared at you.

You stared back.

"Guard yourself," he said, as you reached forward to wipe the condensation again. "Guard yourself."

And he disappeared, leaving your shocked face in the mirror.

You wanted to cover the mirror with a towel, but didnt have a spare, so you changed into your pajamas in the shower stall, away from the view of the mirror.

"That was creepy," you muttered to yourself as you checked your locks on the windows and doors of the cabin. "And from what? Like, ok, way to be vague as hell??"

You tried to settle in on the couch and read the collection of tales Alex had suggested, but the hair on the back of your neck would not go down; the goosebumps on your arms firmly raised.

Ava had begun to teach you about reaching out toward her, but more the what and not how.

You needed reassurance, though. You needed answers.

You didnt really want to open your cabin door... but Bob was just next door.

You threw on a clean hoodie and your sandals and opened your door, locking it behind you, your key in your pocket with your phone.

You hurried over to Bob's cabin and knocked on his door. A moment later, the door was open, warm light shining out, comfortable air settling around you like armor.

"Yeah?" He asked, tired, opening it to you. He sniffed.

You'd begun to get used to that.

Bob's eyes widened and suddenly he was alert and awake. He pulled you in to his cabin and locked the door. "Are you ok??"

"Im- im fine, just-"

"You saw something."

"How'd you know?"

"You smell really scared."

"I-!" You sighed. "Im not *reeeally* scared," you said and plopped down on his couch. "Just. A little unsettled, or whatever."

"Sure," he said, unconvinced, and sat at the other end of the couch, one knee pulled up to his chest, the other hanging over the edge of the couch cushion. He put his hands on his calf. "Whats up?"

Suddenly you felt incredibly foolish. It had probably just been nothing, or a vision that you didnt know how to handle yet. Now you'd bothered Bob, who... well, you werent sure what he was in the middle of, but he had to have been in the middle of something. A laptop was slightly open on his coffee table, and an empty beer bottle on the side table.

"You know... it was probably nothing," you began to get up.

He reached across the couch, hand on your wrist. He looked you straight in the eye. "It wasnt nothing."

"What, do you have visions too?" You rolled your eyes, trying to make it lighthearted.

"Scents are good enough for me," he said, letting go of you and settling back just as quickly as he'd moved forward. "I just... i can tell."

"How?"

He shifted, fidgeting with his hands. "The- you smelled different."

"I just showered."

"Beside that."

"I... was a little scared?"

"Other than that."

"What else could there be?"

"You saw something, it, um. Lingered."

You sat up straight as if he'd just told you there was a spider in your hair.

He leaned forward and waved his hand. "It's not a presence, or anything! You're good."

"Can you just say what you mean?"

Bob looked anywhere but you.

You remembered back to the first conversation you'd seen between Bucky and Bob. That Bucky had brought a threat to the cabin. Bob didnt seem to be one to hold grudges for long, so you guessed now that it was recent. Maybe not as recent as the last person to have been in your cabin, but still recent enough to make him hesitant.

"The guy i saw. You know him."

He scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah."

"You could smell him??"

"Yep."

You leaned back into the corner of the couch. "Huh. Wild."

He looked up, his face unsure if it wanted to smile or frown. "Wild?"

"I really do love learning something new every day," you tried to explain. "Hey, but, I'm ok, obviously. So its no big deal, right?"

"The only way he would have had any presence here was if he- was if it was an oracle."

"But im not an oracle."

"No."

"Then how...?"

He sighed. "He forced one to make contact with you."

"Thats a thing??"

"Anything can be used against anyone's will," Bob said, like he'd experienced it. "Look. It really is something we should probably leave until the morning to discuss with the others." He got up from the couch, closing his laptop and going to the stairs.

"So... goodnight?"

"No," he shook his head. "Wait there."

You waited. You didnt know what else to do.

He came back down from the bedroom up in the loft with a blanket and a pillow.

"I'm gonna crash on your couch."

"You- you dont have to," you said, rising from your seat. "I promise, im ok."

"Ok, but i sleep really deeply and you wont be able to get me to open my door if you decide you need company."

You looked at him, holding his blanked and pillow, fully prepared for an unplanned sleepover.

You thought about having him in your cabin. You didnt know if there were any sort of side effects to the oracle thing.

"It... might be a good idea if you come with, i think," you said slowly. "Just in case."

He nodded and followed you to the door, turning off the lights and locking the closed door behind you as you stepped back out into the night.

"Ok?" He asked.

You nodded and he followed you to your cabin, entering with you and waiting for permission to get settled on the couch.

"Let me just..." you cleared off the cushions, holding a couple books and a potato chip bag. You brushed off any crumbs. "Sorry..."

"No worries," he said easily as you put the books away on their shelves and the chips in the kitchenette/storage area.

When you came back out to the front room, he was setting down his pillow and fluffing it.

"Thanks," you said. "For, um. Answering your door."

"Always," he said, glancing over at you. You hadnt needed him to before, but you knew he would keep the promise if that ever changed.

Once he was settled, you checked the door to make sure it was locked, and turned off the lights.

"Goodnight, Bob," you said as you went to the stairs.

"Goodnight," he answered, and yawned.

As you got into bed, you realized you felt safer with him so close by. You turned off the lamp on your bedside table and pulled up the blankets, settling in. A thought of him being even closer than downstairs crossed your mind, but you were yawning and closing your eyes before you could process it.

At least you hoped.

For a little while, you were caught up in thinking about the training you'd been learning, both magic and physical. The joke Lena had said that now you finally had a comeback for. The nice shower cleaning off todays dirt.

And then... the mirror. The man.

For the first time since you'd arrived, you couldnt sleep. You tossed and turned, sighing when nothing felt right. Even with your bones feeling heavy and tired, your mind wouldnt quiet enough to let you relax.

And since you were awake, you got thirsty.

You waited as long as you could. But, like when its too cold or too hot to sleep, you just couldnt ignore it.

As quietly as you could, you got out of your bed and nearly tip-toed down the stairs, keeping an eye on the couch.

You got a glass of water from the sink in the kitchenette, the need finally relieved.

Then you had to use the bathroom, because you might as well.

You refilled the glass to take upstairs, and when you stepped into the hallway, you saw Bob sitting up, rubbing his eyes.

"You ok?" He asked.

"Haven't gotten to sleep yet," you shrugged. "I'm, um, gonna try again, though."

"Good," he smiled.

You really wanted to run your fingers through his messy hair. It was a thought you had often, but his hair was particularly messy right then.

You turned away to avoid reaching out and bothering him.

But before you could go up two steps, you stopped.

You closed your eyes and for a split second, you tried to envision the future of this moment.

On the one path, you went to bed again. You wouldnt sleep well.

On another, you stayed downstairs and just... talked with Bob. You couldnt see far enough to tell if you eventually went back to bed, but the warmth of that path was far nicer than the dark stillness upstairs.

"Do you mind if i-" you turned to look at him, and he smiled, gesturing to the couch.

"Sure."

You walked to the couch, waited until he moved the blanket, and sat.

And then he waited for you. You stared at the glass in your hands, unsure of where to start.

He turned and reached behind himself, reaching for the lamp on the end table. He pulled the string and then there was a new, warm light in the room.

"May as well," he shrugged, turning back to you.

You nodded, and your gaze returned to the glass in your hands. Your feet were still on the floor, as if you werent allowed to get comfortable.

He leaned forward. "Hey, can i tell you a dumb story?"

You repeated something Lena had said earlier in the week. "You've probably got plenty of those."

He chuckled and raised his hands. "Sure do."

His break of your tension released a breath you'd been holding. "I'd like to hear it, though."

"Great," he shifted so his back was against the back cushion of the couch.

You didnt want to let go of the glass quite yet, still needing something in your hands.

He lifted the edge of his blanket, inviting you into comfort.

You took it. You crossed your legs to sit next to him, knee almost touching his leg.

"I was sixteen," he started.

"So, last year?"

He laughed, like he'd never heard it before. "Right, of course. Anyway, when I was sixteen, i was with this group of losers, 'cause thats what we were. I'd run away from my family, feeling, you know, unappreciated, or whatever. And there was this girl."

"Ooo," you teased.

"She was cute! Being sixteen, and thinking, hey, i'm forging my life, right? Im the coolest. I can impress her, easy." He scoffed. "Well, she wanted this dress from this place we'd walked by earlier. And of course, none of us had money, and we all teased her for even admiring something like that. It was... it looked like a lot of what we'd all left behind." His gaze was far away, smiling as he remembered. He looked at you, then. Pulling himself back to the moment of now. "Guess what i did."

"You... made something similar for her?"

"No," he shook his head. "I stole it."

For some reason, you'd formed an idea of Bob as a rule-follower. Maybe it was his even, steady mood that you'd gotten familiar with, or his reserved additions to conversation. But he was in charge, too. He was a planner. He knew best out of everyone what the rules were- he'd made them- and how to break them.

"Did you get caught?"

"Of course not."

"Really?"

"Really. I got the dress for her, and gave it to her. Didnt do super well with the delivery, though, because she, uh..." he scratched the back of his neck. "She thought someone else did it."

"No glory, huh."

"Nope. She started going out with the guy who claimed he'd done it, and even when I asked him how he did it, he made it so much more dramatic that I just... gave up about it." He sighed, thinking about the memory.

"What happened to the group?"

"We disbanded a couple weeks later. Turned out that most of them actually wanted to complete a high-school education, and their parents were far richer than they'd let on."

Caught up in his story, you asked, "What'd you do?"

He shifted again, shoulders carefully lowering and back straightening.

"You dont have to talk about it, if you dont want to," you said, leaning back, away from pressuring him.

"I went back to my family. Which at this point, was my pack. I mean, they-" he cleared his throat, eyes far from yours. "So i wouldnt leave again, that's when I became a werewolf."

"Oh. I... guess i thought you were turned... earlier than that." You didnt elaborate on when.

He shrugged, picking at fuzz on the blanket. "They were the ones who took me in in the first place. My dad," he laughed. "My dad left me for dead at a campground on a full moon. I was maybe five?"

"Damn."

"Yeah," he said, and sighed. "So i knew the wolf pack for a while. There were just as bad as my dad, though."

"You dont have to tell me this, Bob," you reached out, finally, putting your hand on his forearm. "I mean, really, if its not a good memory-"

"Pasts are good and bad, though, arent they?" He met your eyes. "I've got no intention of leaving this place, this family. And you know you're welcome to stay, too. So you're a part of that. And i dont share now, then i'll share another time."

"Another time is ok, if you want?"

"I need you to know now, though," his voice was pained. "I'm- I'm a sharing guy. I w- I want you to know. So you can decide. Stay or go."

It was more than just this moment of his vulnerability.

You'd been getting plenty of time getting to know the others, hell, even Bucky, who's whole vibe freaked you out. You knew some of Alex's past, and some of Lena's, although she shared hers over a couple glasses of wine. Ava shared her story as she shared her knowledge with you, carefully and with reverence, but with full honesty.

This was important for Bob to share, too. So you knew who you were choosing to stay with.

He had your full attention as you set the glass on the coffee table. "Ok." You folded your hands in your lap.

He took a moment to decide where exactly to start. "They were family, the wolf pack. I believed that my dad would be even worse to me if I ever ran away from them, like, really ran away. So they did a lot of things. And since I was human, i could do things they couldnt. And I couldnt do things, like defend myself, when they hurt me. It was... not great."

You nodded.

"So when I came back, after that summer of learning to, i guess, be my own person, instead of being their punching bag, well, I wanted things to change," he winced as he recalled something. "Dumb idea."

You wanted to interupt and call him brave instead. For standing up for himself, even if he went back to a dangerous place, it was all he had. Teenage years are tough.

"Probably the worst month of my life. And when it was finally the full moon... they took me with them."

He was doing well in staying steady with his retelling, but this is where his voice shook.

"First time's always the worst," he said. "I wish i didnt remember all of it as well as I do."

"What happened?"

"We hunted. And then we- God, we-" he cleared his throat and moved his shoulders back again, and he tried to leave the emotions of the story behind. "We attacked people. Not animals, people. And then thats what full moons became. Instead of me staying behind, terrified for them to come back angry and riled up and covered in blood, i was the one covered in blood. But i wasnt afraid of it, i was finally a part of something. They bullied me less. I was finally a real part of the pack. I felt... invincible."

He rubbed his eyes. "That didnt last." Hands back in his lap, he rubbed his thumb over his other hand's palm. "The pack was attacked, just as severely as we'd attacked people. So i ran again, but now I had this other thing i was running with. This other part of me that demanded... a lot. And I knew how to get what I wanted, too."

Bob glanced at you, unsure of your reaction.

Mostly, you'd just been taking in the information of his past, his story. You tried not to react, with gasps of shock or horror, or reach out to him. But your heart hurt for him.

"It was like that a couple years, running, always moving, and always alone. Until i quite literally ran into Bucky, and he somehow figured out all these things about me, and he told me i could stop running, start building something. Myself, a family, i don't know what exactly he meant. But i listened. Because I needed to." He lifted his hands as if to gesture he was done with the story. "So... thats me."

"Thanks for telling me," you said, before the moment could fade. "Really." You didnt want to overdo your gratitude for his vulnerability, but finally, you felt certainty.

"Sure. I just needed you to know."

"I want to stay," you spoke barely after he finished speaking. "I want to stay."

"Really?"

You loved the way his eyes lit up. If he had the canine ears, you just knew they would have perked up, too.

"Yes," you nodded. "I still have a lot i need to learn, but I also just... I feel like this is the place where I belong." You almost added "for now, anyway" but you didnt want it to be temporary. You wanted it to last, this place, the friendships you'd begun to build, the trust placed here. You wanted to hold on to it.

And the oracle you'd seen in the mirror hours ago was long forgotten.

~*~

In the morning, the couch was empty.

Your brows knit together as you got ready to head up to the main cabin for breakfast. Had last night just been some crazy dream?

After he'd shared his past with you, you shared some of yours with Bob. Though not really as dramatic, you shared a little about growing up with your grandmother and laughed each time you realized she'd done magic or you'd caused something on accident. You talked for hours with him, ending up talking about nothing and anything. Before you'd gone back up to bed, you'd sat shoulder to shoulder with him as he showed you pictures on his phone of one of his latest woodworking projects.

He said he'd make you something. As you wandered up the walkway, you wondered what he would make you.

You opened the glass door and smelled bacon. Alex and Lena were busy as Ava was setting the table.

Bucky followed you inside and chuckled as he passed you.

"What?"

"Nothing," he said, clearly meaning something.

You rolled your eyes and made your way to Alex and Lena, who piled food onto your plate.

"Morning," you greeted them.

"Good morning, my friend!" Alex said. Was he never not in a good mood?

Ava was sitting in your usual spot, so instead you sat in hers.

"Almost the new moon," Ava said, eyes glinting with excitement. "Lots of things to cover."

You hummed as you chewed some bacon, and you didnt have to look up to know Bob was approaching the house.

"Morning, guys," he said as he entered, and you smiled as you caught his eye.

Ava hummed, and you snapped your head to her.

She giggled and raised her eyebrows.

"What?"

"Bob went for a run."

"Is he not allowed?"

She just giggled again and then you realized she swapped places with you on purpose.

"Why are you being weird?"

"Its in my nature," she shrugged, and leaned forward to prop her chin in her hand, elbow on the table, as Bob sat just next to you.

"Oh!" He said, looking at Ava first, then you. "Hi."

"Hey," you answered, and suddenly felt so incredibly stupid as butterflies started fluttering in your stomach. The nerves made it hard to eat, but Lena's stern look was a lot stronger.

~*~

Regardless of whatever she thought had happened that night, Ava pushed you to learn how to properly set things up for the new moon. The phases of the moon were incredibly important to her and her witchcraft, which had something to do with shadows. Naturally, the largest natural shadow cast upon something celestial was a big deal. You could only imagine how she'd react to total solar eclipses, or lunar ones.

"Have fun?" Lena asked, pouring you a glass of wine. It had become your habit, sharing a little something to drink at the end of a long day.

"I guess," you shrugged.

"Lots of actual stuff to do, on top of the theory and history, hmm?"

You nodded and took a sip of the sweet wine. "Yeah. But hey, I think I know more knots than boy scouts now."

She laughed.

After a moment, she said, "So you and Bob."

You choked, setting your glass down carefully. "What?"

"He told you his story?"

"Yeah?"

"Get all weepy about it?"

"No?"

She nodded. "Didnt think you would."

"Why are you asking?"

"Because he told me today. You saw something that scared you, couldnt sleep, kept you company." She shrugged. "No big deal."

"Right. Of course."

She gave you a side-eye look of suspicion before taking a sip of her wine. "Good. And youre staying?"

"Yeah... although I'm not sure about my job."

"Can you work remote? Isnt it an office job?"

"I could, i guess, but I'd probably have to go back for important meetings and stuff."

"We can drive you. Or you can drive, whatever," she waved her hand. "They'd be stupid to lose you. Youre a good person."

"My job isnt really about if im a good person or not. But they probably miss me because of how much i get done."

"See? Thats not something they want to lose!" She pointed at you and smiled. "Thats settled. You email them tomorrow, tell them."

You shivered, putting your hands under your thighs.

"Why are you nervous?"

"Its a big deal."

She turned to you, facing you directly, and squared her shoulders. "You made a promise."

You wanted to keep it.

So you nodded.

She reached across the counter and squeezed your hands. "There. Good."

~*~

Two mornings later, dreary from staying up late with Ava, you found a letter under your door.

It was from Bob.

"Hi,

I hope your new moon stuff with Ava goes well.

I've got some things I've gotta do. I'll be away a few days.

Be back soon.

Bob"

"Ok?" You muttered to yourself. You folded it back to the way it was and tucked it into your jeans pocket.

After breakfast, Lena pulled you aside.

"What's up?" You asked her. "We're still going to the lake tonight, right?"

"The paper in your pocket, is it a letter? From Bob?"

You stepped back. "Um. Yeah?"

"Ava!" She shouted, causing Ava to almost drop the dishes she was carrying. "How long do you have until the moon?"

"Yelena!" Ava groaned.

"I need- just a bit."

"Fine. But you'd better not be late," Ava pointed at you.

You barely had time to give her a thumbs up before Lena dragged you out of the kitchen.

"Why are we headed to the lake now?" You asked once her steps had slowed.

"Private."

"Ok??" You rolled your eyes at the lack of explanation.

Once you reached the beach, she stopped.

"What is with you?" You asked her.

"The letter from Bob. He'll be away a few days?"

"Yeah?" You crossed your arms over your chest. "How do you even know that?"

"He used to leave *me* notes."

You didnt know why that stirred jealousy in your gut. She said *used* to, what that have to do with now?

"So?"

"Because-" she glanced up toward the cabin. "We were together."

"I- Bob and I are not a thing."

"Only Alex is this oblivious." She groaned, hands into fists as they fell to her side, then lifted right back up toward you, palms flat. "He is head over heels for you."

"I barely know him."

"That doesnt matter, not to him," she said. "And, he told you his story, and he said you didnt even blink. You just accepted him."

"Well- yeah? I mean, because-"

"Why?"

You opened your mouth to answer, but you didnt have words yet. You didnt know.

"You dont have to feel the same way," Lena said gently. "But if you dont, you have *got* to tell him. Because I- I thought he hated me when I took months to decide. He's too good to have waiting."

"How do you know?"

"I- when we first got together, he- felt like a lot? But i thought that was just part of romantic relationships. We never did anything i didnt want to, but... the sweetness he shared, i just, didnt know how to give back to him." She put her hands on her hips. "So i finally told him. And, he wasnt mad, of course, but I felt like I'd never be friends with him again, and I really wanted that."

"You seem pretty close," you offered.

"We are. Best friends again," she grinned, like that friendship was the thing she held most dear. "But he- before you were even in the picture, I just knew he was looking for something, someone. And then he'd be off for even a week at a time. He never did that."

"But he's gone right now?"

Lena shook her head and cut the air with her hands. "No, no. Very different." She sighed. "When Alexei and I saw you, I just knew."

"What??" You asked, finally annoyed. "What the hell did you know?"

"He was hoping we'd bring you with us."

"Is that why you acted like you hated me that night?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because I finally knew where I was with him, and I didnt want to lose that."

You frowned. "I've been here less than two weeks, Lena. How could I possibly challenge your friendship with him?"

She groaned. "I dont know."

"Do you still hate me?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because he asked me not to. He told- he told me to just trust him, so i did. And i will. And so now im trusting you."

You werent sure she even trusted Bucky.

"He doesnt want to scare you with- how he followed you, to make sure that he wouldnt bring home any danger," she explained. "But you mean a lot to him."

At this point, you werent really surprised. Bob had all but confessed as much the first night you'd met him.

"I'm not scared."

And you werent. You looked out over the lake, a view you'd grown familiar with, but always in a way of worry that you'd have to leave it.

You'd seen just a few sunsets over this lake, but you knew you'd see many more. Thousands more.

As if watching a dream, you saw yourself sitting on the sand, and then Bob coming to sit next to you, his hand behind your back so you could lean against him. Natural, without speaking, like you'd done those motions together a thousand times.

Walking one of the trails, nearly bumping into each other for how close you were. Reaching to hold his hand so that the awkwardness lifted, and your steps became synchronized.

Cooking a dinner for the family, moving easily around each other as you kept things from burning.

And fighting alongside each other, shoulder to shoulder. Wind following your movements, never worrying about your back- the wolf had it, just as you had his.

Your future was with his. His was with you.

You could see finally see it.

~~*~~

Taglist: (let me know if you want to be added or removed!) @foreverchangingmind @jason-todd-fangirl-14 @imthatone-annoyingfriend @mandoalorian @melancholiast-clair @qardasngan

[plounce]

made this chart because i think the role/class assignments are such fun pieces of characterization for story NPCs! information pulled from here.

footnotes under the cut:

many NPCs have fancy titles instead of job names - for example, ysayle is referred to as "oracle of ice", and pre-edw alphinaud is an "academician". the jobs i marked them as are pulled from the icons of their classes + the movesets they use.

i didn't include the nameless fill-in NPCs like "temple chirurgeon" or "scion lancer". i am aware that the ARR duty support npcs have dialogue and mini-arcs, but that isn't relevant to my interest in making this chart. and sorry to j'moldva and any fans she has, but she also does not meet the threshold of character significance to be included in the chart.

thancred, urianger, and alphinaud can only dps in specific duty support instances: thancred in the antitower (if he tanks, this is the only time he can GLD - without a shield equipped! uh oh), alphinaud during hvw & stb, and urianger in the mothercrystal (if the player heals, alphinaud is your other healer). y'shtola will only heal in the burn and edw patch dungeons (funny, since her introductory epithet is "cultured conjurer"). all of these can only be used in duty support and not in trust, so they are on the cusps of their overlaps, not properly in them, as i feel this more accurately reflects their actual roles.

alphinaud functions as a scholar with his special massive carby. urianger also pulls out an even bigger carby to somehow be a summoner ("lithomancer") who can use bahamut and phoenix, but not the other three egis! due to his involvement in the bahamut coils raids?

there are no pure healers, outside of the fill-in NPCs!

DPS is a girl job, tanking is a boy job, and healer is equality. ysayle and venat are the only women who can tank, and both use a sword & shield, which makes me want to eat drywall, also i'm also kissing them both on the mouth.

apparently samurais can tank (🔄Third Eye🔄) and apparently gladiators are DPS.

g'raha is notable outside of being an all-rounder in that all of his jobs are, well, jobs. the majority of characters use class icons, while he gets to be full-fledged versions of all of these things. something something soul crystals / the crystal tower / the exarch / etc etc. frankly i'm a little fuzzy on soul crystal lore. i just think this is an interesting distinction.

if you're interested in this kind of stuff, @trustinsighters is a great resource for character dialogue, actions, and many more interesting details in the characters' programming in duty support and trust dungeons! they have great infographics and videos, including localization differences. one of my favorite accounts. their twitter has charts for every trust dungeon from shb onwards, and high-res versions are available on their kofi!

now look at my wol's adorable starlight RDM fit. isn't she so cute. she's my angel. i think about her lore and i weep. her heart is so Good. tomte peregrin on maduin ♥

that is all.

[gl1tt3r-gutz-sl]

Hey gutz, u should really give us more of that Elita au :D

Here u go :3

So, to begin with, my Elita au (that I'm now changing around) begins when Sentinel was a dumbass and procreated with a brothel harlot (she's irrelevant). The femme discovered the conception of a sparkling in her tank, (Reproduction and ‘pregnancies’ are a lot different in my au than what I think is normal for the fandom. I'll explain in another post maybe), and abandoned the capsule to one of the sacred shrines of the Primes, leading to it being discovered by Alpha Trion. Trion brought it back to the other Primes, and after a lot of testing and interrogation, forced Sentinel to admit that he was the sire and forced him to be apart in the sparkling’s life.

Solus Prime, the oracle of the group, knew of earth, its creatures, and its future, named the sparkling Ariel, meaning lion of God, due to the child's golden color and for the events in the foreseeable future in store for her.

Ariel was raised primarily by the Primes, idolizing her disinterested father, who nearly batted an optic at her. She grew to latch on to his personality, in the hope of making him proud, to gain his attention. Her arrogance enlarged the older she became, despite the wishes of the Primes.

Eventually, she was appointed the role of overseeing the progress of the new generation of Valkyries, (due to constant whining at Sentinel), and seemed to thrive from the adoration of the femmes in the ranks, much like her father with the people of their planet. Until one femme rose to influence within the other females as well. Starchaser, (pre-transition Starscream) constantly argued with Ariel until a massive fight broke out, resulting in extreme damage to both of them.

From embarrassment of his image ruined by his daughter, Sentinel banished Starchaser and her clique from Iacon to the outskirts of the planet, painting them all to be savages to the public as to save face and the last shards of dignity he possessed.

At this point, Ariel had not reached bodily maturity yet, being about 16 cycles old then, or 16,000,000 human years. As were the other femmes in the Valkyrie ranks.

Behind the scenes, Sentinel was making arrangements with the Quintessons and the Senator named Shockwave, creating a weapon that would ultimately give him immense power. They developed an artificial intelligence to power it that resulted in the creation of the Shockwave, who we know now, (who killed the senator, but that's another story.)

The Primes were sent out to stop a reported congregation of quintesson leaders, only for Sentinel to slaughter them all.

Ariel, as arrogant as she was, had followed after Sentinel and had witnessed it all happen. Sentinel lost his shit, cut her wings off, ripped out her tcog, damaged her memory banks, and dumped her body down one of the mine shafts.

Sentinel either banished those who still remembered or destroyed them. All but a few select groups and a femme in particular. A femme, who was a religious figure devoted to the Primes and Primus, practically bowed down to Sentinel and allowed him to make upgrades to her form into Airachnid.

Shockwave was presumably destroyed, but spread across comm links with his code, eventually making it to the now Starscream to build a new body for him.

Ariel was found by the now miner, Kup, when he was in his prime and was taken care of until she was stable enough until she too became a worker. Darkwing, old enough to remember Ariel's past, used her the most, subjugating her to cycles of abuse until Orion Pax and D-16 joined her sector.

She gained the name Elita-1 from a few of her fellow bots for her stoic attitude and leadership.

That's just her origin. I like to combine parts of the continuities I enjoy into my own AUs. So there's refs to many different things throughout this whole thing.

[raffaelamusiker]

I was tagged by @the-oracle-of-the-lost to share a favourite scene I’ve written and boy, that’s a hard choice. For a short scene, I think it has to be a part of In the Woods Somewhere.

A fic about how much Seven pines after Raffi, surrounded by pine trees and bioluminescent moss. The scene before this one I love too, but this specific scene is just so calming and visceral.

Seven wakes up first just as dawn begins to break. It takes her a few seconds to realise why she feels so content and cosy. She’s only partly in her sleeping bag, one leg hooked over Raffi, hand under her ridden up tank top, fingers brushing the underside of her breast whilst her head lays directly over her heart. Raffi’s hand is settled on the back of her neck, the other on her knee.

She lays there, soaking in the warmth that Raffi radiates, at how her head and her heart feel lighter to be in such a position. But she knows she can’t stay like this as much as she wants to. Seven doesn’t want Raffi to be uncomfortable if she wakes up now. (It feels good though. So good and so, so right). Still, she quietly slips from Raffi’s hold, and sits up, putting on her clothes with hopes that she can disappear outside whilst she sleeps.

It's foggy outside as Seven emerges from the tent. The grass is damp with dew, the treeline hazy and mysterious as it disappears in and out of view. The temperature has dropped and the hairs on her arms stand up as she makes her way to the campfire to light it and boil some water for coffee. She can see her breath in the air as she sits on one of the logs, watching as the low clouds pulse and move in ways that are beyond comprehension.

The forest has a completely different energy this morning, one that draws in travellers with ghostly, beckoning hands never to be seen from again. Raffi had said the day before that every forest is magical in its own way. Seven hadn’t believed her then because magic was a myth, a fantasy, but now, she can feel the power pouring from the trees and ground. Everything is so still, so peaceful. Seven decides it’s her favourite way the forest looks.

It makes her want to live somewhere like this one day. A cabin surrounded by trees (pine, for sure - she loves the smell) with a view of mountains or a river where the fog rolls in come the morning and is burnt off by the sun before the afternoon. Somewhere that holds more power and secrets than she ever thought could exist, but is kind, patient and protective to those who respect it.

If Raffi was a place.

The water boils and Seven makes her coffee. She takes the first, hot sip and lets the seeping sensation trickle through her. The steam spirals into the air and Seven watches the sun rise through the trees and how the sky changes from blue, to purple, to pink, to red and yellow. She sees a flock of birds soar from distant trees, swooping and dancing around one another in a spectacular show.

At ease, Seven sits.

The other scene, which is far too long to post here is in Roots Before Branches. For so long I’d wanted to write a story where Raffi and Michael met. I wanted to create a world where the many coincidences between them made sense. They were part of the same family.

The whole fic is very special to me. It took four months to write and is so far my longest single chapter work.

But in the scene Michael helps Raffi realise that her memory and legacy are carried into the future, that so many people admire her and think she’s important. And Raffi helped Michael know that they were never forgotten in the past. That Discovery lived on, that everything they lost wasn’t for nothing. They find family in each other. Connection they never knew they were missing.

It also holds my favourite line about Raffi and Seven at the end.

I’ll share a small snippet:

And as if Michael was reading her mind, ‘’Do you believe in coincidences Raffi?’’

Raffi shook her head quickly. ‘’No, I don’t. Not very often anyway. If coincidences like this existed, I think I’d go a little insane. I had an experience a long time ago which I only came to understand years later and if that showed me anything, it’s that the universe has created a well-crafted trail for me to end up in the most unlikely of places.’’

‘’You think you being here and us having this conversation was destined?’’

‘’No, I don’t exactly believe in destiny, I wouldn’t even call myself spiritual to a point, but there’s been too much…I don’t know, too many signs for me to say that all of this was a coincidence. Similar family names, how everything feels oddly familiar with you, the fact that over a year ago while I was undercover I came across the phrase The Red Lady , searched multiple results and what happened to come up? A wormhole by the name of The Red Lady . A wormhole we so happened to come across that sent us into the future directly into your path. And adding onto how the angel suit matches a red lady description too…’’

Michael laughed and nodded, leaning back against the table. ‘’When you put it like that, I’d say you’re probably right. Too many variables in this to be considered a coincidence.’’

‘’Exactly! It’s nice to know someone gets it. Most people would say I’m crazy.’’

‘’We’re not exactly most people around here.’’

‘’No, no, I guess not.’’ Raffi hummed, eyes shifting to the brass telescope as it peered out at the great expanse of space. ‘’I’m grateful though, that I’ve been able to have this experience. That all of you have been so welcoming and accepting. Last time I time travelled…it changed me, carved me out into something hollow. But this seems to have balanced it out a little. That is if we can get back home.’’

Michael placed her hand on Raffi’s shoulder in a supportive grasp. ‘’Don’t worry, we’ll get you back to your time. You and Seven have many more adventures to go on.’’

‘’Oh really?’’ Raffi smiled. ‘’For how long?’’ She asked, teasing, not so much expecting an answer to it.

‘’Indefinitely.’’

Raffi felt something settle inside her, an old anxiety that had reared its head ever since she had met Seven. The fear that they could never match each other's momentum for too long. One of them would be going too fast or too slow. She would never be good enough for Seven of Nine, even if the universe had been plotting their paths to converge since the dawn of time. But that had dissipated now. Raffi trusted Michael’s word inexplicably.

They were indefinite. Just like her love. Just like time.

Thank you for the tag! I’m going to tag @sevenofninehouseofmusiker, @pilcrowtudinous, @falltonadir and @happenstobehere if they want to do it

[thethirdtriplet]

Head cannon for the Batbros:

I believe, against all odds, Jason and Tim would be the best duo to pair.

Hear me out okay, both boys have they’re own strengths and weaknesses, and it just so happens that they’re strengths are the opposite of one another, and their weaknesses cancel each other out.

Tim, he’s the smart one okay, he’s a think first, act second kid of guy. He’s calculative and cautious. He values logic and evidence, above all else, he’s level headed and has a calm collected demeanor, but his anger is cold and merciless.

Jason, he’s the strong one, clever and incredibly ambitious, he’s built like tank and uses it to his advantage, he has a short temper, but is doing an admirable job with handling the pit’s effects, his anger is burning blaze of fury, one you wouldn’t want to be on the other end of.

What Tim lacks with the people of Crime Alley, Jason makes up for it, he knows everybody who’s anybody, and has a few connections here and there, not to mention the “goons” (no really they’re idiots, but at least they get the job done, sometimes) that work for his, or are too afraid to cross him.

What Jason lacks in hacking and researching, Tim makes up for, he’s no Oracle, but he’s nothing if second best, he’s great with technology and a wizard when it comes to gears and gadgets.

Tim gets Jason to join him on missions that require a certain amount of heavy lifting or strength that he himself can’t provide, and Jason forces Tim to help him with a few that require a bit of outside of the box thinking.

At some point, after some reluctant team ups, they realize how well they work together, and how much stuff they have in common, and so the black sheep duo was formed (“I want to be a black crow, jason” “If you want to correct people each time they call us black sheep then be my guest.”)

So when some goons or gangs think they can take on Red Hood but then they’ll start praying for their lives when notice his red shadow in the shape of Red Robin, cause they know they’re fucked.

Or when some supervillain who has it out for Red Robin has to go through his brother partner, Red hood, if that were to happen it would be too late, as the younger vigilante would have found a way to neutralize them or their plans.