#to add to the list of people harley has tried to team up with...

[puhddin]

what's in it for you?

harley is all but smiles. her eyes have gone all starry! she has to look up, and for once she isn't necessarily doing anything bad. (she's been relatively well behaved recently.) "well now that ya' asked, doll." she clears her throat, trusts @truthqueen (out of anyone on planet earth) would understand. "-there's this guy, among the bad eggs yer' trynna' catch. he's got like a crazy bounty on that head of his. and little ol' me would just loooove to get my hands on it." she pulls out the paper where she printed out the relevant information. and she holds it out for her to take. the smile not wiping from her face. "-i know that a girl like ya', well, wowzers! there's nothin' ya' can't do, but i'm an excellent sidekick, just ask anyone ya' know!" maybe not batman. but, who knows maybe he's given her glowing reviews.

[peterpanouat]

| Jerome x Reader | Heart of Darkness | Part 7 - Finding His Queen |

I do not own the characters of DC or of Gotham this is strictly for recreational purposes. Do not reblog unless you leave my credit. my work is protected under the creative commons license. 

Here is the new update I hope you all like it! Feel free to leave me some feedback as well to tell me if you like it or dislike it. I love hearing from you all <3

Also if you want to be tagged in the updates I post shoot me a message and I can add you to a tag list.

Tag List: @sophiyaaaaay

After she left Edward in the room, Harleen went and found Jim and waited for them to go home. It was a bit odd just how happy she seemed to be ever since leaving Edward’s office. Jim shook his head of those thoughts before seeing Lee and then they started walking towards the car. They headed home for the day and when they got back Harleen helped Lee with making dinner. 

It was rather odd that she was so happy and even Lee could sense that as well but she knew that she had to be rather careful. So with that Lee put a smile on her face and turned to Harleen. “What seems to have gotten you in such a good mood? Did you and Nygma close another case?” She asks before stirring the pasta sauce with the spoon and then tasting some of it. 

Harleen was rather lost in her thoughts as when she had heard Lee asking her a question. “Sorry, what were you saying?” She asks as she strained the pasta and placed it into one of the serving bowls while humming one of the tunes from the circus. 

Lee repeated her question and caused Harley to shrug her shoulders. “I don’t know. I guess I am finally just letting go of the past and accepted that I need to move on.” She lied before continuing with the fantasy of hers. “I think that maybe I should become a psychiatrist, help people who can’t help themselves, you know? Help those just like you and Gordon.” She explains. 

“I know that I have been Nygma’s apprentice for a while and I think that maybe I should look into going to school? Do you think that there would be a way to make that happen?” She asks curiously, knowing that Lee felt bad for her and wanted to help however she could. Maybe if she had the proper knowledge on how to get what she wanted, she could get back her Jerome. 

Lee nodded her head, “I think that we can figure something out for sure. I am glad that you are starting to see the bright side to things.” She tells her, causing Harley to smile. The rest of the night goes rather well for the three of them. They spend some more time bonding and Harley starts to fathom for maybe just a second that if she had a family, this is what she would want it to be like. She pictured herself and Jerome with kids of their own and fell asleep with those thoughts in her mind. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The next day, the three of them had gone to work as they had before but this time it was different. There was something different. Harley wouldn’t know however because she was too preoccupied with Edward and coming up with a plan to really know about what was taking place. So when Lee and Jim were told of the escape of the Arkham patients and learned who was on that list, they knew they had to tread carefully. 

“Should we tell her?” He asks Lee before turning his attention to Harley and Nygma who were having a conversation across the precinct. Lee shook her head, “We should at least give her some time to be happy. We can tell her later tonight. There is no way that they would come to the precinct. There has to be someone else behind their escape.” She reasons with him before the captain gets everyone’s attention. 

“Attention everyone. There is some news that I would like to share. The mayor has been kidnapped and that needs to be our number one priority right now. We need to find him immediately. In other news, Jim will be lead on finding those that have escaped Arkham. Jim if you could brief everyone on what happened, I will assemble a team to find the mayor. That is all. Thank you.” She tells them before dismissing everyone. 

The announcement from the captain immediately caught Harley’s attention. When Jim was briefing the team on who had escaped, he kept a careful eye on Harley to see her reaction but it was rather hard when she was still keeping herself mostly to Edward. Turning to Edward, she took a deep breath. “Maybe we need to enact your plan sooner than we thought. If he is out, that means he will be coming to get me. I know he is.” She tells him. 

“Well then I guess we just have to be extra prepared for when he arrives don’t we?” He smirked before seeing Jim walking over after the briefing had finished. “Looks like you got some company headed this way.” He tells her before she turns her attention back to Jim and putting on a fake face.

“Hey, I know I should have told you about it when it happened but we didn’t want to ruin the mood yesterday. Lee and I think that with Jerome back, we should take you up on that offer for you to go back to school. The sooner we get you out of here the better.” 

“You think that I should go to school while Jerome is out of Arkham? What if he tries to find me?” She asks in concern. Jim shakes his head, “He won’t find you. I will make sure of that.” He tells her before she nodded her head, “Okay I trust you.” She tells him before grabbing her things. She turned back to Edward before whispering something into his ear. “I will be back soon, just text me if you need me.” She smiled before heading off with Jim to assemble some of her things together for the trip.

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

She had finished gathering her things and Jim had the bus that was to take her somewhere disguised as a school bus in hopes to keep her identity under wraps. The trip was going rather well until she felt the bus stopping abruptly. When she heard the gunshot ring out, she knew that there was trouble. She also knew that Jim had made sure it would be hard to trace her location but apparently that wasn’t enough. 

Seeing the familiar face down the aisle, she could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest. “Jerome…” She said more to herself. “Now, I am sure that you all don’t know how hard it was for me to find this bus but I am looking for someone in particular. If she agrees to come with me willingly everyone will be fine, otherwise I will just have to well….burn it to the ground.” He smirked as a playful smirk tugged at the corners of his lips. 

“Oh my dear Harley, come out come out wherever you are.” He coos as he makes his way through the bus with the gun still in hand. She couldn’t stop the wild pounding in her chest as his steps got closer and closer to her but she knew deep down that she was still angry with him. “There you are darling. Time for us to make our great escape.” He purred as the strange men started to cuff the other girls to the seats on the bus. 

Harley scoffed and rolled her eyes. “You really think that I want to go with you after you slept with that whore? Do you think that I am stupid or something?” She hissed, “I am not going with you. I would rather burn with the bus.” 

Jerome lets out a more than dramatic laugh when he hears her words before putting on a serious face. “Oh come on Harls you can’t be serious. You know that she was only saying that to get under your skin. I never slept with the whore. She was throwing herself at me even though I told her I already had a girl waiting for me when I got out...but look we can discuss this once we get out of here. Regardless, you are coming with me.” He tells her.  “Now if that is by force or of your own free will that is completely up to you.” 

Harley had thought about how much she had missed him and dreamed of a moment when he would come back for her. She was his missing piece and she knew that. “Jim would never let you get away with this and you know it.” She tells him as she got up to go with him. Jerome let Greenwood spray the bus down with gasoline before Jerome and Harley exited the bus. Jerome had her handcuffed to himself so she couldn’t leave his side. 

Greenwood emerged from the bus right as the cops were arriving. Jerome held Harley close and started firing shots at the cops before he spotted Jim. Jim told the cops to hold their fire before trying to talk some sense into Jerome but it seemed Jerome didn’t really care to hear it.

“Look Jimbo, I will always be grateful to you for watching after my Harls but I think we have been away from each other long enough and it’s time for us to spend a little quality time together. Lit em’ up.” Jerome smirked before pulling Harley with him to the truck. Greenwood hopped in as well but Arnold stayed behind to light the fire as they started to drive away. 

Harley was quiet for most of the drive and given how she didn’t really have much room in the front seat for all four of them, she still tried to distance herself from Jerome even with the handcuffs on. “Come on doll, don’t be like that. Everything will be explained when we get to the penthouse.” He reassures her. 

[timetravelersdoctor]

Villains little bug bit 4

(Ok so this one will be the final main bit. I might sprinkle tidbits here and there afterwards. I will add more notes at the bottom. Onwards to the finale.)

Paris side:

(Where did I leave off...oh yeah) the new Paris team have been making great strides to find out hawkmoths identity.

They've made so much progress they found out that lila is working for him. So now they have evidence of lila being a bad guy as well.

Adrien bitter that he's no longer chat. He's become extremely susceptible to akuma's. He's one if the hardest akuma's the team has faced.

( @abrx2002 thank you for this) Because alya decided to change her blog to a old hero Stan blog she lost a lot of followers.

People began to notice that because alya's more focused on complaining and posting Lila interviews she no longer spreads actual information.

So someone decided to create a new website that actually focus on what happened and kept track of the akumatized persons whereabouts, so others could evacuate.

People can also talk about their experience as an akuma without people being awful to them. They can talk about other things as well.

The akuma class can only see the tracking of the akuma. (Because even if people don't like them they know it's not okay to let them get hurt. They're not jerks)

Because people can chat on the new website the villains from Gotham create accounts to talk smack about the akuma class. (No one realises it's actually them)

Johnathan and Harley team up to analyze the class. So they diagnose the class student by student, then as a whole.

Because of the tracking part of the website a certain person (alya) it constantly putting herself in danger while Lila 'watches' her siblings.

Lila isn't actually watching them. She's telling lies to them and slips away. No one notices this at all.

No one except a certain chat volant. He signals the team and while they're fighting the akuma he follows her (lets say lila knows who hawkmoth is) and finds out hawkmoths identity.

He connects the dots and realises who mayura is. It all falls into place. Even though they don't know where Gabriel's wife is the team (after informing ladybug) conclude that his wish would have been for his wife to return to him.

Instead of calling him out in public the team decides that confronting him would be better.

They sneak into his house right when he's about to release an akuma. Ladybug captures the akuma purifying it before it can fly off. She then ties him up with her yo-yo (it took a few second chances to get it right)

Volant quickly removes the butterfly miraculous and stashes it away. They then take him to the police and show the proof as well as any proof of Lila and Nathalie helping him.

They're (Gabriel and Lila. Nathalie escaped) both arrested. The class becomes chaotic and mayura takes on last chance to use the peacock miraculous. (Before it was fixed)

The sentimonster is destroyed. But before they could get to mayura she fall into a coma. (After searching the house they find Gabriel's wife.)

Adrien snaps and gets sent to a mental hospital. The trauma of being hawkmoths kid and seeing both Nathalie and his mom in a coma was to much for him.

The class tries to apologize to Mari only to find they're being sued thanks to two face gathering enough evidence to get them in trouble. Same goes for Mlle. Bustier except she didn't try to apologize.

Mari and the new team celebrate the victory. Master fu decides that instead of talking back the miraculous he reveals him self to the ones that didn't know of his existence.

He lets them keep the miraculous under the condition that they train and stay heros whether it be in paris or some other place.

When the villains catch word of who was hurting their little bug they decide to have a little 'fun' (they don't kill him. Only because Mari would hate them if they did)

(That's it that's the villains little bug finale. I finished this with a sleep ridden brain so if it doesn't make sense I'm sorry. Also i'm open to requests and questions if you have any I would love to here them)

Tag list: @unknownvsworld @queenmj10 @heaven428 @iglowinggemma28 @queer-hufflepuff-writer @freshbark @smolplantmum @rouge-fandoms @echpr @sassakitty @sayuricorner @elijahcoser @princess-of-fangirls @coltaire @starwindmaden @elmokingkong @kanamexzeroyaoifangirl @dagnysdawn

[loafily]

Ateez Fast Facts!

ive been obssessed with them since March so I’m relatively new. If i get something wrong please correct me. Some of these are just things i noticed. Also, share your thoughts i need more people to talk to about this beautiful group 🥺

1. It was prophesied that San will be bring in a lot of fans and be the favorite among ajummas.

2. All the members chose Yunho as the one they envy

3. Seonghwa showers for 40 minutes

4. Yeosang said he would have Wooyoung as Joker for his Harley Quinn

5. Eden did not want to teach Hongjoong so he made him memorize 200 vocabulary words about composing overnight. Hongjoong surprised him by memorizing every word. Now, Eden thinks of him as a son

6. San said if he was not an idol, he would be a barista or a florist

7. Seonghwa studied in Australia when he was younger

8. Hongjoong pours milk first then adds cereal

9. There was supposed to be a 9th member - Junyoung and his position would be rapper

10. Mingi eats very slowly

11. Wooyoung lost 10kg since debut

12. Seonghwa uses his tongue a lot

13. Eric Nam praises Ateez

14. Park Kyung and some members of Block B have shown support for Ateez

15. Seonghwa’s favorite potato chip flavor is Jalapeno

16. Ateez official lightstick is called Lightiny

17. Ateez gives their albums to senior idols

18. Jongho does photography

19. Wooyoung has a tattoo

20. San has a cat named Byeol

21. Yunho is really lucky

22. Mingi’s favorite football team is Chelsea

23. Yunho and Jongho have a duet of them covering an Animal Crossing song

24. Jongho used to be insecure about his teeth until a dentist told him he has smile teeth

25. they all thought of using stage names.

hongjoong - Lucky (name of friend’s dog)

Seonghwa - Mars

Yunho - Uno (Hongjoong suggested it but he hated it)

Yeosang - Logan, Alex, Kane (he had a long list because he looked up game character names)

San - Howl

Mingi - Iyaah (their manager thought of it and tried it push for it but Mingi did not like it)

Wooyoung - Wooyeon (mother recommended it)

Jongho - Shinwoo

[c-e-gold]

In light of recent events involving Damian in a certain DC Comic book, I have decided to revisit my proposed line up for a Teen Titans book that I would love to read. It’s going to be similar to the one I did before, but I’m going to try to go more in depth about it. If there’s any changes or additions you would make, please let me know. My knowledge on DC is limited. Especially now since I havent read them in awhile due to how annoyed they’ve made me lately. 

Enjoy!

Core Team

Damian Wayne / Robin

Maya Ducard / Nobody

Suren Daga (He’s been staying at Carrie Kelly’s place since he’s had nowhere else to go)

Jon Kent / Super Boy

Kathy Branden / Beacon

This is the core team at the start of their tenure together. There really isn’t any designated leader among them. Instead, they opt for a rotating system where a leader is chosen for specific missions. For example, Maya be more suitable to lead a stealth mission than Superboy. 

I know he would get brought up, by Colin isn’t included because I know nothing about him and haven’t read any of the stories he’s been in. I recognized that he’s popular among some of the fans, but I wanted this list to be as true to me as possible.

Team Mother

Talia Al Ghul

In this iteration, everything about her that was written by Grant Morrison is wholly ignored. Never happened. Talia, while not as involved in Damian’s life as she would like to be due to her work, maintains a healthy relationship with her son. She takes on the responsibility of training the team in combat, language, espionage, tactics, and assassination. She also does the mission briefings for them. 

For those who are familiar with the Young Justice cartoon, she’s pretty much Batman. the events of R:SoB still happens, so her relationship with Maya and Suren are still rocky at best. Maya goes out of her way to annoy her and Suren just doesn’t like her. But the course of the story will have moments where, while not being a fan of eachother, Talia would definitely go out of her way to protect Suren and Maya and they would do the same for her. Perhaps their relationship develops from antagonistic to just playful ribbing.

Den Brother

Duke Thomas

Duke takes on Talia’s responsibilities while she’s not around due to her job and/or missions. His tasks normally include being the team’s “therapist”. Talia recruited him for this because she correctly figured that the team would be more likely to warm up to him since he’s closer to them in age. It also helps that he’s a bit better when it comes to understanding emotional children. While not being licensed, he listens to their problems and help work them threw it. On occasion he will tag along on missions with them.

Future additions to the team

Mia “Maps” Mizoguchi and Olive Silverlock

(Anyone else remember in Robin War where Damian left supplies for the Gotham Academy kids and nothing came of it? I do.)

Maps- who is by far the most excited about the prospect of joining the team- she begins early training at the insistence of Damian, much to Talia’s chagrin. Talia tries to discourage her threw tough conditioning, but Maps perservere, showing her heart and that her desire to help people isn’t just surface level. Eventually she does join the team part-time.

Olive partakes in the practice concerning the usage of metahuman abilities in order to master her pyrokinesis. Duke and Kathy helps her navigate her training and slowly teaches her to be able to call upon her abilities without losing herself to the flames. I’m on the fence about having Olive join the team, so I’m open to suggestions on that front. I’m leaning more towards no, though.

Detective Chimp

Why not? He’s not really doing anything in the comics that is worthwhile. And I think his presence would add an air of brevity. He would be in charge of teaching the team proper investigative tactics. He even has a few tips and tricks up his sleeve that even the most seasoned detective wouldn’t be privy to.

Also I want to see him and Maps interact. Not to mention the potential for a fun side adventure with Detective Chimp and all of the pets teaming up.

Temp Join/Team-Ups

Batfamily

Not having the rest of the Batfamily interact with this team would be a crime in of itself. Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, Orphan, Batgirl, Spoiler, Blue Bird, Batwoman, Batwing, and Alfred. I want to see all of them interact with the team. It doesn’t even have to be serious! Maybe Stephanie shows up with Cass and kicks all of the boys out and has a girls night with the female team. Or Jason regales the team with totally not made up stories about all of the times he saved Damian and all the favors that he owes him. 

Harley Quinn

I don’t know exactly the circumstances that would make this work, but I think this would be a cool and fun crossover. They would just kinda run into each other and decide, for the sake of the mission, to work together to get the job done. 

Justice League

I mean, they HAVE to have their “Now do you take us seriously” moment. It doesn’t have to be a situation where the League is brainwashed or anything. Maybe it’s just a test. Or a friendly competiton. Or an excuse to get Wonder Woman and Maya to interact and have a proper passing of the touch and make the Tiny Trinity a for sure thing.

Robzarro and Boyzarro

They obviously like hanging out with Jon, Kathy, and Maya. So them popping up every now and then should be a given. Also I kinda wanna see how Damian and Talia reacts to Robzarro. There is so much comedy potential there.

Base of operation

The Fortress of Attitude

The base has an official named that Talia had given it upon construction, but Superboy called it the Fortress of Attitude. The some of the team just started calling it that out of being easier to remember while others (read: Maya) does it because she wants to annoy Talia. It’s very sleek with cutting edge tech rivaling Batman’s own tech. But as the team gets more and more accommodated to the hideout, they start adding their own flairs (stickers, posters, beanbag chairs, animal dens, dolls, figurines, and magazines). 

It’s equipped with a central computer that monitors the coming and going of the members, the registry, and mission files. The AI is programmed into the teams phones, offering the same protection to their personal phones that the foretress has. Using technology similar to the Watchtower and threw studying Beacon’s powers, they can beam themselves to the fortress whenever they please.

Main villains

Slade and the Hive Academy

I put Slade and not Deathstroke because I’m not really a fan of comic book Deathstroke. But Slade is Bad. Ass. Methodical. Calculating. Brilliant. Powerful. Coniving. He would make a perfect overarching villain for this team. I wouldn’t have him want Robin as his apprentice though. That can stay exclusive to the Teen Titans cartoon. In that place, he would just be the headmaster of the Hive Academy and use the team to test his students.

The Court of Owls

While theyre largely Batman’s villains, I feel they would meddle in the affairs of anyone they deem a significant annoyance. Their Talons would prove such a huge obstacle for this team to overcome. Of course it wouldn’t be the entire court after them, though. Just a small team that is assigned to keep an eye on them and steer them in the direction that best serves the Court.

 Blockbuster

I think 2 syndicates is enough for one title. Blockbuster is a departure from the cold, calculated, machinations of both Slade and the Court. He’s pretty much an immovable object that would be built up to be able to even withstand hits from Superboy.

Manchester Black

I think being trapped inside of a cow would make anyone thirsty for revenge. Also, a cow that is hell bent on revenge could be both terrifying and fun to read. No one is going to punch a cow, so the team would have to think of other tactics to take him down. Maybe Detective Chimp and the pets would have a hand in bringing him down!

I literally typed this out while working off of 3 hours of sleep the previous night and it is currently 12:37AM. That’s the excuse I’m going to go with if something is wrong here. I would want to include more villains that challenge the team both philosophically, physically, and mentally. But the longer I work on this, the more I go blank. So I’m putting a pin in this here.

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, feel free to leave them! This is my own personal take on what I would like to see from a hypothetical Teen Titans/Young Justice book. 

[icarusburn-a]

Occupation: Chairman of Stark Industries, Head of Research and Development for Stark Industries. Head of Recruitment for the Avengers. Iron Man.  Spouse: Stephen Stark-Rogers Children: Harley Stark-Rogers (adopted and goes by Harley Keener to avoid the name shock), Lila Stark-Rogers (adopted)

After the whole debacle with Killian and AIM and Extremis life had seemed nearly perfect for Tony Stark. His relationship with Steve was blossoming into something that had Tony thinking more often than not about reconsidering his stance on marriage. He finally meets Harley’s mom, Andrea and she gets added into the list of people who Tony gets to call friends. It just makes sense to offer her the job as Pepper’s PA once they both get to know the woman. Harley and Lila are constant fixtures in the Avengers lives after that. Lila sticks to Steve and Natasha like glue whenever she’s in the same place as them, overawed by everything about Natasha and wanting to be just like her. Steve helps her with her art, the pair of them more often than not in one of the sunny drawing rooms. Harley unsurprisingly favors the company of Tony and Rhodey. Harley ends up with his own section of Tony’s sprawling lab, walled off and as he gets older, the option to lock everyone out. Tony gives Andrea the only override but asks her not to use it unless FRIDAY says he’s in danger. There’s something important about having a private space when you’re like him and Harley.  He barely ever uses it, too excited for his two mentors to see what he’s working on.  The years go on and no one sees the avalanche waiting to fall on them. 

Death always did come in threes. 

Six months before the accords, before Peggy Carter dies, Andrea Keener is killed by a drunk driver while visiting her old home to wrap up some things with her ex husband, who she had been petitioning for divorce and to give up his parental rights. Her children are with Tony and Steve, Andrea not wanting to expose either of them. Harley is a month off his sixteenth birthday and Lila has just turned fourteen when Tony accepts the request that they stay with him that had been left in her will. He adopts them officially but explains that they don’t have to use the Stark name unless they want to. They don’t have to call him dad. 

They both do anyways, he’s been acting like their dad for years now.

And then it all goes to shit. 

Tony Stark lays in a Siberian bunker for 39.43 hours, near death and thinking about the choices that lead him to that very moment.

He spends the next 6 weeks, 2 days, 8 hours, 12 minutes and 14 seconds in a hospital recovering, planning on how he’ll proceed. His kids stay with Pepper, because he refuses to let them rattle around the penthouse or the compound alone. He grieves of course: for his parents, for the family he had thought he had with the Avengers, for his relationship with Steve and the small family they had been building with Harley and Lila. He grieved for the boy inside of him who would always question what was so damn wrong with him that everyone always left him. He spends days going over the past few years, a new lens to look through and he is faced with a stunningly aching realization of what was actually going on around him. The Avengers might have been a family, but Tony had never been a part of that family. It was as it had been since the very start. Iron Man yes, Tony Stark not recommended. 

Two and a half months after he was left with a cracked to pieces sternum, Tony Stark does what he has always been best at: he builds. 

Tony builds himself first. The sternum enforcement that had been failing before Vienna, was now severely cracked. Helen Cho hadn’t given him long to live, let alone any chance he could be Iron Man again. So he takes Extremis and he works on it, he changes and adapts it with the help of Helen and Steven Strange and the Vision. And like everything else Tony does; it works. Just a little too well. It fixed the damage to his body first, erasing scars both internal and external. He looks almost a young as he had when he had first become Iron Man, 

The man made of iron starts with the Accords and the Avengers Inventive. From the ashes of a rag tag team that had no real chain of command rose an actual organization. Overseen by the U.N and the Accords Council, they now have departments, have people running around the compound in New York. He does what he had told Steve he was going to, he amends and fixes until they are nothing like the original version. They add new members to the roster, some taken from targets Tony had pulled from Project Insight, others from the superhero grapevine. The New Avengers come together slowly, under the co command of James Rhodes and Carol Danvers, and it’s entirely different, in a good way.

But it’s lonely. The kids miss Steve almost as much as he does and it’s just...lonely without the noise of the others around all the time. Pepper is there of course and Rhodey and Vision. Peter and Harley become fast friends and sometimes the lab feels like the only place he can breath, the two boys excitedly shouting from their parallel labs. So he plans to bring them back. He does what he’s good at and he gets the Rouge Avengers, even Barnes because of course the man deserved one, a pardon to come home. 

And then promptly takes off to Malibu with the kids and ignores everyone for almost three months. 

But the kids have school and he can’t keep letting them learn remotely and with tutors, even if they’re both within the caliber for it. Harley is smart on Tony’s level and Lila isn’t far behind but he tries desperately to give them as normal a life as possible. They go back to the compound and a chance run in has Tony and Steve with a chance to finally talk  argue. It leads to them agreeing to try it all again. And because their relationship is nothing if not a hurricane, they get married not very long after that. A small private ceremony with just the kids and their friends. The rest of the world got them 90% of the time, this was just for them. 

[written-prose-things]

Laptops, Chaos and Irritating Professors

Parkner Week prompt 3: “I am very small and have no money”

Read here on: AO3

SUMMARY:  Harley meets Peter on his first day of college. Peter wants to be friends, but Harley is extremely busy focusing on his research paper, scholarships and extra-curricular work, to pay him any attention.

That is, until Professor Stark pairs them up for the research project.

Harley realises that Peter isn't as bad as he seems.

Harley walked to class with a warm cup of coffee in his hands. His mind was whirring with thousands of thoughts on his first day of college.

Harley wondered if all his classmates felt weird, waking up in an unknown bed. Or was he the only one feeling out of place?

Though Harley didn’t want to focus on it, Harley knew that he was quite different from his classmates. The bed he’d woken up in, at the frat house was much bigger than the bed he had shared with Abby as a kid.

Harley sighed. Joining the frat had been the last thing he had wanted, but it had been the easiest way to cut down on accommodation charges. He didn’t want to be associated with the constant partying lifestyle of frats, but such was his life.

Harley stared at the building in front of him and took a deep breath. He dropped his empty cup in a trash can and walked in. This building was in the easternmost area of the campus, where his Introductory Dynamical Theory class would be held.

Harley tried to regulate his breathing as he walked towards room 208, He had no reason to be scared, he had gone over the course outline a week ago.

Professor Anthony Stark was teaching this course. Hw was one of the most renowned mathematicians in the world.

Harley opened the door slowly, peeking his head in. The class was mostly empty, a few students sat scattered around the room, busy staring into their phones or laptops.

Harley took a seat in the relative front of the class and sat down, pulling out his laptop.

Slowly, students began to trickle into the class. Harley kept his head down and stared at his laptop screen, a grainy photo of Abby grinning, with her crooked teeth smiled back at him.

They had taken the photo when she had won a blue ribbon at the science fair. Abby had claimed that she was going to become a scientist like him.

Harley was pulled out of his thoughts when a boy sat down next to him. Harley looked at the seats around him, which were all empty. Why did this boy sit next to him?

Against his better judgement, Harley turned to look at the boy. He was wearing brown trousers, a formal white shirt and a fluffy sweater with broad blue and green stripes.

It was the first class of the day, but the collar of the boy’s shirt was crumpled and the cuffs of his shirt were unbuttoned and poking out of his sweater.

The boy maintained their awkward eye contact as he took an obnoxious bite out of the green apple he was carrying. Harley stared at the boy, with his mouth hanging open, hoping that his blush wasn’t visible.

The boy then wiped his lips on his sweater’s arm, and Harley was grossed out of his stupor.

The boy swallowed his bite and extended his hand, “Peter. Peter Parker.”

Harley nodded jerkily, ignoring the boy’s hand, and faced his laptop again. The boy, Peter, nudged Harley in the ribs and said, “Usually, people introduce themselves in return.”

Harley barely suppressed the urge to wipe his shirt, where Peter had touched it; He only had a few clothes and didn’t want them to get apple stains.

Harley replied, “No thanks.”

Peter laughed, “That’s a unique name. Who chose it?”

Harley rolled his eyes. Before Peter could pester him more, Professor Stark walked in.

It was a strange experience for Harley to see the man outside a photo on the cover of a book. Harley attributed the feeling mostly to the fact that the professor had walked into class wearing jeans and a faded AC/DC shirt, with questionable marks on his face and arms.

Harley hadn’t been to any other class yet, but he assumed that this wasn’t the normal attire for a teacher.

Due to the professors unexpected attire, it took a moment for the class to notice him. Then a hush fell over the class.

The professor studied them all as he leaned his back against his table, his arms crossed over his chest.

He spoke as he gave them a once-over, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be late for our first class, but I got busy in the lab.”

Harley discreetly checked his watch as the professor spoke, “Anyway, let’s begin. This is Introduction to Dynamical Theory, I’m your professor. You can call me Tony.”

Harley realised that their professor, Tony, was almost 15 minutes late.

“I assume all of you have made yourselves familiar with the course material...” Tony asked an open-ended question.

After receiving a vague affirmative from the class, Tony continued, “Very well.”

He turned around and walked to the board, on which he wrote in block letters, “Birkinhoff Research Team”.

He faced them again and clapped his hands once to gain the attention of the few students who’s focus had wandered.

“The mathematics department has started a new research team this academic year, we will be taking on grad students as assistants. Which means all you have a chance. To be eligible for the position, you will have to submit a research report on one topic from our course work of this semester.”

The entire class erupted into excited whispers.

Harley wanted this badly. Working with Anthony Stark on a research project, even if as an assistant. He was going to get this. His eyes travelled subconsciously to the last topic in their course work, The Bifurcation Theory.

--x--

Harley walks into the library with purpose at the end of the day’s classes, his mind working over the different ways in which he can study The Choas Theory. He picks out all the books he thinks are necessary and sits down on a table in a secluded area of the library.

He starts opening the required pages in each book as his laptop switches on. A person blocks the light in front of him. Harley looks up from his book.

Peter Parker.

Harley rolls his eyes, “What do you want?”

Peter shrugs, “Your name.”

Harley squints at him, when Peter moves a little, and the light hits Harley’s eyes, “Why?”

Peter rests his hands on Harley’s table and leans across, “Because I want to be friends.”

Harley huffs, “No thanks.”

Peter looks a little unnerved which makes Harley feel quite content.

But the satisfaction evaporates when Peter walks around the table and sits down in the seat next to him.

“What are you doing?” Harley asks shortly.

Peter shrugs, “Studying.”

Harley groans and turns back to his laptop, to start writing. In his frustration, he gets easily irritated with his slow laptop. He clicks on his folder multiple times, as expected, the laptop hangs and promptly shuts down.

Harley rubs his temples with both his hands. His laptop is old and needs patience. Harley tries to calm down.

Peter’s presence doesn’t help. He whispers from next to Harley, “Oof, that’ rough buddy. Where’d you even get this laptop?”

Harley ignores Peter, which turns out, is worse than responding to him. Peter takes his lack of response as an invitation to poke around with the laptop.

Peter mumbles, “I could use some of its parts for my mechanics class.”

Harley whisks the laptop away from Peter, “Stay away from it. I know you rich kids don’t understand, but this is the only thing I can afford. Leave me alone.”

Without waiting for Peter’s response, Harley hauls his bag onto his shoulder and walks out of the library, leaving him to clean up the table and put the books away.

--x--

Over the next month, Harley fixes his routine. He does his work in the house, according to the chart, every morning. The heads to his classes or the library, before meeting his study group at lunchtime and finally spends an hour every alternate day, tutoring his classmates.

He strikes up a tentative friendship with the boys at his frat house and even talks to a few of his classmates. Part of his routine also includes interacting with Peter Parker, despite his best efforts. As it turns out, they share a lot of the same classes.

Monday morning, when Harley walks into class, Peter is already seated in the front of the class. Harley hopes that the shorter boy doesn't try to strike up a conversation. But his pleas are ignored by the gods above.

Peter grins at him, "What's got you in such a lovely mood today?"

Harley rolls his eyes and sits down, a couple of seats behind the aggravating boy. But on this day, with none of his friends around, Peter is bored enough to pursue Harley.

"No, seriously. At first, I thought you weren't a morning person, but how do you manage to maintain this shitty mood throughout the day?"

Harley is saved from answering when Tony walks into class, on time for once.

As it turns out, Anthony Stark is quite a weird teacher. He is always sleep-deprived and his erratic, coffee-induced behaviour is always the talk of the physics department. He regularly asks them to meet him in the lawns for classes.

"Alright, children," Tony says patronisingly, "I had asked for an overview of your research this weekend. And I realised, that quite a few of you have similar topics. So, I'm going to group all of you who have similar areas of focus."

Harley rolls his eyes. Great, a group project is exactly what he needs.

Tony claps his hands to gain their attention and says, "So the groups are..."

He hears Peter say in the front, "Oh great."

Of course, he's excited. Rich kids like Peter, who get in through donations, are more interested in making friends than they are in studying.

Harley watches as his classmates get grouped. Their excitement is palpable. Against his better judgement, Harley wonders how cool it would be if, he were able to make friends through this project.

His hopes get dashed before he can even properly start day-dreaming.

Tony adds, "Harley Keener on Bifurcation Theory with..." Tony scans his list, "Peter Parker."

For his part, Peter looks a little less enthusiastic at having been partnered with him.

--x--

Harley opens the door when the doorbell rings at their decided time. Peter smiles at him, "I didn't think you'd be a frat boy!"

Harley winces at his volume. Peter's lesser enthusiasm is still quite a lot for Harley to stomach.

Harley steps aside and lets Peter in. Outside, the sky rumbles. The rain has been sparse throughout the day, but the humidity is awful.

They walk into the house, Peter stopping to say hi to almost every housemate of Harley's.

When they finally reach Harley's room, Peter plops down on his bed, making himself very comfortable.

Harley closes the door and Peter quips, "Hey, I didn't get the memo for bedroom activities."

Harley turns around to see Peter wiggling his eyebrows, he scoffs, "Shut up."

Peter sighs, "Look I know that you aren't very fond of me, but we have to get this project done."

Harley feels uncomfortable at such honesty from Peter.

He pulls out his laptop and sits down on the bed next to Peter. Peter comments abruptly, "I didn't mean to make fun of your laptop. Sorry about it."

Harley nods. Peter's genuine comments are making him feel weird.

--x--

Harley and Peter spend the next few hours from lunch to dinner on their project, eating ramen, typing on their laptops, pulling out different reference articles and such.

Harley realises that Peter isn't exactly like he had assumed. The boy is whip-smart, quick enough to pick up the half-baked ideas Harley thinks of.

Of course, Peter is still snarky, over-enthusiastic jokester. Harley has to keep drawing the conversation back to their research at hand from whichever pokemon Peter starts ranting about.

As they finally finish outlining their draft, Harley's stomach rumbles. Peter checks his watch, "It's just 10, we can finish touching this up."

Harley grumbles, "No."

Peter looks up from his screen, a smile on his face, "Have I found your weakness, Harls?"

Harley rolls his eyes at the nickname. Peter's smile widens, "I think I'm going to stay."

Harley glares at him, "I have to sleep, go away."

Peter laughs, "Make me."

This is the easiest choice Harley has ever had to make. In under 4 minutes, Harley has dragged the shorter boy to the door of their frat. Each step he takes to the door brings him closer to the solitude he wants.

As expected, Harley's hopes go down the gutter when he opens the door. It's raining. The part of the pathway in front of the house, visible in the light of the porch, is submerged in water.

Peter looks at him. Harley averts his eyes from the shorter boy's face. He didn't know Peter could pull off such a good kicked puppy expression.

Peter whispers, "Don't make me go..."

Harley chances a glance at Peter's face. Peter uses the opportunity to lay on even more guilt, "I'm really small and have no money."

Harley rolls his eyes but lets go of Peter's hoodie.

The change in the shorter boy's mood makes Harley's head spin.

In a moment, Peter is running back up the stairs, whooping.

Harley walks to the kitchen and picks up whatever's left in the fridge before following Peter.

When Harley enters his room, Peter is already lying star-fished on his bed.

Harley sets down his food on the bedside table and shoves Peter out of the bed. Peter lets out a terrible groan, but Harley assures himself that the carpeted floor would have broken his fall. Just in case, he throws Peter two pillows and a blanket.

Maybe Peter isn't as bad as he seems...

[alix-writes-things]

Ember’s Story Chapter One: Surprises

“Ember!” Everett yells up the stairs, “Stop being a hermit and get you non-binary butt down here! We’re going to be late!”

This boy will be the death of me. He has no patience. We’re more than twenty minutes early, but does that stop him from worrying? Of course not!

“I’m coming!” I yell back impatiently, “Stop worrying! I’ll be down in a minute!”

Technically, we don’t have to go to school today. It’s finals week, and neither of us have an exam today. We’re both just nerds who want the excuse to spend more time in the library. Even if that does require a completely fire-proof room, special gloves, multiple fire extinguishers, and constant check-ins from the librarian.

The reason for the precautions has to do with my name. Or, rather, how names work. When we’re born, the first thing the parent who gave birth to you says is your first name while the first thing your other parent says is your middle name. It makes no sense, but somehow it works. I’ve asked multiple parents, and, according to them, they get this intense urge to say a specific word or something like that. As I said, it makes no sense.

However, one’s name holds immense power over their fate, or, in my case, doom. Most children, like my brother and sister, get names that mean something along the lines of love or hope. I was not so lucky. My full name is Ember Spark Hawthorn. I’m not so sure what the combination of fire and a type of tree means, but I’m almost positive it won’t end well.

Because my name quite literally means fire, there have been certain precautions put into place because of me. I’m not allowed in vehicles that run on gasoline or diesel, I can’t go outside during droughts, every table and chair I’ve ever sat in has been made of metal or plastic, and all my clothes are fire-proof. That’s only the short list.

“Hurry up!” Everett yells, “I have a surprise for you!”

This intrigues me. His surprises are few and far between, but they’re always awesome. I start heading downstairs when I realize I forgot my shoes. After putting on my shoes, I check myself in the mirror. I’m wearing my favorite Harley-Davidson t-shirt over a black-and-white-striped long-sleeved shirt, a pair of ripped black jeans, and my favorite black, vegan leather combat boots. Between the mostly black outfit and my unhealthy level of paleness, my bright red hair stands out even more than usual. I need to re-dye it. The color is starting to fade, and my roots are staring to grow back out.

I run downstairs and am greeted by Everett smiling mischievously. At 6’3”, he stands at 4 inches taller than me. He’s wearing a short sleeved, brightly colored graphic tee, a pair of paint-splattered denim jeans that he usually only wears during prop construction for theatre, and his normal grey sneakers. His outfit suggests we have rehearsal after school today, but I know it’s most likely he hasn’t done laundry this week. Judging by the faint purple in his dark, curly hair, he tried, and failed, to dye his hair again last night without bleaching it first. He catches me looking and gives me a look that says, “Don’t say whatever it is you’re thinking.”

“So, wannabe grape head, what’s the surprise?” I ask him, smirking.

“Don’t mention the hair, or I’ll take away the surprise,” he says with complete seriousness.

“Right. Sorry. So, what’s the surprise?”

“Follow me, Freckles.”

“Didn’t I tell you to stop calling me that?”

“’Wannabe grape head’”

“Fair enough. Anyways. Surprise!”

He tells me to close my eyes and attempts to lead me through the hall and out the door. We quickly abandon this plan after I near knock over a lamp after bumping into the small glass table that my parents decided to put into the narrowest hallway in the house. Once we reach the front door at the end of the insanely narrow, overly clean hallway, Everett has me close my eyes and leads me out the door. I hear it close behind me, and, after a few steps, Everett has me open my eyes.

“You idiot. You absolute idiot,” I say, “Why?”

He’s parked his old, oil-leaking, gasoline-running, not-at-all-fire-proof car in my driveway.

“Well,” he says, “I didn’t want to walk today, and I figured that a five-minute car ride won’t be too dangerous.”

“Your car leaks oil, runs on 20 gallons of pure gasoline, and has a gas can in the trunk!” I reply, “So much could go wrong. We could explode!”

He doesn’t reply and just gets in. After a minute, I sigh and get in with him. This is the first time I’ve ever been in a car, and I’m amazed. I didn’t know what to expect, but it sure wasn’t this. The seats are covered in a black, mesh-y fabric, the radio is touchscreen, the dashboard is dusty, and the check engine light is on. I knew this was a bad idea.

“Everett,” I say, “please tell me the check engine light doesn’t actually mean anything.”

“Well,” he says nervously, “technically nothing’s wrong. I probably just need to change the oil.”

“We’re going to die.”

“No, we won’t.”

As soon as the words leave his mouth, smoke starts to rise from the hood.

“Yeah. I knew this was a bad idea. Get out,” I tell him while opening the door.

I move away from the car as quickly as possible while Everett goes to check under the hood. He says nothing’s wrong, but I’m not sure how much I believe him. We decide to walk like usual. At least I know the Council of Elders wasn’t just paranoid about the whole car thing. The Council of Elders is a group of the wisest members of society who make very important decisions mainly regarding the name fate/doom thing. All I really know is they’re the ones who tried, and failed miserably, to keep me out of libraries and bookstores.

“I’m sorry,” Everett says, “I really thought that would work.”

I tell him not to worry, and we change the subject. Unfortunately for me, Everett wants to talk about me and Nox. Nox is the person I’ve had a crush on for the better part of the last 8 years.

“Listen,” I say, “there’s nothing to talk about.”

“Bs,” he retorts, “I see the way you look at them.”

“Shut-,” I start to say, but I’m interrupted by Nox walking toward us.

“Hey,” they say

“Hey,” I reply awkwardly while failing miserably to not blush.

We stand there awkwardly smiling until:

“Hey Everett! How are you? Oh, I’m great! I’m just being ignored by my best friend and their crush!”

I swear I will kill this boy one day.

“Oh, um, hey, Everett,” Nox says, still looking at me.

“So,” I say, “Do you want to walk with us?”

“Sure,” they say, stuttering slightly.

I can’t help but smile at their shyness.

“Do you guys have exams today?” Nox asks.

“No,” Everett answers, “Ember just wants to hang out in the library like a nerd.”

“You’re allowed in the library?” Nox asks.

“Kind of,” I answer, “I have to stay in a fireproof room with gloves, fire extinguishers, and near-constant supervision.”

“Oh,” they say, “Well, I don’t have anything to do today either.”

I recognize what they’re doing. Like me, they’re too shy to directly ask to join others.

“You should join me,” I say, then quickly add, “so Everett can hangout with his friends,” because they won’t say yes unless I do.

“Are you sure?” they ask.

“Totally!” I say with probably too much enthusiasm.

Nox smiles and nods their head. We walk the rest of the way in a comfortable silence that is only broken by some idiot on the football team yelling:

“Hey, freaks! I didn’t know they let mistakes like you in on days you don’t have to be here! Why don’t you all do us a favor and let the goth freak bring you too close to a ledge! Or, better yet, let fire head bring you into a forest!”

I know he’s just trying to get a ride out of us, but Nox is visibly upset, and I’m not about to let that pass.

“Hey, jackass!” I yell back, “Why don’t you go get your tenth concussion of the season? Maybe that’ll knock your brain cells together long enough for you to pass a class!”

The look on his face tells me he doesn’t know what I just said.

“It means get lost, dumbass!” Everett yells.

Except Everett’s voice is much deeper than that. I turn to see him staring at Nox in open-mouthed, jaw-dropped awe. I look at Nox, and I’m surprised to see them. Their fists are clenched, their jaw is set, their face is red, and their eyes have this look in them. It’s a look I know all too well from days where people just won’t stop being jerks to either of us. It’s like they have Hell and death in their eyes. It’s kind of hot.

Word count: 1,531

[jaskiersbeloved]

Why do you like Tony so much?

Ummm... How much time do you have? 😅

But okay, let's do this.

1. I'm a really sentimental person. Tony Stark has been one of the first superheros that I have met and my dad introduced me to him when I was eight. Also watching Iron Man movies has been some sort of a tradition between us.

2. Tony has flaws. He fucks up really badly. He can be narcissistic. He can be overdramatic, he is a recovering alcoholic, had a really shitty father, he has done stupid shit while younger and reckless things while older. And that's amazing. He isn't a perfect statue. He is a believeble human being.

3. He learns from his mistakes. All Tony wants is to make the world a better, safer place for everyone. Was Ultron a mistake? Yes. But the idea behind it was valid. And when he saw that he has too much of a power he decided that he should give it up. Most people would hide from such a "mistake" but not Tony. He's facing the problems he had caused and is able to accept punishments for it.

4. There is more to him than just a barvado. Even though he is an extravert he can be quiet and thoughtful. He never looks down at people because they are poorer than him or have different problems. Rather, he tries to help. Which brings me to the next point.

5. He is caring. Wether it'd be an agent who keeps calling him, a kid that has started the superheroing, a kid who's being bullied or an android woman who's never knew what a fatherly love and fair rivalry is, he will take everyone under his wing and care about them enough, to know little things about them. He knew about Phil having a girlfriend. He provided Peter with tech that was supposed to keep him safe. He remembered about Harley. Despite his state he offered last bits of food to Nebula. He also usually tired to make sure that Pepper didn't get in a way of his fights.

6. He's loyal. While we know that he isn't much of a team player at the start of the MCU this has changed and I believe Tony's one of the most loyal members of the Avengers. When Steve got him the burner phone he could have always track down the signal and turn him to the government just of the spite, but he didn't. Heck, he gave up the peaceful life he had to come back to the team.

7. He is a superhero with canon mental illness. Representation matters.

8. People can identify with him on so many levels. Personally I'm not extraverted person but I do hide between sarcasm and irony. I have mental health issues. I can be a self sacrificial idiot, I care about others too much, I sometimes may not have a good coping mechanism and I do fuck up a lot. And when I see that he, despite all of that, is still going, still willing to fight... It helps me as well. It gets me the boost I need.

9. His redemption arc. At the start of the Iron Man we meet him as this bratty, spoiled man who's too cocky for his own good and doesn't care about anything. But now? He's the first one to sacrifice his life for others, first one to care about people. He does have a cocky attitude, but that's a part of his character (that I love). He doesn't take his mistakes lightly and he really tired to fix this.

10. He recognises qualities of other people. He takes a look at Peter and does everything to help him to achieve higher things, because he sees how smart the kid is. He knows Pepper is better at managing business things and makes her a CEO without batting an eyelash. He sees Bruce and respects him as one scientist respects another. Even though he had a word sparring with Steve, he knows he's a good strategist and a natural leader, so he's willingly letting him order around when the Chitauri attacks. In AOU he knows that the Maximoff twins can help with the battle, even though they didn't do much to earn his trust.

That's only 10 points that came to my mind immediately. Everyone feel free to add more, I'd love to see this list grow. ❤️

[embryon-heartbreaker]

Finally getting around to this! Sorry about the delay! My phone doesn't have all of the emojis, so sorry about that. I'll add them in if I have them.

🎥 Do you have any favorite scenes from your hyperfixation?

Since my current hyperfixation is Digital Devil Saga and Quantum Devil Saga, I'll do an answer for both!

DDS: One of my favorite scenes that comes to mind from the first game has to be Heat interrogating Harley about Sera. Specifically, you can hear the build up in his voice. The desperation, the frustration, and just sheer emotion welling up as it practically explodes as his irises flash red. It's amazingly well delivered, and his voice actor did an amazing job! Haven't heard this scene in Japanese yet, though. I really want to! This, and the entire balcony scene at the end of the Amusement Park dungeon. You know what, I loved that entire dungeon tbh. Also, almost all of the scenes in dds2 were great, and I can't pick just one!

QDS: Part of me wants to say "Every part where Serph describes Heat", but I honestly feel like it'd be a bit cliche(even though those parts are GREAT!).

Although, I'd have to narrow it down to the parts where you can really see Gale's personality and mental state shining through his programming and conditioning, and almost any time Cielo and Sera are together. Those two are so adorable! So many books and shows feel the need that if a boy and a girl are close that they need to be romantically involved! It's absolutely refreshing to see those two being as close as a pair of siblings, and their relationship honestly reflects that. Also Cielo's line of "Your smile is better than any medicine!"(or something along those lines) just kills me from cuteness every time!

💕 Tell us about one of your favorite characters and why you like them!

Out of both pieces of media, I honestly can't pick just one character. I might end up picking two, honestly. XD

DDS: Heat is definitely a high candidate for "favorite character". No, this isn't because of "hurhur big hot beefy man me likey!" Legitimately, I find his character incredibly interesting and compelling. He goes from this angry and aggressive man who probably caused at least 1 character to have anxiety problems, to someone who quite honestly cares a lot about those under his care. During the return to the Maribel's base, he is the ONLY PERSON to voice concern about the fact that the only person with a High Atma who could protect Sera was Cielo. He was worried about the kids back at their base, and after you fight Bat, HE is the only one who immediately makes a b-line straight back to base. I'm not even going to get into the whole "Destiny Castle" deal, and everything that happens in dds2, because we'd be here all day otherwise.

Second favorite character in DDS would probably be Cielo. He starts out as the happy-go-lucky comic relief, but from the start, even before his emotions fully awaken, he shows signs of worrying and caring about everyone. He voices concerns when Heat suggests going to the Vanguards' base, and he's even still very close to Gale after the guy went berserk and tried to eat him! Let's not forget how he and Sera still have a brother/sister relationship in the games as well! 

Although, I feel like his character fully blossoms during the second game, where one of the minor villains not only causes him to actually snap, but he still finds it in him to smile, laugh, and joke, despite his world almost literally crumbling around him.(Also, not trying to spoil this for anyone else, but the first time I watched through dds2, and I made it to the part where Cielo dances and jokes about showing God his "Latin Rhythms", the context of what had happened just prior, and what was going to happen… Seeing him do that fucking broke me. I was actually curled up on my bed under fuzzy blankets, my box of tissues next to me, crying. Bless you, funky little Cielo.)

QDS: GALE. 100%, one of my favorite characters by far in the books(besides still Heat and Cielo), would be Gale. Why, you might ask?

Gale in the books is shown to be exceptionally intelligent, but has a hard time comprehending his own emotions and expressing them. He tries to bury his own inner turmoils and anxieties under his own work, although he still cares a lot about the well being of his teammates, especially Serph, and that's beyond his programming as a Bishop. He is also shown to be very creative with his planning, and is able to relatively accurately judge how people may react to certain situations, despite not understanding himself. Also, he has some slight nervous fidgets(tapping his fingers on desks, rubbing his temples, etc), and he is shown to, despite having Sera's calming presence and the effects of her blood(long story) nearby, he does visibly have a lot of anxiety at having his whole world and environment changed, as well as his careful routine, and has a tendency to hyperfocus on things, and he spirals into a loop of repeating thoughts when Serph ends up causing Gale to question if his loyalty lies with Serph or with the Tribe.

Gale. Is. AUTISTIC.

I, myself, am Autistic. I have ADD, and a severe anxiety disorder on top of this. QDS is probably one of the best written autistic/neuroatypical characters I have ever come across, and he's not played off as "comic relief", "childish", or even bordline sociopathic! He CARES! He cares A LOT! He even ends up in a healthy and stable relationship in the end! Also, he's the team's designated driver, holder of the braincells, and the team mom!

(Also, I like all of the characters in the books one way or another. They're all wonderfully written, and I enjoy them all a lot!! 8D)

🍀 Do you have any kins or comfort characters from your hyperfixation?

Hm… I'm not entirely sure how to respond to this. I'm guessing this means whichever characters give me the most happy feelies?

DDS: Almost all of the Embryon squad+Roland. Characters that give me the most happy feelies would probably actually be Cielo, Sera, Heat, Gale...I'm probably gonna end up listing all of them. XD Also, O'Brien. Part Irish people unite!!!!

QDS: Gale for obvious reasons(I need to post/reblog my drawing of him later), Sera for being the physical embodiment of "babey", Cielo for being something similar, any time Serph and Heat are together and Heat's not being angry, and Argilla around Jinana.

Noticing that this is more situational, but this is the best way I can describe this.

This was really fun to to do! Everyone is free to ask me whatever they want! 8D

[ravens-lil-nest]

Rose Rework

Well less of a rework and more me spouting ideas and defining Rose’s character more. 

Rose’s upfront personality can be simply be described as cold and calculating with a permanent resting bitch face. Her mere presence is unnerving to most people, especially because it feels like she is always judging you. I imagine its a huge joke among YIJ that she never laughs or smiles when she first joins them. 

But of course I am a sucker for cliches, so Rose’s intimidating persona really is just her covering up her serious lack of social skills. As you all know, she is on the spectrum which she is really self conscious about. She stays quiet most of the time, more of an observer, but as she grows more comfortable around the team, she does throw in a sassy one-liner here and there. The first time she ripped apart Ethan, I imagine everyone felt like they had whip lash.

If we are being honest Rose is pretty passive aggressive when she talks, with vague threats laced in between her words.

She also comes across as quite arrogant and prideful, especially when it comes to things she knows she is good at. This is tied to the fact that very often feels inferior, like she will never good enough.

Rose is extremely objective orientated. When she sets out on a task, she won’t stop until its completed and very often pulls a couple all nighters in a row, especially when she is working on gear for the team.

Originally, Rose’s decent into villainy is a bit like flipping a light switch, however, I want it to be a bit more gradual. As you all know, her adoptive mother is quiet strict and abusive, so it really all started with Rose sneaking out to escape from it all.

When she was about 15, she had been roaming the streets of Gotham one night when she came across a pair of robbers trying to break into a jewelry store. She bluntly told them they were doing it wrong and before either of them could react, next thing they knew Rose had completely disarmed the store’s security system. At that point they simply shoved a bag at her and told her to cover her face. In away it felt like it was the first time she was really controlling her own life. The robbers were willing to let her keep her bag but all she kept was a necklace with a small, crown charm on it.

It just kinda kept escalating from there as she essentially was just exploring what kind of crime she could get away with. Arson was pretty high on that list, especially destroying anything that related politically to Senator Nelson, her mother. During one of these “acts of rebellion” is when Rose met the Gotham Sirens for the first time. They encouraged and even helped her to destroy the hall that her adoptive mother was supposed to have a speech in the next morning. This moment is what really pushed her to step into the land of villains because the Gotham Sirens became her idols, especially Harley Quinn. She wanted to be just like them and thus Queen was born.

Her whole persona as Queen is huge mental release for Rose, essentially becoming a living and breathing metaphor for her taking control of her life.

Rose’s main special interest, besides mass destruction, is engineering. She was 7 when she managed to make her own main frame for the security system at her house. Other interests come and go depending on the project she is working on, but in general she is just scary smart. Kinda like an evil Tony Stark.

She builds her whole look from scratch, with some sewing help from catwoman to ensure that that materials don’t agitate her. However, most notably would be the gauntlets and boots she created. The gauntlets have multiple different functions including a wrist mounted gun, built in tasers, and a laser like ability that functions similar to combustion bending from AtLA to allow her to cause explosions out of thin air. Her boots also have built in thrusters to allow her to hover and fly short distances. Later on in life, I imagine she builds a proper flying suit.

Rose also goes out of her way to build things for the team, especially after she grows much closer with them. She probably straight up builds Hanna a new oven after some mess that Dev, Will, and Annie caused.

So some things on the abuse that Rose experiences through her adoptive mother along with some plot that I have had on my mind for awhile to really shape and push Rose’s character. 

Senator Nelson is a extremely manipulative woman and has used Rose to get what she wants her whole life, putting her through behavioral correction therapy and verbal abuse on a daily. She has essentially driven Rose to believe that there is something wrong with her and that she will never be good enough. 

She is around 16/17 when she finally joins the team through Hanna and kinda realizes that it’s okay to mess up. During this time she is still in school and because she is investing so much time with the team that she lets her grades drop. At first this goes unnoticed by her mother, but during the spring semester of her senior year, Senator Nelson is informed that her daughter would not be graduating with the rest of her class.

This leads to an abusive lecture that Rose tries to ignore and walk away from, but Senator Nelson actually hits Rose and continues to do so until Rose just snaps and knocks her unconscious. She ends up taking her mother to an abandoned warehouse across Gotham to torture and possibly kill her. 

This is of course foiled by Batman and Robin and she is arrested which really blind sides the whole team. None of them really know about the abusive, not even Will but they still break Rose out of Jail before she goes to court. Its here that Rose finally realizes that the team really, truly cares about her and she is just so overwhelmed with emotion and I imagine this is just a good moment of truly familiar bonding for all of this. 

Also before all of this happens, Rose provides for the Team a lot, financially speaking. She would divert portions of her mother’s salary to a debit card that she gives to Hanna to help with food/medical supplies/etc. Of course she all goes away after everything goes to shit and the team probably feels it for the first couple months but that just means more stealing and bank heists so really everyone is happier in the end.

Another quick note. There is a couple reasons she doesn’t tell anyone on the team about her abuse. Firstly, Rose doesn’t trust most of them for a really long time. Secondly, she was scared that if she did that they would think her weak and abandon her. 

Now for some random things:

Rose is overall a very simple person and isn’t all that flashy outside of the Queen persona. However, she almost is always wearing some form of heal to add to her natural 6′0 height. 

She likes to keep small potted plants around her “lab” at the hide out. They all have names and Sir Lancelot the Venus Flytrap is her favorite. 

I noticed a lot of the team has died hair and all I can picture is Rose shyly asking Hanna or Brit to help her dye her hair pink one time. She is so happy and can’t stop touching it. 

To stim, Rose tends to pop her fingers a lot. She also clicks her nails against things to help ground her. 

Her lab and notebooks are littered with random facts about everyone on the team, like hobbies, interests, and things to avoid. They are color coordinated too, so anything written in blue is about Hanna.

[littlehollyleaf]

Your Riddler Oracle Au (that you will never write) seriously sounds amazing. You could even add the tragedy kink in with Eddie becoming more and more enticed with the dark side (a 'personal trap' (description stolen from Norman Bates) because of his abusive upbringing) and both Batman and Foxy end up worrying about him as he slips more and more. Kinda like a telltale thing with John Doe, but dealing with Foxy way more, because of the years of love they had. Sorry, too much nerding of your au. 8P

(Au anon being overly annoying over here) it can even include Eddie becoming somewhat enamored with Ozzie, or the idea of Ozzie, similar to that Harley Quinn parallel post you put up earlier. Basically tempting that part of his mind to the dark side.

HI ANON I AM FINALLY REPLYING!

Firstly I just - god bless you for being so excited about my daydream ramblings <3 I am THRILLED with all your ideas :)

I ramble more OVER HERE with more AU thoughts/plotting that touches on Ed being tempted by darkness a little. Cos in my scenario I imagine him still trying/wanting to kill Tom Doughty - it’s just lucky that Foxy stops him in time. Plus I’d keep the whole bit with Eddie in Arkham torturing Bruce and Foxy, so he’d be tapping into his darker, slightly sadistic desires there (though in my scenario I picture him being influenced/brainwashed by Hugo into doing that - which, hi hi, has now been stolen as a plot by the show perhaps?? :p).

In the link above I stop my imagining at the end of S02, but listen... I HAVE SO MANY MORE FOXMA CANON-AU IDEAS, FOR REAL. IT KEEPS ME ENTERTAINED DURING BORING DAYS OKAY?? 

So, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, but you inspired me to write them down.

Please forgive me for the insanely extensive ramble!

So, as I hint in the link, I was thinking -

S03 Eddie as Chief of Staff to Ozzie plot al a canon

For purposes of ~drama I like to daydream that Eddie is on compulsory sick leave from the GCPD because whatever Hugo did to him at Arkham has been fucking him up a little - causing him to have violent episodes, hallucinations..... basically I guess the mental break that happened after he killed Tom in canon

Foxy has been the wonderful, caring, loving, supportive boyfriend we all know he would be and helping Ed as best he can through all this

Oh they are also totally living together now

But Ed is scared to talk to Foxy about all the dark impulses that Hugo’s tinkering has brought to light in him because Foxy is (so he thinks) all pure and stuff and Ed doesn’t want to burden him or risk scaring Foxy away

Plus Ed is going crazy not being able to work

So one day when he turns up at the GCPD trying to convince Jim to let him come back and is refused (politely and with sympathy) he just SNAPS and RAGE QUITS and stomps out... only to be found moping on the sidewalk a while later by Ozzie

Now Ozzie, like in canon, has grown rather fond of Ed due to Ed nursing him back to health after being shot by Galavan and ofc in this world from Eddie going to visit him in Arkham and then trying to save him from Hugo

So on learning that Ed has been, so Ozzie spins it, ‘fired’ for being ‘violent’ or whatever, Ozzie immediately offers Ed a job helping in his Mayoral campaign

Probably Ed and Ozzie end up having a little chat about violent impulses and the like too, because it’s easier to talk to an infamous violent criminal about such things than it is with a seemingly innocent, saintly boyfriend, causing Ed to immediately warm to the idea of working with Oswald and maybe by doing so being able to unburden himself of his troublesome thoughts/feelings and... maybe even find some possible outlets for them...? ie. being enticed towards darker acts like you suggest anon!

When Ed reveals this to Foxy though, Foxy is... NOT HAPPY with the idea of Ed working with a criminal like Ozzie. Partly because he does not approve of the idea of Oswald as a Mayor and partly because he fears it won’t be good for Ed’s mental health

Which leads to a HUGE FIGHT with Eddie claiming that Foxy is being unfair about Oswald and treating Ed like he’s a child who can’t make his own decisions and the more Foxy tries to explain that’s not true the worse it sounds and the madder Ed gets. Plus any defence of Ozzie is met with disdain by Foxy. Until eventually they build up to some kind of ultimatum where Foxy tells Ed that ofc he’s capable of making his own decisions, but if he agrees to work with Oswald then Foxy can’t in good conscious continue with their relationship!

So a furious Ed is just - FINE THEN! And packs up his stuff and leaves.

And you can tell that both of them regret this RIGHT AWAY - Ed hovering outside the door on the verge of returning, Foxy with his hand on the doorknob poised to go after Ed and apologise

But in a tragic twist of timing they fail to make up - just as Eddie is about to return some neighbours walk by and see him with his suitcase and he feels compelled to walk on, then just as he’s out of sight Foxy plucks up the courage to open the door only to find Ed gone, noooo

Leading to Eddie turning up at the Van Dahl mansion suitcase in hand (maybe wet too, let’s imagine it raining!) where he tells Ozzie - yes I’ll take the job, but, I also kinda need somewhere to stay...

This is where the nygmobblepot - enticement towards darkness part really comes in!

Ozzie welcomes Ed in with open arms ofc and his journey to becoming Mayor plays out pretty much as in canon, with Eddie doing his supportive stuff and dipping into ‘lightly’ criminal behaviour to do so

Ozzie completely falls for Ed along the way, makes him Chief of Staff etc.

Ed is maybe, slightly, starting to develop deeper feelings for Ozzie too... and maybe there’s a bit of a ‘rebound’ aspect to it, but maybe not... plus Ozzie HAS been constantly accepting of Ed’s ‘darkside’ without judgement, which endears him to Ed, as well as the opportunities Ozzie may have provided to allow Ed to indulge said darkness (letting Ed help with interrogations and the like)

(also a lot of the warmth we saw build between Ed and Ozzie in S02 would totally have happened here as well - so they’ve got that history)

Meanwhile Foxy has taken over Ed’s job at the GCPD and watches Ed’s advancement on the news with growing concern... but also a little pride? Because... Ed seems happy... and healthy... and... maybe Oswald isn’t doing a TERRIBLE job as Mayor? (since Foxy wouldn’t know about the ins and outs of Ozzie also running the criminal underworld and how ever more deeply involved Ed is becoming with that)

UNTIL

That fateful day Ozzie plucks up the courage to confess his feelings and Ed stops off at a liquor store to purchase a bottle of wine.......

Only ofc it’s not Isabella Ed runs into 

So Ed finds Foxy while buying wine. They end up talking through the night. Both of them apologise for past behaviour. Foxy even reluctantly compliments Ozzie maybe. They both admit they miss each other. Feelings are rekindled. Kisses. They agree to try again.

Ed on learning the time, as in canon, rushes back to a frantic Ozzie and reveals that he and Foxy have decided to rekindle their romance and ISN’T IT GREAT?? :p

All the stuff about ‘second chances’ that Ed applied to Izzy in canon now fits rather nicely with him and Foxy :)

Ozzie’s jealousy progresses as in canon... to its inevitable conclusion (maybe there’s even a moment of crisis where Ed tries to break up with Foxy out of fear that he will hurt him, like he feared with Izzy, but Foxy also calms Ed’s fears... albeit without creepy cosplay... but maybe with rough sex though...? Foxy showing Ed that he’s not an innocent snowflake and can handle it if Ed needs to be a little dark...??)

OFC IN THIS SCENARIO OZZIE FAILS TO ACTUALLY KILL FOXY!

BUT - there’s a brief time where Foxy SEEMS to be dead (perhaps a mangled body was found in/by his crashed car that there is enough evidence to SUGGEST is Foxy for everyone to believe it... but actually it was a homeless man Foxy was giving a lift to a shelter or something... look you can’t expect me to think of ALL the details!)

AND OKAY HERE’S THE THING - while Ed thinks Foxy is dead, his whole development into The Riddler PLAYS OUT JUST AS IN CANON after Izzy died

So that’s - going through discovering Foxy was ‘murdered,’ blaming Butch, the whole bit with him and Tabby and the mini-guillotine, learning it was Ozzie who did it, teaming up with Babs etc against him, all the way to the docks and everything

Until we get lost and confused Ed post-Ozzie’s death going on his academic killing spree and sending riddles to the GCPD

Unhappily for Ed he only has poor Harvey to play with, since Jim is off doing important Court of Owls related plot business and Foxy is ofc unavailable

During it all Ed has some AMAZING hallucinations of BOTH OSWALD AND FOXY though... I confess I haven’t thought those through... but they DEFINITELY HAPPEN

How Harvey gets on with the chess and ‘belly of the beast’ stuff idk... maybe Lee helps... but somehow he muddles through to the finale with Eddie dangling him over the stairwell and asking his final three riddles

EXCEPT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GAME A WILD VERY MUCH ALIVE FOXY APPEARS AND BEGS ED TO STOP

Ofc Ed just thinks he’s hallucinating at first until Harvey exclaims his shock at Lucius being alive

Cue an intense, emotional conversation. Foxy, as in canon, twigs that Ed has killed Penguin. Ed counters, desperately - he killed you! Foxy is sympathetic. Loving. Reassuring Ed that he isn’t dead (he’s been in a coma listed as a John Doe or something, shhhh, details), that they can make this right

You can see Ed wants to believe this so badly... but he is torn... he’d built himself up into becoming a criminal, felt like fate had pushed him into it, he’d felt READY to be that man

How? he cries. How can we make this right? It’s not just Oswald. I’ve done things, killed people. I’ve killed people, Foxy, and I liked it!

It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, Foxy would insist. You’re still my Ed. My Riddler. Please, you don’t have to do this.

And Foxy would move closer, reaching out. 

And Ed would be on the verge of taking Foxy’s hand.

...but that’s when the rope holding Harvey would snap.

And a pained Ed would shake his head and back away - I’m sorry. I’m sorry, it’s too late!

Leaving Foxy to catch a falling Harvey while Ed runs away

I’m sorry I know this is too long and ridiculous but it’s been on my mind for SO.LONG and I’ve got a whole Court of Owls bit as well

In an effort to slot this whole AU into the canon as much as I can I picture Ed going on to try and be a criminal like he does in the show - green suit, robbing three banks in one night and all that (but I’m vetoing the use of the name ‘Riddler’ at this point)

Meanwhile Foxy is, just, distraught back at the GCPD - INSISTING to Jim and everyone that Ed is not himself, that he needs help, that they need to find him, that if they just find him he can talk Ed down he promises

And Jim is sympathetic probably, reassuring Foxy that the GCPD is doing all they can, that they all care about Ed (which may or may not be stretching the truth some at this point) and will do their best to bring him in without hurting him (Kristen, who is still alive, is also on Ed’s side maybe?)

Then we’ve got Babs drawing Ed into the Court of Owls stuff

And Ed in this AU is... much more obviously conflicted about his current life choices and acting reckless/suicidal (because dramatic death seems like an easy way out of his current emotional struggles)

So, as in canon, he jumps at the chance to poke at a dangerous, secret organisation

The whole thing with the Mayor and Jim at the GCPD plays out and Jim lets the Court capture Ed (which Foxy is PISSED to learn about after the fact because W.T.F Jim you promised you would bring him in safe! why didn’t you tell me? I could have talked him out of it if I’d been there!)

Cue Ed discovering Ozzie is alive and the two of them teaming up to bust out together

Cut to Foxy returning to the GCPD late at night - he’s forgotten a file he needs, he’s been very distracted lately

Only when he enters the building he finds - ED, in full ‘not-Riddler’ outfit, sitting at one of the desks

Foxy assumes Ed has come to see him, but what he doesn’t notice is that Ed is as surprised to see him as Foxy is to find him

But before they can have a real conversation - Jim arrives

And Foxy, like, PANICS and jumps in front of Jim, yelling at Ed to run, to just go, he’ll stop Jim, Ed just needs to get out before he’s caught (Foxy has grown less enamoured of the plan to have the GCPD catch Ed since Jim let the Court take him)

Except Ed just puts a quiet hand on Foxy’s shoulder and tells Foxy he’s sweet... but actually it’s Jim he’s come to see, dun dun!

TWIST - it turns out that Ed has been WORKING WITH/FOR JIM ever since Babs approached him about the Court

Eddie had found Jim and offered to become a spy on the Court if Jim promised to clear his criminal record in return

Meaning the whole ‘letting Ed be captured by the Court’ was really a ruse Jim and Ed had concocted together to get Ed inside the Court

Brief comedy moment where Jim is all - nice to see where your priorities lie though, Lucius - about Foxy trying to help Ed escape justice :p

Foxy is all - ?????? about all this ofc. But focuses on how dangerous it was for Ed to let himself be captured by the Court

Ed just shrugs off his possible death - it’s the only way he could see to untangle himself from the criminal he’d become, to stand any chance of him and Foxy getting back to how they were

There’s a quick debrief with Jim - unfortunately Ed learnt little, only that Ozzie is still alive (which Jim already knew at this point) and that the Court are planning something big

Foxy wants to take Ed home at this point - end the whole thing. But Ed thinks he should go back to Babs etc - that he might be able to learn more while still a criminal

(also secretly Ed is still reeling over Ozzie not being dead and there is a dark part of him that very much wants to try and kill Ozzie again)

Then we have Jervis and his blood being needed to cure the virus the Court unleashes

In canon Ed helps Babs take Jervis from Jim, then Jim bargains with Ed, offering him Ozzie to get him to hand Jervis over.... 

I’m fuzzy on how this would work in the AU... maybe Ed actually helps figure out that Jervis’ blood is key to the cure?

...I think...he would have to NOT be involved in Babs kidnapping Jervis, because he’d WANT Jim, Foxy etc to get Jervis’ blood, WANT to help cure the virus

But Babs ends up with Jervis anyways

So in this scenario Ed calls Jim to let him know he can get him Jervis..... BUT.... in the meantime Ed has discovered Jim has Ozzie and his dark impulses get the better of him - he refuses to hand Jervis over unless Jim delivers Ozzie

He tried to kill the man I love, Jim, Ed insists.

So Jim, making very sure not to tell Foxy, agrees

We get the warehouse scene (...maybe without the hand grenade around Jervis... maybe not :p)

Followed by Ozzie knocking Ed out, the car, Ed seemingly escaping...

...and on to the second docks scene

EXCEPT EXCEPT EXCEPT

When it comes to the pivotal moment when Ed has the chance to shoot Ozzie again and get it right this time...

...HE DOESN’T

He thinks of Foxy and of the better man Foxy sees in him and realises that’s the man he wants to be

I can’t, he says. If I do this, Lucius and I are over. I can’t be this man and still be with him. 

He gives Ozzie back the gun

Ozzie gives him a curious look

You really love him, don’t you?

Ed nods

Ozzie nods back, understanding. Then lifts the gun and pulls the trigger

It’s unloaded ofc - and Ozzie explains about taking out the bullets, nods to where Freeze and Ivy are appearing behind Eddie

Ed asks if Ozzie is going to kill him and Ozzie says he considered it, that he considered worse - it all depended on what Ed chose to do

But since Ed chose to spare him, Ozzie spares Ed as well and tells him to go back to the man he loves - something sappy about life only giving you one true love and Ed is lucky to have found his

Maybe Ed looks at Ozzie thoughtfully (slightly longingly?) for a moment and says something about - maybe, in another lifetime...

Cut to Foxy returning home after... helping with the virus cure... whatever he was doing at the end of S03!

Ed is waiting for him inside. In the dark, so Foxy is surprised by him when he turns on the light. Because Ed is embracing his Extraness now :p

INTENSE EMOTIONAL CONVERSATION

Foxy has discovered that Ed asked for Oswald and Jim gave him up and confronts Ed about it

Ed says he took Oswald to the docks to shoot him... but like, leaves it a little unclear for a bit what actually happened because he wants to know how Foxy would react to him having killed Ozzie, for real this time

And here’s my kicker - Foxy disapproves... but he accepts it. Is willing to still be with Ed, even knowing Ed has committed premeditated murder in what is arguably sound mind (his killing spree after Foxy’s ‘death’ being something Foxy has been justifying as a result of mental illness)

Which is, ofc, a hell of an emotional boost to Ed!

Cue angry, relieved punching when Ed reveals the truth 

...some stuff with Ed insisting that he’s different now - they can’t go back to how they were, there’s a ‘darkness’ in him and that’s not going to change

Foxy telling him he understands. 

Something like - this is Gotham, living here, you need some darkness in you or you won’t survive...

....some kind of fancy wordplay anyways that shows that Foxy can handle darkness and isn’t exactly all light himself

Which leads to kinky sex

THE END

only not ofc :p

because you have all of S04... 

I don’t have a full plot for that, but I imagine Ed getting involved with Ozzie’s battle with Sofia somehow, because Ed withstanding torture for Ozzie and Ozzie giving up his revenge for Ed is just.... TOO GOOD and I need it to exist in this AU as well...

I have out of context ideas about Ed helping with Martin as well still, and he, Foxy AND OSWALD end up all living together with Martin for a bit (or at least Martin lives with Ed and Foxy and Ozzie comes to visit)

...which ties in to my secret Endgame Scenario where, in the midst of proper Batman times, Ozzie EVENTUALLY (after lots of criminal shenanigans) ends up going (mostly) legit and he, Eddie and Foxy develop a working poly relationship... but that’s in the far future :p

(also I’ve got a whole ~THING where Eddie finds out Foxy works for Batman - cos it’s not Foxy’s secret to tell, right? so I figure he would feel honour bound to keep the fact Bruce is Batman even from his boyfriend... only Eddie is not dumb and notices Foxy working later than he should and maybe Foxy’s excuses don’t hold up and whatnot and long story short Eddie becomes, reluctantly, convinced that FOXY MUST BE HAVING AN AFFAIR, even though it doesn’t fit his character AT ALL and by all accounts shouldn’t make sense... so anyway, yeah, he confronts Foxy, and Foxy CAN’T tell him the truth, so with Foxy refusing to explain himself Eddie is forced to conclude that his suspicions must be correct and it’s all just awkward and upsetting...

...only obviously Ed finds out the truth soon after - I keep picturing a scene where he comes upon Barbara Gordon at the GCPD (which Eddie goes back to work at fyi - teaming up with Foxy there for a bit till Foxy goes back to Wayne Enterprises). He finds her trying to hack into Batman’s radio, because she’s a fan. And because Eddie needs a distraction from his homelife (and is also a fan) he helps her and they succeed, only to listen in to Batman having a conversation WITH FOXY, leaving Ed all - ??????!

and ofc he hijacks the line and is all - FOXY THE FUCK?! 

...followed by a shocked (slightly awed) - FOXY OMG ARE YOU HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH BATMAN??

to which Bruce and Lucius are both - aaaaah! wow, omg, fucking NO!

...and yeah, that’s how Ed finds out his boyfriend works for the Bat and ultimately leads to him (and Barbara) joining the team :p)

Soooo... yes... there we go. A more detailed look into my ‘Ed and Foxy were friends at uni’ foxma AU version of Gotham/Batman, including Eddie having an ongoing, complicated relationship with Oswald which involves him constantly struggling with his darker impulses and being tempted to... less than lawful/ethical/moral behaviour.

(I feel like maybe sometimes as well, when Eddie is working alongside the Bat Fam, he maybe... quietly orchestrates things so certainly particularly vile villains end up, um, ‘unalive’ ...but in ways that aren’t obviously deliberate... or maybe even occasionally, secretly teams up with Ozzie to help bump off various people...

oh shit and yeah that’s the other thing - in this AU, when Eddie becomes Oracle!Riddler... mostly I just take it as read that Ozzie 100% knows it’s him from the get go... but he just... never says anything... and even though he knows that technically he could probably go after Eddie and try and torture the identity of Batman out of him, Ozzie just... doesn’t... because - love, you know? ;p)

God this is way too long, I’m so very sorry...

[fitzsimmons-philinda]

Agents of SHIELD 4x15

*SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT* Seriously if you not up to date with this show as in have seen up through season 4 episode 15 don't read this. "A defining human trait seems to be regret." - Ada Okay so Radcliffe really did not think this through. The whole idea behind the Framework is to create a world with out pain right? So he creates a reality where so far six individuals have erased their one biggest regret and taken away the pain that came with it. But look at how it changed the world. May saved the girl. Okay great so she's probably still with Andrew and they were working on a kid or two so likelihood of her also being a mom is kinda high barring something extreme like infertility or something along those lines. Coulson wishes he hadn't joined SHIELD in the first place which brings a whole new set of troubles. Like no one to fight hydra when they rise from the ashes. Who ran the TAHITI initiative? And did that person have the presence of mind to realize what they were doing or did they just follow orders? No one to stand up for the inhumans when they start popping up. We see that still happened cause Coulson wrote it on the board "Inhumans and why we fear them". There was also no one to bring the original team together. Remember May said that she had built the team specifically to fix him if after TAHITI things went south. So who found Skye? Either May or Ward most likely and as Ward is probably still Hydra and we see that May is now working for hydra (back to that in a minute) we can assume that one or the other or both brought her in on that side of the line. Skye met Ward and still fell for him and either he or May was probably still her SO. We didn't see a shot of Mace but imma guess since SHIELD is still in the Shadows (or dead no Coulson to resurrect it) and not planning on coming out any time soon, the government had no need for project Patriot and so he's probably back to being a politician and thats it. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out why May would be Hydra. But as I said before she could very easily be a mom now and the quickest way to control a parent is to hold their kid. That's what Hydra did to Mike Peterson. And if Coulson never joined and isn't around to put a hold on her worse ideas (like Ada reading the Darkhold or taking on four guys when you don't have to etc.) then she probably went along with whatever if her child was put at risk. Another theory, Andrew still turned and somehow threatened either just her or her and their child and she turned against inhumans because they tried to kill that little girl in Bahrain and they took away her husband. So May switches sides. Mac obviously got his daughter back and that's great that one isn't too bad. Bt it still comes with consequences. Mac said his daughter died 11 years ago. When did he join SHIELD? Was is because he lost her? If so then he never joins either, in which case does Bobbi get out of all those situations with out Mac to watch her back? What about Hunter? I know they aren't in the show anymore but it wouldn't take much for the writers to add them back in. Also remember in season 2 when Bobbi was sent to sink that carrier? Mac convinced her to disobey orders. He never joins SHIELD, she blows up that boat, and she, Harley, Gonzalez and all those others die that day. Which probably puts Hunter back to being a mercenary. Either scenario would fit really. Also this probably means that Yo-Yo is dead cause she and her cousin were probably caught dumping the guns by that guy with the eyes and got killed cause "inhuman" And then Fitzsimmons. These two consistently break my heart over and over. Okay Fitz. Fitz's biggest regret was his father who left when he was 10. A lot of people have said it was Ward but Fitz believed that the cycle began with his father, continued with Ward and then Radcliffe. Also most children abandoned by one or both parents think that it's somehow their own fault, which is wrong, but thats what they think. Especially Fitz who has a talent for blaming himself for literally everything. So Fitz goes back to his 10 year old self and makes sure his father doesn't leave, makes him proud, whatever it is and thus he never joins SHIELD, never meets Jemma and ends up filthy rich, probably off his own inventions. And Simmons is 6 feet under. Now we're not really changing anything about her life specifically however from the date we can see that she died Nov. 8 20__. They covered the year on purpose however we an deduce that if the year is before 2003 then she never joined SHIELD and never met Fitz, but because we're not changing anything specific about her life I doubt that. I'm not sure of the exact date but another theory I've read is that she died after FZZT which aired on or around the same date and that makes a lot more sense. Jemma probably still joined SHIELD but not Coulson's team cause Coulson wasn't around. But when bodies started defying gravity they probably still called in the best they had, Jemma. So she gets called in, gets infected and since there's no FIitz she doesn't solve it and either dies or kills herself to defend others. Another theory is that she pulled a Fury and is still working for SHIELD and just faked her own death. Both theories work really. All of this is only after 6 people have entered and altered the Framework. And Radcliffe, if he follows through to the natural conclusion of his beliefs, wants to put everyone in there and cure all their pains and regrets. By undoing only 6 things they have the changed the world drastically. Project insight probably happened, avengers are dead, Fury is dead, Hydra rules. "Zola's algorithm crosses them off the list, a few million at a time." How many millions are dead in this fantasy world because Hydra runs things? What about their pain? Who's going to fix their regrets? See that's the thing about regrets, you regret them they hurt but you learned something from them. They shaped you into the person that you are. Take that away and you're not you. The most important lessons are learned through pain. How does a child learn the stove is hot? Usually by touching it. But they never touch it again. Its the same with the rest of our lives. The mistakes we make the regrets we have, we try and prevent them from happening again. Their regrets shaped the world more than they knew. How many other countless changes were made that we can't fathom? If you take away one person's pain you take away the lesson someone else learned from it and cause them pain instead. Our pain makes us who we are. "That pain, that regret, that's what made you a person." - May(LMD)

[placetobenation]

With the summer movie season almost upon us, Andy is here to try to make sure you don’t get fooled when spending your hard-earned money when you choose to take in the latest flick at the cinema.

When people ask me what my favorite type of movie is, I always say blockbusters. Don’t get me wrong, but with the exception of paranormal thrillers and torture-porn flicks like the Saw movies, I love all types of movies. As a movie fan, I believe in balance as far as the movies I see goes. I love to see a big budget summer movie, then follow up it with a comedy and then after that check out an independent drama. But there is one thing that I really hate, when I see an awesome trailer but then the movie is really disappointing and bad. And it’s not like you can really avoid trailers these days. There are at least fifteen minutes of trailers before every movie that you see in the theater. You can always be “that guy” who closes his eyes and covers his ears during them. I see where they are coming from, I like to go in with as little info as possible so that the reveals, twists and turns aren’t spoiled for me. For example, I didn’t try to avoid the trailers for Rogue One, outside of seeing them before other movies, I didn’t seek out more clips and info. It did pay off and I didn’t see some of the plot turns that occurred coming. Some trailers you will see for over a year before the film is released. And often the three-minute trailer can contain all of the best parts of a one hundred and twenty-minute movie, that really gets my goat, so to speak. Here are some of the worst offenders over the last twenty years.

Passengers, released December 21, 2016. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: A spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet and transporting thousands of people has a malfunction in its sleep chambers. As a result, two passengers are awakened 90 years early. This is a great concept for a movie, so many possibilities and directions it could go in. Add in two of the biggest stars today: Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt with beautiful set design and visual effects, it should be a success, right? So where did this movie fall flat? A few places, but mostly on the script level. The characters were under-developed, and it tried to borrow from too many other movies. This film was derivative of “Cast Away”, “Titanic” and “Home Alone.” Also, one of the characters has a major moral dilemma, but I would call more a “dick move” for what they did. In hindsight, the trailer was a bit deceptive, but in their defense, they don’t want to give away the “plot twist,” so I do get why they did it. I just wish this film held up to the promise it’s trailer gave us.

Suicide Squad, released August 5, 2016. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: A secret government agency recruits some of the most dangerous incarcerated super-villains to form a defensive task force. Their first mission: save the world from the apocalypse. What a fun concept, right? Let’s get a team of the worst criminals we have and send them in to stop an even worse supervillain. This was probably one of the best trailers I’ve seen in a long time, especially with the classic rock hits, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Ballroom Blitz,” and “Spirit In The Sky” featured in it. It was so good that the studio had the team that cut the trailer take a shot at editing the film. They only had so much to work with, so they couldn’t even save this movie. I don’t hate this movie, I really liked some parts of it, but it was filled with missed opportunities. They didn’t really develop enough of the characters outside of Harley Quinn and Deadshot. The motivations of the characters weren’t fully defined either. Also, I think a lot of people are really getting sick of the heroes of movies having to stop the giant light in the sky. There were at least three other movies, although only one really got it right, that featured this that year, “Doctor Strange,” “Ghostbusters” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows,” so this needs to go away or least used minimally going forward. This gave a lot of concern that the DCEU was in trouble since with was is in such a rush to catch up to the MCU that they weren’t concentrating on the little things that matter and failing to properly set up the universe. Thankfully with “Wonder Woman” and “Justice League”, they have started to course-correct.

Transformers: Age Of Extinction, released June 27, 2014. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: Autobots must escape sight from a bounty hunter who has taken control of the human serendipity: Unexpectedly, Optimus Prime and his remaining gang turn to a mechanic, his daughter, and her back-street racing boyfriend for help. Honestly, the entire franchise should be on this list. Transformers was one of my favorite cartoons growing up and there are some cool and good parts to these movies. But, it is mainly Michael Bay shitting on my childhood. In regards to this entry in the series, there are so many problems with this movie: the swift and brutal death of the apparent comic relief early in the movie; the mention of the “Romeo & Juliet” law as part of a sub-plot; Optimus Prime being really pissed off and killing a human on purpose. But the worst offense (I will admit it was a cool scene when it happened) was saving the Dinobots for a short scene at the end of the movie after it was the biggest promise from the trailer.

Man Of Steel, released June 14, 2013. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: Clark Kent, one of the last of an extinguished race disguised as an unremarkable human, is forced to reveal his identity when the Earth is invaded by an army of survivors who threaten to bring the planet to the brink of destruction. We didn’t know it at the time, but this was the first entry in the DCEU. But man, this was no “Iron Man.” The trailer had some cool visuals and it seem to set up an epic battle between Superman and General Zod, which we did end up getting, but the tone of the movie was totally off. I’m not a comic book guy, but even I know that the tone of this movie was way too dark. Superman is the light, “boy scout” of the Superfriends. Batman is the dark character, which is what keeps the balance in the team. This movie was just in the wrong hands, Zack Snyder’s. Superman was too gritty and pissed off for most of the movie. He behaved more like Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. Plus, there was way too much imagery portraying him as a Christ figure. This is a prime example of that when it comes to a comic book movie, you need to put it in the hands of someone who knows and cares about the source material.

Elysium, released August 9, 2013. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: In the year 2154, the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth. A man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds. After seeing “District 9”, like many, I was looking forward to Neil Blomkamp’s follow up. The trailer was great, but it basically gave away the entire movie. Yeah, a few plots points were omitted but anyone who has seen a movie before could piece together what the missing pieces were. Where “District 9” was sci-fi futuristic take on Apartheid, this film tried to do the same with the theme of division of classes and what could happen in the future. It gets too on the nose throughout and story goes off the rails by the end. Jodie Foster, much like Kate Winslet in the Divergent series, is missed-cast and gives a disappointing performance. When Blomkamp came out with his third film “Chappie”, I decided to skip it and from what I heard about it from people who saw it, I made the right decision.

John Carter, released March 9, 2012. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: Transported to Barsoom, a Civil War vet discovers a barren planet seemingly inhabited by 12-foot barbarians. Finding himself prisoner of these creatures, he escapes, only to encounter Woola and a princess in desperate need of a savior. When this movie came out, most people found it to be too derivative of other movies in the genre, “Raiders of the Lost Ark” & “Star Wars.” The funny thing is that the book it is based-on inspired filmmakers like George Lucas and Steven Spielberg when they were making their early action-adventure films that I just mentioned. And that where the main problem is. The action sequences and special effects are good, but there many similar movies that did them better. Again, like many others on this list, it suffers from poor plot pacing and uneven characters. It was a shame because it was director Andrew Stanton’s first attempt at live-action after having such great success in animation with “Finding Nemo” & “Wall-E.”

Sucker Punch, released March 25, 2011. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: A young girl is institutionalized by her abusive stepfather. Retreating to an alternative reality as a coping strategy, she envisions a plan which will help her escape from the mental facility. Surprise, surprise, Zack Snyder is on the list again. This is his attempt at an “Alice In Wonderland”-type story. This movie is visually stunning but not much else is there. The plot is similar to that of a video game with quests and levels that have to be beaten by the main characters. Except for Oscar Isaac & Jon Hamm, all the leads in this movie are all women, which is one positive that can be taken away from this film. However, that positive is almost turned into a negative by the way the characters are depicted and objectified.

Cowboys & Aliens, released July 29, 2011. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: A spaceship arrives in Arizona, 1873, to take over the Earth, starting with the Wild West region. A posse of cowboys and natives are all that stand in their way. Spaceships attacking cowboys in the Wild West? Yes, sign me up. This film also had an incredible pedigree out of the gates. It was produced by Steven Spielberg, directed by Jon Favreau, written by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, and starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde. However, this was one of the biggest disappointments I’ve ever seen. Again, the movie’s failure starts at the script level. There were so many character motivations that didn’t make much sense. Underneath the main leads, there was a tremendous amount of miscasting with some of the supporting roles. These were good actors but they shouldn’t have been in this movie. This was a rare misfire by Jon Favreau as a filmmaker. Outside of the concept, there’s nothing much original in this film, most of the set pieces and characters are paint-by-numbers for a western.

Where The Wild Things Are, released October 16, 2009. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: Yearning for escape and adventure, a young boy runs away from home and sails to an island filled with creatures that take him in as their king. Many of us read this story when we were kids. Film adaptations of books can be difficult, especially when the source material is so short, only about ten sentences long, in this case. Spike Jonze is a director with a great vision. What we ended up getting is a movie that slogs and bores both kids and adults. It is so dark, bleak and depressing that one wonders what the filmmakers were trying to say from the get go.

Jennifer’s Body, released September 28, 2009. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: A newly possessed high school cheerleader turns into a succubus who specializes in killing her male classmates. Can her best friend put an end to the horror? This was screenwriter Diablo Cody’s follow-up to her Oscar win for the critically acclaimed film “Juno.” This film had a lot going for on the surface. It starred Megan Fox, who was red hot coming off the “Transformers” franchise, the aforementioned Cody and horror was on an upswing at the time, especially horror comedies. However, this movie was neither very scary or very funny. There is plenty of witty dialogue, and some very sexy scenes that teenage boys will dream about, but it seems like there was some unfulfilled potential that the trailer promised.

Watchmen, released March 6, 2009. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: In 1985 where former superheroes exist, the murder of a colleague sends active vigilante Rorschach into his own sprawling investigation, uncovering something that could completely change the course of history as we know it. Based on a graphic novel, many said that the source material was unfilmable. They were half-right. This was a pretty movie but the filmmakers (cough, Zack Snyder, etc.) spent more time on the look of the film and neglected character development and plot. There were also questionable casting choices as well as misplaced songs from the 80’s featured in the movie’s soundtrack. The biggest drawback of this movie is the run time, at an excruciating three hours plus.

X-Men: The Last Stand, released May 26, 2009. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: When a cure is found to treat mutations, lines are drawn amongst the X-Men, led by Professor Charles Xavier, and the Brotherhood, a band of powerful mutants organized under Xavier’s former ally, Magneto. Bryan Singer did a very good job directing and world-building in the first two movies in the franchise. And in one movie, Bret Ratner flushed it all down the toilet. This film really messed with the canon of the franchise by killing off too many characters, namely Professor X and Cyclops. With the main plot being about a cure for mutants and the questions and decisions that come along, a much more capable director would have made a smaller film and focused on a few characters dealing with whether or not they should be “cured.” Instead, we got basically an assassination of a major comic franchise that Bryan Singer had to be lured back to in order to save it with “X-Men: The First Class.”, in which they thankfully ret-conned this film from the cinematic universe.

King Kong, released December 14, 2005. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: After a movie crew travels to a mysterious island to shoot their picture, they encounter a giant and furious gorilla who takes their leading actress and forms a special relationship with her, protecting the beautiful lady at all costs. This one almost didn’t make this list, there are a lot of positives with this movie. Peter Jackson had just delivered on “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, so why not remake a classic monster movie with today’s money and technology behind you. This is another movie that suffers from being way too long. There are so many sequences that can be shortened, especially the one with the giant insects on Skull Island. It takes forever for them to get off the island and to New York. We could do without the ice skating scene in Central Park. The casting for this movie was actually very good along with great special effects. This is a tough movie to re-visit though because of the slogs between great action set pieces.

Be Cool, released March 4, 2005. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: Disenchanted with the movie industry, Chili Palmer tries the music industry, meeting and romancing a widow of a music executive on the way. This movie made me mad when I saw it. I loved “Get Shorty.” I thought John Travolta did an awesome job in that film as the follow up to his comeback performance in “Pulp Fiction.” It was also touted as an on-screen reunion of John and Uma Thurman. Again, another movie with a great cast, but it seemed like a retread of the first movie, just a different industry setting and without the charm. It seemed to get lazy and go through the motions from the start of the movie.

The Matrix: Reloaded, released May 14, 2003. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: Neo and the rebel leaders estimate that they have 72 hours until 250,00 probes discover Zion and destroy it and its inhabitants. During this, Neo must decide how he can save Trinity from a dark fate in his dreams. The first “Matrix” was groundbreaking and revolutionary so when they announced a sequel, who didn’t want to see what the filmmakers would do next. This time around, they focused too much on the action scenes and not enough on the characters in the world they built. There was too much exposition in the dialogue, and many of the subplots went unresolved. And what’s worse, they did it again in the next film in the franchise, “The Matrix: Revolutions.”

Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, released May 19, 1999. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: Two Jedi Knights escape a hostile blockade to find allies and come across a young boy who may bring balance to the Force, but the long dormant Sith resurface to reclaim their old glory. Where do I start? We waited 16 long years for a new Star Wars movie and because of that, they were able to sucker us in. They played off our hunger for the episodes of the saga that we had all heard about for years. They took advantage of our nostalgia for our beloved trilogy. It opened with the 20thCentury Fox and Lucasfilm logos. They gave us the John Williams score; an image of a desert planet with a spaceship; imagery of worlds we haven’t seen yet; podracing; Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor & Samuel L. Jackson as a Jedis; Yoda; Darth Maul with his two-handed light saber and R2-D2 & C3PO. What could go wrong? That’s a discussion for a whole other article. In a nutshell, too much CGI, an immaculate conception, Jar Jar Binks and the history of the trade federation. There are some good parts in Episodes I-III, but those are few and far between.

Pearl Harbor, released May 25, 2001. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: A tale of war and romance mixed in with history, the story follows two lifelong friends and a beautiful nurse who are caught up in the horror of an infamous Sunday morning in 1941. This was great trailer that showed the promise of what could have been a rare big budget movie that went on to win numerous awards. The story of one of the most tragic and at the same time heroic days in American history was tailor-made for the big screen. What we ended up getting was overblown special effects, an underserved story with a love triangle shoved in. This is another case of an overall bad movie having some great scenes and imagery but it’s not worth sitting through the almost three-hour long slog.

Godzilla, released May 20, 1998. Here is the plot summary, courtesy of IMDB.com: A giant, reptilian monster surfaces, leaving destruction in its wake. To stop the monster (and its babies), and earthworm scientist, his reporter ex-girlfriend, and other unlikely heroes team up to save their city. Coming off the success of “Independence Day”, the team of Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich could do no wrong, right? Wrong! They decided to take a crack at one of the most famous monster/disaster movie icons, Godzilla and boy, they got it wrong. This was a case of egos getting in the way of making a great film. They threw out the original script and wrote the film themselves. They also changed the design of the title character. The casting was all wrong. Your protagonist is a worm expert played by Matthew Broderick. Really? The plot lacked logic and there wasn’t much in terms of dramatic tension throughout the entire movie. The tagline of the movie was “Size Does Matter.” Guess what? So does the script.

[martinchitwood-blog]

Securities strife

Scandals bring more shareholder lawsuits

By David McNaughton

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta attorneys Martin Chitwood and Oscar Persons agree on this much: The corporate scandals of the last few years have changed the battleground where they fight shareholder lawsuits.

"I would have to say that there is a ratcheting up of fear" at corporations, said Persons, an Alston & Bird senior partner who began defending public companies when securities litigation was not even a full-time specialty in Atlanta.

In the current anti-corporate environment, companies are worried about getting a "fair shake," he said.

Chitwood, who is considered the plaintiffs' lawyer in Georgia, thinks publicity about the scandals would make juries more sympathetic to his side.

He has to guess, because neither he nor Persons has actually tried a securities case. Shareholder lawsuits rarely get to trial; they're either dismissed or settled.

But Chitwood thinks the possibility of a sympathetic jury adds to the pressure on companies to settle.

The lawsuits Persons and Chitwood regularly butt heads over are aimed at recovering hundreds of millions of dollars that investors lose when stock prices nose-dive.

Nationally, billions of dollars are at stake in such lawsuits, which usually allege corporate fraud. The number of suits jumped 31 percent nationwide in 2002, the year after the Enron scandal, according to Stanford Law School. The law school anticipates that when 2003 figures are tabulated, the number of suits will be just as high.

The high settlement rate means, even with abundant time and money devoted to investor claims, allegations of fraud are seldom resolved. Settlements typically use language in which defendants deny wrongdoing and plaintiffs acknowledge the difficulty of proving their cases, say attorneys on both sides.

Though settlements can and do run into billions of dollars, they represent a fraction of the damages claimed by shareholders. In 2002, the fraction was 2.3 percent. Cases that were settled in 2002 yielded an average of more than $24 million. Those numbers add to the pressure on companies to settle.

Those statistics are for federal suits that were granted class-action status, representing all investors in a defendant company. Plaintiffs' lawyers usually seek class-action status because of the number of potential plaintiffs and the cost of trying claims one at a time.

Chitwood, 59, and Persons, 64, recently talked about the current environment and the 1995 legislation that changed the rules under which they work. The two have offices a block from each other in Midtown, but their views on securities litigation are miles apart.

From their opposite sides of the negotiating table, Persons and Chitwood view investor lawsuits as either slandering corporate America or helping keep the scamps in check.

Persons thinks investor lawsuits rarely have merit.

"None of the cases I've been involved in, even after going through all the investigation you have to do on the defendant's side, have I found any of them or any of their people to have committed any kind of fraud," Persons said.

Chitwood's thinks "shareholder litigation always benefits investors."

"Just think," he said, "how significant the securities fraud would be if companies didn't have a fear of shareholder suits.''

Big money at stake

Their opposing philosophies have led both to high-stakes cases.

A fraction of the 200-plus public companies in Georgia have been sued by shareholders in recent years. But the list includes names like Coca-Cola, BellSouth, Mirant, WestPoint Stevens, and most recently, Amvescap's Invesco Funds Group, and Friedman's, one of the largest retail jewelry chains in the country. All are defendants in pending cases.

Alston & Bird represents BellSouth, Mirant and WestPoint Stevens, all of which have been sued by Chitwood's firm, Chitwood & Harley.

Chitwood was part of the team that won the biggest settlement for investors in 2002: His firm was a co-lead counsel in a suit against what is now Bank of America, which was settled for $490 million.

The firm was a co-lead counsel in the shareholder lawsuit against Connecticut-based Oxford Health Plans in a related suit against accounting firm KPM. Those cases were settled in March for $300 million.

The Friedman's case could once more pit Chitwood against Persons, since Alston & Bird represents Friedman's. Chitwood sued Friedman's on Nov. 14, after the Savannah company said its bad-debt allowance was too low and that it had put its chief financial officer on leave. Since then, the company has said it will have to restate earnings going back through 2000.

'I become incensed'

Persons, the son a Baptist minister, found a calling of his own in securities litigation, starting in the early 1970s. His first case left him with an outlook that persists today.

The client, he said, was sued "on the theory still used by the plaintiffs: You sue everybody who's around, hoping that if you throw enough mud, something will stick."

"I become incensed when companies that are going about trying to do their business and do their best for shareholders are accused of fraud when it's not the case," he said. "My hair goes up on the back of my neck on that. So I have some passion about defending these firms."

Another passion is the Republican Party. The walls of his office are plastered with photos of Persons with Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, George Bush, Newt Gingrich and Bob Dole.

Persons chaired Dole's presidential campaigns in Georgia in 1988 and 1996, and the 1992 campaign of the late Sen. Paul Coverdell. From 1971 to 1993, Persons served as general counsel to the Georgia Republican Party.

Politics, like securities litigation, divides Persons and Chitwood. The latter said he is not registered with either the Republican or Democratic parties but "tends to support Democratic candidates. It's typically the Democrats who are in favor of legislation that is protective of shareholders."

It was a Democratic president who vetoed the 1995 legislation that binds Persons and Chitwood in what Persons calls a "professional" but "acrimonious" relationship. Congress overrode the veto.

President Bill Clinton supported the goal of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which is "ending frivolous lawsuits," he noted in his veto message. But he added he was not willing "to sign legislation that will have the effect of closing the courthouse door on investors who have legitimate claims."

In a nutshell, the act:

> Calls for the shareholder with the most at stake to be the lead plaintiff, who picks the lead law firm. The purpose is to have shareholders calling the shots instead of the lawyers, Persons said.

Other plaintiffs may have their own lawyers, but lead law firms are in charge of a suit and are in line for the lion's share of fees.

> Delays evidence-gathering until a court decides if a case should continue or be dismissed. That reduces costs. The discovery process is "unbelievably expensive," Persons said.

But the delay is a hardship on his side, said Chitwood.

"You almost have to know most of the case before you file it," he said. "It's different from any other litigation."

> Gives public companies a shield against lawsuits if they provide specific cautions about their financial forecasts; requires complaints to be specific about alleged instances of fraud.

Persons doesn't think it has worked as well as intended.

"In my view, we still have abusive litigation," he said. "I think that is a monster that is still out there."

The monster is the legislation, not the litigation, Chitwood argues.

"The securities reform act of 1995 was a step backward," he said. "It was meant to be a step backwards. The people who lobbied for it and the Contract-for-America Congress that passed it meant for it to be a protection and an insulation for corporate America so they would have more freedom to do as they pleased without fear of lawsuits.

"Scandals resulted. ... The Enrons grew straight out of that.''

In his view, the 1995 act has made it tougher to bring shareholder lawsuits and the courts more demanding of plaintiffs, who he maintains are outmanned and outgunned by corporate defendants.

"That would be the spin that he would take,'' Persons said of Chitwood's point of view.

What has happened, said Persons, is that sometimes courts bend over backward to avoid dismissing shareholder lawsuits. And attorneys who lose on their bids to lead the case find other ways to attack, he said.

"The competing plaintiffs and plaintiffs' firms that lose out on being lead counsel still want to get a place at the table, or a piece of the action,'' said Persons.

So some of the plaintiffs and their lawyers may file separate suits against different, but related, defendants. They may sue a corporation's directors, standing in for the corporation. Or they may sue the trustees of a pension plan if company stock is included in the plan's assets.

Chitwood views his work as a "civic duty."

On the other hand, "I'm a businessman. We have to make sure that our business is profitable.

"We're on a contingency basis," he said. "We don't file cases unless we think that they have substantial merit, because we invest sometimes millions of dollars worth of attorney time in these cases, and we have invested in the largest cases millions of dollars of costs. We don't do that lightly."

Chitwood won't say what his firm's contingency percentage is, but Persons says plaintiffs' lawyers get a third of each settlement. Other lawyers estimate it's a quarter to a third.

"The stockholders don't get very much out of this thing," said Persons. "They will get something more than what they had before. But the big cheese is the attorneys' fees."

Attorneys on both sides of the battle say Chitwood's strengths lie in evaluating the best cases to take, and in his ability to form relationships with institutional investors, such as mutual funds and pension funds, which are increasingly the lead plaintiffs in shareholder suits.

Chitwood stipulates to both counts. He'll also admit he's wanted to be a lawyer since high school.

Persons, in contrast, earned an engineering degree at Georgia Tech and later decided to study law.

"I felt then, and I guess I still believe, that lawyers have a better opportunity to understand the rules upon which society operates," said Chitwood. "Therefore, lawyers have an opportunity to have an influence on society, perhaps disproportionately to what most people in most businesses would have.

"I always wanted to be someone who would be able to have an impact on society."