#I just feel like it’s been 87 years since I’ve seen him

[vvitchering]

In 37 short days we will once again have Din Djarin on our screens. He’s finally returning from war. I will not apologize for the feral being I will become beginning on March 1.

[paperstorm]

I have to say the idea of Carlos sitting on their couch legit reading a magazine when TK gets home is so funny to me. Maybe I’m way off base but I haven’t read a magazine outside of a doctors office waiting room since 2010 lol. I feel like it would be much more realistic to have him on his phone, or reading a book. But maybe that’s just a Carlos thing lol

It feels like it’s been 87 years since I’ve even seen a magazine 😂😂 I do have a little collection of special ones including that Out magazine with Ronen and Rafa from last year but just like a regular one that you would get monthly and just sit and read seems like a relic of the past. Carlos is the cutest lil grandpa gay 🥰

[trozeikylis]

I finished Dawntrail yesterday. (FFXIV 7.0 spoilers, ofc)

It’s weirding me out that I’m simultaneously elated and disappointed in the MSQ. It could’ve been so much more and yet, we’re not given much reason to like these characters as they grow. More on this later.

Wuk Lamat interested me back in 6.5x. Seeing her at fanfest made me excited and seeing her in Endwalker made me wonder with glee what Tural could possibly be. And yet she screams nothing short of girlfailure and delusional optimistism, two traits that don’t mesh well with being a fitting ruler.

Speaking of the Rite of Succession, our cast of warmonger, warmonger, slightly TOO optimistic tech nerd, and girlfailure didn’t do it for me. Granted, they’re gross oversimplifications of what they (mostly) are, but it’s still enough to call to mind who each of them are. Also: feels a tad bit off to make both the zealots for war the same race, if you ask me. It’s also a shame since Zarool Ja is one of the cooler designs I’ve seen XIV do and I wanted him to be more.

The cultures we learned about were cool (especially in the last 2 sections), but I feel like we didn’t need such detail in the MSQ. Shadowbringers had to do something similar, but we didn’t have to worry about a time crunch nearly as badly since a lot of details about how each society worked were either brief (read: didn’t require the Echo) or were engaging, like in Mord Souq. Instead, we get hours upon hours of exposition and reveling in the glory of Ms. Third Promise. Don’t get me wrong, I was interested in learning and read every line. I just wish they didn’t put ALL of the info in a straight line. I found myself practically screaming to want to fight. Perhaps it’s the sense of urgency that’s taken away since the rites didn’t necessarily have time constraints, but the fact that everything happened to line up perfectly with making friends (or trying to) out of everyone agitated me since it’s not realistic.

I’d imagine if someone tried to kill you in this world, you’d not want to save them for the sake of your sanity and safety. And yet, Wuk Lamat does just that to the radical giant. It doesn’t make sense why it goes unpunished with debts and repayment despite the fact that yes, they’re still enemies in game.

And despite it all, I still loved this expansion.

Going past Shaoolani, breaching through Vanguard, did I find the last final emotion within Pandora’s box. Heritage Found is a purposefully bleak place. I wish it didn’t look so miserable to be there, but past the doors into Everkeep’s ninth level did I find solace in the reality of this chapter.

To be stored and kept forever, to be cherished for one more day, to be locked away in a prison of eternal bliss did the bleak, golden skies past the Cenote greet me.

Alexandria was wonderful. The regulators and the artificial lifestream as a form of currency was a very interesting though, especially after just watching a video about time’s toll on the human psyche (the Daryl Makes Games one, I highly recommend checking it out). The Unlost being so umbrally charged and the challenged introduced by it, yet solved with even more specific solutions shows how the hardships of humanity causes it to evolve, and yet, stripping it away also surrenders what makes you, you.

I think about the Gondola scene in Canal Town a lot since I watched it. I think it’ll be like the 87 scene from Endwalker for me. I think about G’raha’s 200 years of torment he had to endure while we were frolicking in the fields. The apocalypse he saw time and time again, and how Living Memory spat it all back in his face. Truly, a moment of melancholy arises when he gazes at you so while the soundtrack reminisces of a bygone time, a mall long since closed, a moment hanging by a thread of nostalgia.

And speaking of sad boys, I was chatting with a friend going through it at the same time, and we immediately thought of Amaurot. After all, the spiraling architecture of the Meso Terminal couldn’t help but remind me of Emet Selch’s feat all that time ago. And to think one unsundered soul did all that when an unsustainable amount of aether was required to maintain something similar.

It saddens me you cannot return to the golden skies once it is done, and yet, it’s heartening that the terminal’s shutdown forces you to move on with it. It’s a bleak future, but one we must hold onto and carry with us. After all, so long as we are remembered, we live on vicariously.

So, I think I will do the same. I am saddened by the plot, the narrative, the flat characters, and yet, the little moments will forever shine to me. Otis, Cachiua, Gulool Ja, Maya’s parents, Erene- I mean Erenville, and the cast of the backrooms will be in my heart as I move on from this experience.

Here’s to hoping that patch content allows those that fell short to shine properly like the others.

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #287: INVASION!

January, 1988

A New Year! We’re getting closer to the 90s! A time where bad art roams the book, Black Knight’s romantic life becomes the big central axis of the plot, and leather team jackets!

This is all what I’ve heard about the 90s. Looking forward to seeing it myself. I’ve been surprised before!

But I’m getting two years ahead of myself and there’s an ongoing story here that bridged ‘87 to ‘88.

As you may guess from this wild cover, its about the Fixer.

Last time on Avengers: the Masters of Evil tried to destroy the Avengers and failed but did beat Hercules into a coma and wreck Avengers Mansion. Hercules is fine. He got kidnapped back home and his dad got super mad at the Avengers but we’re past that now. The Mansion being destroyed has caused the Avengers to move to Hydrobase, an artificial island that they were renting to park their Quinjets on.

Wasp stepped down from chairwomanship of the team and since the people with seniority like Captain America and Thor were too busy and since the ambitious like Dr Druid were too new, Monica Rambeau Captain Marvel was the obvious choice.

Dr Druid may be trying to undermine her though. He was certainly being a creep last issue. Spying on people, going over her head. That kind of thing.

Also last issue, the Fixer escaped custody thanks to a failsafe in his equipment that went off and controlled a random scientist named Todd Martin to bust him out of jail.

Fixer has some Big Plan to Fix Things and tried to collect the Awesome Android for his plan but drove away empty handed when the Avengers showed up. But Namor’s wife and former Alpha Flightateer Marrina tried to show she Wasn’t Just A Love Interest and went off and got herself captured by the Fixer.

Namor doesn’t know that yet.

He’s just doing a frighteningly intense close-up because she ran off and didn’t come back.

He stops a couple of random children cyclists and ask if they’ve seen any yellow women around. TO THEIR UTTER CONFUSION.

After Namor flies off, one of the children decides that they must be filming an episode of Star Trek around here.

To be fair... to be fair to be fair to be faiiiiir ... to be fair, Namor does look like Buff Spock.

Though... After the cliffhanger of last issue where Fixer captured Marrina, he just shoves her unconscious out the back of his truck and drives away.

Its a pretty benign way to deal with a capture superhero. Depending on whether Fixer knew another truck would be coming up the road after not too long.

A truck does come up the road after not too long, right where Marrina is sprawled woozily.

Good thing she has sea strengthened limbs!

Namor is drawn by the sound of a truck crumpling over Marrina and she tries to explain what happened to her. Namor decides that the nonplussed truck driver is actually the Fixer in disguise and prepares to punch him but Marrina stops him. In fact, she tells Namor the truck driver may have saved her by slamming the brake when he saw her in the road.

To his credit, Namor does apologize for doing the man a startle.

Elsewhere, the Fixer completes his journey in his truck to a certain warehouse in a certain suburban industrial park, expecting to meet a certain someone.

Back at the Avengers, the Avengers clean up from the Awesome Android fight and explain to the cops why a barn exploded in their presence.

Captain Marvel explains that the Avengers will pay for the damages and I have to imagine someone Tony flinches and doesn’t know why. I wonder if it feels weird to him to be on one team and paying for another.

The cops are bemused.

A cop, looking stereotypically small town coppish, with the jacket and the sunglasses and the hat and jodhpurs for some reason: “Ma’am, we’re just not used to filing reports about super hero fights with giant androids. It’s going to read like a drive-in movie script.”

Also fun fact: the Awesome Android is part organic. Black Knight takes some science scans of the downed automaton.

After Captain Marvel finishes speaking to the cops, Dr Druid drags her off to the side and asks if maybeeeeee she should be sitting down. I mean, she did just get gassed half an hour ago.

Captain Marvel firmly tells him that she’s fine.

But c’mon dude. Make up your mind. You drag her to her feet, loudly insisting it’ll be bad for morale if she’s laying on the ground in front of the team and now you’re telling her to sit down because she shouldn’t be standing.

Are you even a medical doctor?

To prove to Dr Druid that she’s perfectly fine, Monica transforms into energy but its clear that the effort makes her woozy.

Dr Druid is like well if you ask me you sit down but whatever I’m going to go see how the Android is doing.

And speak of the devil and an Awesome Android will reactivate.

The Android stirs back to life and takes a grab for Black Knight who flips out of the way. IN ARMOR. God damn, dude.

One of the cops tries shooting him, to no effect.

And then She-Hulk BOOMPs the Awesome Android in the armpit again and down he goes again.

So. Do you think BOOMP is a loud noise or a soft noise? I think its supposed to be a thunderous noise, like a BOOOOOM with a puh at the end. But she’s basically punching his armpit-based off switch so it could be more of a button pressing chirp like BOOP! with an m in it.

Let me know what you think.

Anyway, the media shows up to interview the Avengers. And they’re pretty excited! Local news never gets to interview the Avengers!

Unfortunately, they’re also very annoying.

The mistake he made there was being annoying at She-Hulk, the one Avenger present least required to be polite.

The press then doubles down by annoying Namor when he shows up with Marrina by asking him if he’s really the ruler of the mythical land of Atlantis.

Namor: “Mythical? No more mythical than the fabled arrogance and ignorance of newmen.”

Reporter: “But that doesn’t answer --.”

Namor: “Indeed, it does.”

Hah.

Sometimes when Namor is in the right mood, instead of just yelling and threatening to hit things, he gets extremely wry and its great.

The weird note from Namor (and Marrina) appearing on the news due to this though is that Dan Smallwood sees the interview and is shocked because that’s his childhood sweetheart! Marrina, I mean. Not Namor. Namor is nobody’s childhood sweetheart. Althoooough, I think he did grow up with Attuma and Dorma? Whatever. No love lost now.

Back at the Fixer side of the plot, in the Fixer’s secret hideout, he finds the guy he was expecting to find. His old pal Mentallo, who he asked to meet him.

Mentallo assumes that the Fixer is here to propose a partnership between them like old times.

Mentallo: “With your power to fix anything -- cobble any object into a weapon... and my invincible ability to read minds and project thoughts, how could anyone stand against us?”

He’s even undaunted by the Fixer wearing a psychic proof helmet despite their long friendship and the time they almost took down SHIELD together.

Mentallo is a little put out when Fixer tentacles him and prepares to torture him though.

That’s a bit of an unwelcome surprise to him.

... I don’t mean to kick a man while he’s being tentacled but having Fixer and Mentallo side by side makes me realize how boring their outfits are. Its fine when its one or the other but both of them... geez, someone get a chest emblem or something.

Back with the Avengers, they’ve finally gotten Awesome Android to a local airfield in preparation for getting him to Hydrobase, with the help of the National Guard.

Not what the National Guard usually deals with so I imagine it was an exciting day for them.

Namor proposes that they immediately get back to searching for the Fixer for being a heinous dude who shoves underwater women out the back of trucks.

Captain Marvel says yeah sounds great except they need to make sure the Awesome Android is securely secured before they go flying off somewhere. He could do a lot of damage if he woke up again and She-Hulk wasn’t here to punch him in the armpit.

She-Hulk concurs because Monica is the leader and also, pffft, its just the Fixer. Who gives a care?

Black Knight is more concerned that they don’t know what the dude is up to. Concerns validated when Dr Druid receives a psychic scream-o-gram from Mentallo who is being tortured by the Fixer.

Dr Druid broadcasts it to the rest of the team. Which is extremely funny because he seems pained by receiving the message but Monica is just like ‘huh, how about that.’

Whatever else you can say about Dr Druid, props for only broadcasting the helpful part of the message?

Namor repeats his proposal that they go find and beat up the Fixer, which Captain Marvel agrees to.

She tells the team to get back in the Quinjet except Marrina. Because someone needs to finish delivering the Awesome Android to Hydrobase and heyyyy you drew the short straw of not technically being officially on the team, Marrina!

Namor doesn’t say anything but I imagine he’s secretly relived Marrina will be out of the action. Given their conversations last issue. And how she ran off to prove herself and immediately got captured.

Anyway. The Avengers in their Quinjet head towards the location they got from Mentallo’s distress scream.

Not being an experienced superhero, Dr Druid finds it strange that an innocuous warehouse is a secret villain lair but She-Hulk tells him that’s pretty routine for supervillains.

Then an anti-air gun pops out of the warehouse and shoots down the Quinjet.

Oof, ow, Tony’s gonna be feeling that one in the budget sheet.

The Avengers tear themselves free of the wreckage, not much worse for the wear. Superheroes!

The secret supervillain warehouse lair fires missiles at the heroes but that just gives the Avengers an opportunity for them all to show off a little.

Namor catches the missiles and throws them right back at the warehouse.

Black Knight spins his sword to deflect the missiles because he saw Thor do it with his hammer and he wanted to give it a try.

She-Hulk just hops over the missiles and Captain Marvel blasts a missile heading towards her, despite still recovering.

Namor declares “enough games” and charges in through the hole he missiled. Electric cables tentacle at Namor and electrocute him but he grabs those cables and uses them to shock the machine that they came from.

She-Hulk: “Subby -- you okay? Looked like --”

Namor: “I will survive, She-Hulk. Namor ever has.”

That’s pretty cool, Namor.

In a recent comic, someone tries to electrocute him and tells them it was dumb to expect much from that tactic when he plays with electric eels for fun.

So, there’s an answer. Namor electrocutes himself recreationally.

There’s an additional layer of trap/security beyond the anti-air, missiles, and electric cables though.

A powerful fan starts up and sucks the Avengers into two separate pneumatic tubes.

She-Hulk and Black Knight end up in one. Dr Druid is also there, for some reason, and She-Hulk catches him so he doesn’t go into the fan. But that doesn’t leave her a hand for Dane and he goes hurtling at the turbine blades.

But he gets an idea.

An exceptionally cursed sword idea.

That must have made a sound like rocks in a garbage disposal but times a thousand.

Geez, that extremely cursed sword really fucked up that fan.

Namor and Captain Marvel ended up stuck in the other pneumatic tube, without a single extremely cursed sword to bail them out...

Even though Captain Marvel doesn’t feel like she can change into her energy form, she tells Namor to let her go so he can save himself.

He tells her nuts to that and rips a hole in the side of the pneumatic tube and carries them both to safety.

The safety of a dark corridor but, y’know, still better than where they were.

Captain Marvel: “I’m the leader of the Avengers, and it’s time I began acting in that capacity! This is where my power may aid us.”

And she summons all her reserves to turn into an energy Monica, to light up the corridor AND keep pace with Namor.

Namor: Such a very brave young woman -- not yet up to the task she undertakes... but unwilling to use weakness as an excuse. In truth, she possesses the qualities of leadership, though she has doubt.

She’s not able to maintain her energy form for long but right as she falters, She-Hulk BA-WHOOMs through the wall, reuniting the two halves of the team.

Captain Monica tells Dr Druid enough blundering around. Point them directly to where Mentallo is.

Dr Druid points and Captain Marvel has She-Hulk and Namor just tear a straight line to Mentallo.

Yay, teamwork.

Mentallo is still stuck to the wall so the Avengers help him down. Unfortunately, he’s not much help for finding Fixer.

In fact, he’s a bit out of it.

Mentallo: “Don’t know... can only tell you... he forced me to send... the mental summons. Forced -- me... You can’t -- can’t know what his mind is like! It was not the Fixer -- I -- I knew! The cerebral feedback -- unimaginable! His mind -- huge -- alien! ALIEN!”

And then he passes the fuck out.

Okay. That’s a “the plot thickens” if I’ve ever heard one.

Several hours later and also the next page, the Avengers happen to unravel part of the mystery at Hydrobase.

Since the team got back, Captain Marvel has been standing by and letting Dr Druid run the show.

Mmmmmnope. I don’t like it. Don’t like it at all.

But that’s the situation.

Dr Druid is arranging the Awesome Android to be placed in a containment tube, so She-Hulk won’t have to keep bopping him in the armpit.

 But he realizes that the containment tube has been recently tampered with! Dun dun dun?

Team Scientist Black Knight goes to check it out and fiiiinds...

The Fixer??

Oh, hey, mission accomplished. Bad guy caught. Lets break early for drinks.

One thing though... How did he get in the tube?

Because that’s really the real Fixer, as far as Dr Druid can tell after examination. But he’s been heavily sedated.

So he probably didn’t do a lot of drugs and stuff himself into a capsule to troll the Avengers, right?

Well, Captain Marvel has some insight about that.

Since she’s consistently the one who does her homework, she knows that tube is supposed to contain... THE SUPER-ADAPTOID!

A ridiculous AIM android that adapts to the abilities of adversaries.

It was originally sent to super-adapt Captain America but also fought the Avengers, looking like a truly ridiculous mash-up.

(There’s something charming about the first iteration of the Adaptoid just being palette swap Captain America Player 2. And I called it ridiculous but yes, the ridiculous mash-up is also charming for being a mess.)

Despite being able to copy eight people at a time, the Super-Adaptoid has been thwarted multiple times at the world domination game.

After its most recent defeat, the Super-Adaptoid was brought to Avengers Mansion to be held in a containment tube. But supervillains always break out of jail, even containment tube Avengers Mansion jail.

Somehow, (totally the Fixer’s fault) the Super-Adaptoid escaped when the Masters of Evil were busting up Avengers Mansion. It super-adapted the Fixer and then shoved the Fixer in the containment tube to cover its escape. Because the Avengers didn’t check the containment tube contents before transport.

Sort of a fail there, guys. But things were hectic after the Masters of Evil attack so you get a pass, this time.

But, hey, I’m impressed that the wrecking of the mansion is still paying out consequences! Really makes it feel momentous in the team history!

Captain Marvel warns the team that if the Super-Adaptoid is super-adapting this group of Avengers, they might be in some real trouble.

I mean, sheesh, Captain Marvel, Namor, She-Hulk, and also Dr Druid is there for some reason. Thankfully, Black Knight has no powers except owning an extremely cursed sword and I don’t thiiiiink the Super-Adaptoid can super-adapt magic.

But the Super-Adaptoid the Fixer has made his way to Queens to make a recruitment pitch to Machine Man.

If X-51 helps “the Fixer” with his schemeplan, he’ll bring Jocasta back to life.

No, don’t do it, Aaron! Be a good machine man!

On the other hand, Jocasta is neat... Uh, maybe go for it?

Follow @essential-avengers​ because we like Jocasta here. She’s rad. Like and reblog, if you liked this post and think others would like it.

[embersofhope-if]

hii!!! i’m going to watch the new hunger games with my boyfriend on the 17th cause my birthday is on the 16th, and i was wondering about your opinion on it??

personally, i’ve never read the books beside the ones based on katniss, but i see a lot of people hating on the choice of the actress for the lucy gray.

i think people are dramatizing everything about her and the snowwhite being single “issue”, yes it’s a little weird to basically say a woman has to be single to be independent, but you can tell her hearts in the right place, so why does everybody hate her???

and say what you want about her, but the girl can SING. like it’s actually crazy how pretty her voice is.

i really like the parallel of katniss singing to lucy’s singing, and the difference of two in general. i’ve seen this one quote that’s like “a hunter in a performance” regarding katniss and “a performer in a hunt” regarding lucy, and i love it so much?

i also love the new song from olivia rodrigo, it reminds me of rue (my sweet baby girl ☹️ i think of you everyday #theogmockingjay)

i feel my hunger games phase returning tenfold and i might cave in and buy the rest of the books and speedrun it before the movie tbh LMAO

sorry this is so long but i wanted to see what you thought of it!! (the actor of snow has no reason being that attractive. why would they make such a problematic person So hot???? everytime 😢)

omg im going to see tbosas on the 16th too🤭

Personally, i absolutely LOVE the book. It's my favorite out of all the books if im completely honest. I know a lot of people are worried that it "humanizes" Snow, but it genuinely doesn't. It shows you that he had several opportunities throughout his life to do the right thing and be a decent person, but every time he chose whatever benefited himself. It's truly very interesting to watch him go from academy student Coryo to future president of Panem Snow. I really recommend reading it if you haven't or aren't sure about it🫶

Everyone that I've talked who has seen the movie so far has said it really is great and does the book justice even if it obviously had to cut some things.

As for all the Rachel Zegler hate (Lucy Grays actress), i honestly think it's absolutely stupid. Most of the comments that people bitch about are severely taken out if context or was very obviously just something she was told to say. I don't think Disney really understands that people are tired of the whole a woman has to be single to be independent thing. Like i get peoples frustration with her saying that but I know Rachel doesnt think like that it was just something she was told would help promote the movie. Most of the hate towards her is just rooted is misogyny, so i normally ignore it.

Anyways! Everyone says she's a perfect Lucy Gray, and i fully believe it without even having to watch the movie. She's got an absolutely incredible voice, but she also just captures the spirit of Lucy Gray so well that i can't wait to see the movie.

I've been absolutely OBSESSED with Olivia's song. Im ngl i was a little worried when i heard rumors of her being on the sound track just because i was struggling to imagine what the song would sound like but she absolutely ate with Can't Catch Me Now. I think i listened to it like 87 times yesterday. im not even joking

I also fully support you falling head first into your hunger games phase again🤭. I've been stuck in mine since march, and I'll gladly bring anyone down with me lmao. I know the remastered audiobooks are on YouTube if you really don't want to buy all the books again. So if you want the links, let me know! (i bought them all earlier this year, and Tatiana Maslany (shes also f!ashs voiceclaim hehe) did an incredible job narrating them🫶)

[jeremyslemons]

Michael Afton Isn’t Mike or Fritz:

I’ve been a fan of fnaf since 2014. I’ve always seen Mike and Fritz as separate people. So, I might be biased on this but I did my research. I don’t know much about fnaf 4-6 but I did my best. A lot of this is just opinion since even with facts we don’t really know. Also, you’re allowed to think they are the same, but I personally don’t. Do whatever you want, I can’t stop you.

It seems to be a fan favorite theory that Michael is both Mike and Fritz. But I disagree. (Some think he’s the guy in fnaf 3 but I don’t care if he is or isn’t.) We do know he’s the guard in sister location and pizza sim.

The reasons stated are as follows:

1) “Both Fritz and Mike are fired because of odor.” This is true. But a lot of people say this is Michael since he was scooped and now has Ennard inside of him. We aren’t sure how long exactly he had Ennard inside of him but the body can last 10 days before it decomposes. So we can say Ennard is inside of him for up to a month. Or less.

We also don’t know how many years till fnaf 2 and 1 take place. I think sister location is around 84. The bite of 87 is in 87. It seems likely fnaf 1 is in the early 90s. I’ll mention this later.

Now back to the odor. As we know in fnaf 2 the old animatronics do have a smell. We also know Fritz worked night 7 so the smell could be from Jeremy when he was bit. Since remnant is a thing that could also have a smell and since he was tampering with the animatronics they just blamed him for the smell.

In fnaf 1 the smell could be blamed on the phone guy dying. The phone guy asked him to check the suits. They could have seen Mike messing with them and fired him saying he caused the smell. They could have just wanted him fired anyway since he was messing with the animatronics and being generally unprofessional as stated in the fired slip. They didn’t like that he went to check the back room.

2) “Michael chose the name Mike since baby liked it. And Schmidt is his mom's last name.”

This reasoning is so silly to me. How would Ennard be in him for this long? He wouldn’t be. It's been too many years since he was scooped. Also, if he chose Fritz before, why would he choose Mike, which is a short version of Michael and his mom’s last name if he doesn’t want anyone to know who he is? Seems really stupid, and baby doesn’t seem to be that dumb. In my opinion.

3) “Why would Mike stay all week + more if he isn’t Michael?”

That’s easy!

Phone guy has worked there for way longer than Mike has. “Um, I actually worked in that office before you. I’m finishing up my last week now, as a matter of fact.” FNaF 1 night 1 phone call. Why did phone guy stay so long? Why did he die anyway? It seems to me he couldn’t leave. Mike could, but he didn’t want to. We don’t get to know why but he must be curious about the place. He might not be able to get a new job or he might like the thrill of a job like this. We don’t know.

That’s it for my theory, if you can call it that. I’ll say this again, you can do what you want but this is how I feel. There’s evidence for both sides. Thank you for reading!

[ardenssolis]

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I tagged 1,495 of my posts in 2022

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#the king of kings is fond of a certain ancient blockhead but you didn't hear it from me

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

KNOWING YOUR PARTNER WELL CAN POTENTIALLY MAKE WRITING TOGETHER A LOT EASIER. REPOST DO NOT REBLOG !

NAME: Shi

PRONOUNS:  she / her / they / them 

PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION: IMs usually! Discord is fine too especially for plotting and general chitchat since that IM box is tiny as hell. But it tends to definitely be easier to catch me on here since for some reason, my discord doesn’t always alert me to people talking and left messages kfjsdfhdsfs. Me checking discord to see someone talked to me hours ago -- me sweating wondering if they think I ignored them while I was posting on tumblr. 

NAME OF MUSE(S): Ozymandias

RP EXPERIENCE/HOW LONG (MONTHS / YEARS?): Like...over 15 years? I have, quite literally, seen and experienced everything at this point. That’s why my rules probably sound so strict because I am just a tired woman who feels like I aged to 80 sometimes. I don’t play when it comes to my boundaries anymore like when I was younger and allowed things I shouldn’t have allowed for the sake of keeping the peace and being liked. I have been so much happier putting my foot down.

BEST EXPERIENCE: Meeting really great people and continuing to meet great people! Idk I’ve met so many who have inspired me to keep writing and just enjoying this little hobby of mine. Even now I just finger gun at all those individuals and really great mutuals that make my time here on tumblr A+.

RP PET PEEVES/DEALBREAKERS: Getting me excited for stuff and then ghosting me. Then coming to me, getting me excited again, ghosting me again -- rinse repeat like that’s a normal way to communicate with someone. Like I’m not here for that. I’ll softblock or hardblock you in a heartbeat and move on.

FLUFF, ANGST OR SMUT: I like all three honestly, but angst??? Emotional stuff? GAWD DO I EAT THAT UP. Especially for Ozy because he’s just -gestures at him- Sometimes I want him to really feel things which can be difficult. But the fact it’s difficult is what makes me love it even more.

PLOTS OR MEMES: I don’t mind both since we can basic plot something like oh how they’d meet? Are they friends? Do they hate one another?? That kind of stuff can make interaction so much easier. But memes are certainly the best way to come at me and continue things from there since I don’t do starters. 

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES: Long replies! But short is nice when your brain is tired and after staring at a computer for eight hours and working HR, my brain is often very tired during the weekdays. So a nice balance of both!

BEST TIME TO WRITE: Normally in the evening. My writing just feels like it flows better for some reason.

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S): Not even REMOTELY jkfhdskfdkfsd

tagged by: @chaieos​​​ (ilu Lis)

tagging: anyone! take it and talk about yourself! (also tag me I wanna read)

16 notes - Posted November 21, 2022

#4

Crossover ships and OC x Canon ships save lives.

17 notes - Posted April 5, 2022

#3

@tenkoseiensei​ said (inbox):

sa vc teehee

     HE DOES NOT PERCEIVE. 

18 notes - Posted May 12, 2022

#2

If you’re a lot younger than Ozy, chances are he will:

a.) Adopt you as his child

b.) Adopt you as his younger sibling

These are just the rules I don’t make them.

18 notes - Posted April 18, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

[Glowing beans. D.o not r.eblog.]

19 notes - Posted April 24, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[nibbles-whispers]

background

okie so here’s the sit, it’s been 1 year 4 months and 24 days since me and bf have last shared a kiss (on ze lipz for convience further referenced as Kiss) 

Now there are many factors that have gone into this: he doesn’t initiate kisses 

he has said that i can ask and he will probs basically say yes but due to my embarassing performance on 1 yr 4 months and 24 days ago i have not felt comfy initiating a Kiss with him bc im afraid im going to embarass myself 

within this time frame my bf and i had a discussion in which i asked is there anything you want me to do more or less and he replied with what you’re doing rn is fine: further confirming emerging thoughts my bf does not want to Kiss me 

however wut r reasons why he doesnt want to kiss me anymore (or possibly never has !!!) 

-he’s ace, and while i am s o r t a on the spectrum i do enjoy kisses so i looked at forums to see what other ace ppl have said on the topic and surprisingly a lot of ppl described wut to be me and mysterious  bf’s situation. It was common to see that ppl would indulge their partners and Kissing them when they asked despite feeling neutral towards the action or even repulsed by it 

this was unfortunate to read bc now i’m 87% i’ve been accidentally coercing my bf to Kiss me and he is in fact relieved and is very happy I stopped asking to Kiss him. this makes me feel shitty and digusting and i have no idea how to broach the topic :3 

*disclaimer* if dis is the reason why he has not initiated a Kiss with me then I am completely accepting of that, its not like i need to Kiss him to be with him i just want to be sure i’m respecting his boundaries n stuff 

if reason above is not a reason then the only logical reason is that he finds me revolting 

Now he has said that he finds me pretty and that will not change 

however this statement does not mean i am pretty enough to Kiss 

for example I think flowers are pretty. i do not and have never wanted to kiss a flower 

this is where the experiment comes in

i have tried different lipgloss/lipstick combos and have seen no change meaning it must be my body, so my thinking is if i lose ~100 lbs then he will find me pretty enough to Kiss or better bonus points I will end up in the hospital and he might be worried about me and like hold my head and gibe me a forehead Kiss :D 

Anyways so that’s the background for the experiment 

[bra-techtechnologies]

Spirits Unbreakable

The Solitary Child

04-May-3232

It all happened so fast. Last thing I remember was calling out as the Zombots piled on top of me. When I woke up, I was somewhere different. Somewhere scary. I ran away and hid inside…whatever this place is.

I guess it was meant for living in, I found rooms, blankets, and food…disgusting food, but food none the less. I’ve heard people come through, but I don’t know if I can trust them.

I don’t know what’s on the outside. But it has been days, nobody knows where I am, and my phone can’t get any service. I don’t know how long I’m gonna be here…-Sicily Aurum

05-May-3232

On the bright side, it’s not completely boring in here. I’ve found a few random things here and there. There’s books, but the writing is in a language I’ve never seen in my life, pictures are cool though. Helps pass the time…I’m still sane, so that’s fine. -Sicily Aurum

17-May-3232

THERE ARE PEOPLE HERE! I’m scared. They’re searching for survivors, but they’re armed to the teeth. Are they trying to kill off any witnesses?! I don’t know! If anyone finds this, tell my story. Find these monsters. Bring them to justice! -Sicily Aurum

25-July-3232

It’s been a while since I’ve written in here, but a lot has happened. They found me. Absolutely terrifying suits of armor, looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. I guess the commander felt sorry, cause he just reached out and took me into his arms.

The vibe was weird. He was open and honest about everything. Apparently his people tried to escape the virus by fleeing off world but one ended up sneaking on causing everything to fall apart. The place…or rather spaceship I was in was what fell from the sky. They were searching for survivors after Sonic cured everyone. Of the 10,000 on board. 3,426 went missing. I guess now that I’m involved, there may be more.

Poor guy, he must’ve been damn good at hiding it, because when I looked into his mind, he was in a lot of pain. Tremendous guilt, pain, loss, I don’t know the true extent of it. I’m gonna hang by his side and try to back him up. I know it may not mean much coking from a total stranger you found in the wreckage of a spaceship, but it’s the thought that counts!…right? -Sicily Aurum

17-August-3232

I guess I’m employed. Because they’re using me to find survivors. This place is huge too! Also the guy who rescued me is a blast to work with. His name’s Echo, cool guy. Met his fiancé Mucky too, she absolutely adores me. But for the last few days it’s been: Wake Up, Eat, Search for survivors sunrise to sunset, Wash up, Eat, Sleep, Repeat. Old man is pretty smart too, he told me all about his history, his team, even met Sonic at one point. Badass.

We found roughly 200 survivors. Down to roughly 2,500 left. Nowhere near 0, but every step counts in this situation. We’ll see how it goes from here. -Sicily Aurum

10-September-3232

We did it. 10,000 passengers. Sadly 87 fatalities, but the remainders and then some were rescued. Everyone’s going home, even Echo. Best guy to ever work with. I’m headed back to the outcasts in a few days, it kinda sucks we gotta split, but it is how it is I guess… but something about him feels special. Hopefully he understands. Hope so. -Sicily Aurum

25-December-3232

It feels so unreal. But a few days ago, Echo reached out to me after months. I guess he somehow found put about...what happened.

Long story short: I have a mom and dad now. Hands down a great Christmas Gift to top off a lousy year. I think I'm ready to leave this year, this part of my life, and this journal behind.

If anyone reads this: just know anything can change in the blink of an eye, just hold on tight. -Sicily Aurum

@kjpurplepineapple

[jj-babebank]

Camp Willowdale / JJ Maybank AU / PART 8

Synopsis: Camp Willowdale is buzzing with new campers. It’s Caroline Windsor’s first year as a camp counsellor after attending the camp as a camper for ten years. Little does she know that this year Willowdale Lake is going to be a little different from what she is used to it being…

Warnings: future chapters may include curse words, mentions of drugs, mentions of alcohol, mentions of sexual activities, mentions of death.

Pairings: JJ Maybank x fem OC Part 1 ; Part 2 ; Part 3 ; Part 4; Part 5 ; Part 6 ; Part 7

Masterlist

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

Part 8 –

49 days of summer camp left

Caroline sat in her bed, hugging her knees against her chest. Her and JJ had the afternoon off and despite his attempts to lure her into hanging out, and her infatuation with the boy, she’d turned him down, wanting to spend a few hours alone with herself to compose her thoughts. It had been exactly two weeks since the night Madison disappeared. No one had bothered to mess with the campers since then, the bonfire area hadn’t been touched and no dead animals were found in anyone’s suitcase. To the rest of the camp, this seemed like victory; to Caroline – it seemed like the calm before the storm.

During their first day at Camp Willowdale, all of the counselors had been given a Willowdale-branded set of items they’d have to use during their stay. It came with the obvious STAFF t-shirts, sweaters and hats, but it also consisted of other things – such as the thermoses Caroline and JJ were still using to sneak whiskey into their daily routines, and notebooks in which they were advised to plan out their group’s daily schedules. Caroline however had been using her notebook for other purposes. She’d become so obsessed with Madison’s case, that every little thing that happened on camp grounds and seemed even a little out of the ordinary, immediately became a clue to her, which she’d hastily scribble down in her notebook. It had only been two weeks since the disappearance of Madison Hague and Caroline had already filled about a quarter of the pages of her hefty notebook with potential clues and leads. She kept rereading her notes, trying to think of something – anything – that they could do to help them solve the mystery, however nothing was coming to her. Ever since the dress incident, Caroline and her friends hadn’t found anything else that could relate to Madison, though Caroline was glad that none of them had given up on their mission.

Caroline was so deep in her own thoughts, she nearly jumped at the sound of a sudden knock on the door. She quickly closed her notebook and tucked it under her mattress and went to open the door, revealing a panting JJ leaning on the doorframe.

“Hey, C,” he breathed.

“JJ, what’re you doing here? I told you I -”

JJ cut her off by pushing past her and walking into her cabin, “Yeah, yeah, you wanna be alone, I know,” he sat on her bed, taking his snapback off, “but I was thinking… you’ve been so busy with the kids and with the whole Madison thing, and believe me – I really appreciate you for being like that, but -”

Caroline crossed her arms, “Where are you going with this?”

JJ sighed, “You’ve just totally forgotten how to have fun, C,” he said, “The primary reason that we all came here was to have fun and look at you – you barely eat, or sleep, or do anything other than your counselor duties and this whole Madison investigation thing…” JJ sighed again, looking at the hat in his lap and playing with its adjustable strap, “All I’m saying, C, is what if Madison really did go home and you’ve just wasted all this energy on nothing…Thing is,” JJ looked up into her eyes, “I miss you, the old you, and I know that that you’s still somewhere in there, it’s just this whole Madison thing blocking it.” he placed the hat back on his head and stood up, walking towards Caroline, “Hang out with me now,” he said, stopping directly in front of her and lifting her chin up so that she was facing him, “And I promise we’ll think about Madison later,”

Caroline couldn’t really process what was going on. JJ was touching her and standing in such an intimate distance from her, that she could basically feel his breath on her face. For a second she forgot all about Madison, and the dead owl, and the bonfire area. All she could think about was JJ Maybank, who had just told her that he misses her and wants to “hang out with her”. Caroline stood there, lost in thought. What if he was right? What if Madison really did go home and that dress never even belonged to her? What if it was Jenna Kinley’s all along and Sarah had just gotten the perfume wrong? What if JJ really did miss her because he liked her as more than a friend? No, no, that couldn’t be it. But what if –

“Um, Carrie?” JJ’s voice suddenly broke her out of her trans, “So d’you wanna do something together or -”

“Yes!” she said, a little too excitedly for her own taste, of course I’d like to hang out with you, JJ, she thought, “What do you want to do?”

JJ’s face immediately lit up at her words, “Well I was thinking perhaps a picnic?”

Caroline raised an eyebrow, “Don’t picnics require food? We don’t have access to anything unless it’s mealtime,”

“Yeah, but we do have whiskey,” JJ winked with a mischievous look on his face, walking towards the storage room of the girls’ cabin where they still had a few bottles of alcohol left.

Caroline rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless – this was going to finally be her first date with JJ Maybank. Well, sort of.

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

The afternoon sun was low in the sky, casting a beautiful orange reflection onto the peaceful water of lake Willowdale. Caroline and JJ had taken a seat on the lakefront, drinking their whiskeys and admiring the sunset, reminiscing the days when they were kids again.

“D’you remember that one summer when Rafe Cameron got food poisoning and ended up barfing on stage at the Will-all-hail banquet?” JJ laughed at the memory.

Caroline frowned, thinking about it, “Beats having Rafe Cameron as your counselor by a mile,”

JJ turned to look at her, eyebrows raised, “Rafe was a counselor here?” his tone almost sounding amused.

Caroline nodded, “Oh yeah,” she smirked, “For the same reason as Sarah – too stuck up for his own good so their dad shipped him over here as a punishment,”

JJ snorted, “I mean that family is pretty far up their own ass,”

“They have a sister too,” said Caroline, “I haven’t seen her around here though, so we at least know that one of them must be doing something right,”

The pair laughed at the thought of their spoiled friend and her older brother.

“Man, I missed this place,” said JJ suddenly, leaning back on his elbows.

His tone sounded different as he looked at the horizon and Caroline could sense that something wasn’t right, “Yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask -”

“Parents got divorced,” JJ quickly explained, “And unfortunately for me, my dad got custody,” he sighed, “Somehow my mom was deemed ‘incapable’ of taking care of me because she couldn’t financially afford to. Load of bullshit, if you ask me,”

“But my mom -”

“Yeah, they still talk,” said JJ, knowing what Caroline was about to say, “I still see my mom every other weekend, you know, it’s not the end of the world,” he smiled at Caroline reassuringly, “It’s just living with my old man meant working for my cut at home, which also meant summer jobs back in Kildare,”

“So that’s where you’ve been all this time…” whispered Caroline, mostly to herself, however JJ heard her.

“Yeah,” he responded, “Now that I’m old enough to be a counselor here and actually get paid for coming to summer camp I thought why not? Besides, your mom did tip mine off that you’d be here too,” he winked at Caroline, making her blush.

“Yeah, about that,” she said apologetically, “My mom likes to yap a lot, I wouldn’t take most of what she says seriously,”

“Well you are here, aren’t you?” said JJ, his face slightly leaning in towards Caroline’s.

Holy shit, this was it. Caroline was about to kiss JJ Maybank after a decade of fawning over him. Shit, shit, shit, she hadn’t really kissed anyone since that idiot from her class planted one on her at prom. What if she was a bad kisser? What if she’d forgotten how to kiss? As JJ closed his eyes and leaned even closer, Caroline decided to push the doubtful thoughts to the side as she closed her eyes too, leaning in towards him too. Their faces were inches apart, hearts pounding in their chests and, just as their lips were finally about to meet –

“There you are!” Sarah’s loud voice came from the hill behind them, startling them and making them both jump and immediately pull apart and straighten up. John B stumbled after her.

Caroline coughed awkwardly, trying to cover up the shame and embarrassment she was currently feeling, “Sarah… what are you doing here?”

With a knowing smirk on her face, Sarah put both hands on her hips, “Nothing,” she sing-sang, obviously finding the whole situation hilarious, “I’m sure it can wait,” she winked down at Caroline, while John B was waving around frantically behind Sarah at JJ, mouthing the words “DID YOU BONE?!” quite obviously.

JJ groaned as he stood up, helping Caroline up as well, “We’re all yours now, Sarah, what’s up?”

“Well me and John B had the afternoon free as well, so we went out front to his van and you’ll never believe what was taped to the door,”

“Wait, why’d you go to his van in the first place?”

Sarah rolled her eyes, “That’s beside the point now, Carrie, look” she shoved a piece of paper in the girl’s hands.

As Caroline unfolded the paper, the group gathered around her to look at what was written on it - 41° 56’ 54.3732” N, 87° 39’ 19.2024” W.

“I have no idea what that means though,” confessed Sarah.

“Looks like coordinates to me,” said JJ.

“Hey, that’s what I said!” gasped John B, “But Sarah didn’t want to believe me,”

“Does anyone know how to read geographical coordinates?” JJ looked at his friends.

“Do I look like Google Maps to you?” asked Sarah.

“You’re right,” Caroline said as an idea sparked in her mind, “We can’t read coordinates, but I know someone who can,”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

“I’m just saying, Miss P,” JJ spoke confidently once the group was inside Pricilla’s office, “Now’s about the best time to host the traditional yearly treasure hunt,”

Pricilla squinted up at JJ through her pink glasses from where she was sat at her desk, “Keep talking, Maybank,”

“Don’t you think it’s a bit odd that it’s already been two weeks and none of these kids can read a compass yet?” continued JJ, earning a slow nod from the camp director, “Think about it, Miss P – Willowdale ain’t Willowdale without its treasure hunt,”

As JJ spoke, the rest of the group were silently praying behind him that his charismatic way with manipulating will work on Pricilla, giving them an excuse to ask her to decipher the mysterious coordinates they had gotten their hands onto. The old lady leaned back in her old leather chair and looked at JJ skeptically for a while, adding to the already built up tension.

“Give me a few days to map out the course and set up the coordinates,” she finally spoke, causing everyone in the group to silently cheer behind JJ. As they thanked her and turned to leave, she spoke up again, “Oh, and Maybank,” she called, everyone turning to look at her, “No funny business,”

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

A/N: Finally some normal camp activities. Thank you for reading so far, I would greatly appreciate you letting me know what you think about the story and the characters xxx

tags: @k-k0129 ; @hayleyy-l ; @marvellover04 ; @dumbasscorn ; @thrown-off-her-rhythm

[galactic-magick]

Dreams: Echo x Reader

Request: Prompt 6, please. Y/N loves every time they dream, where they can see 'Him', but when they wake up, it's a nightmare to find him, because his face is at the bar they work at, 79s. Now, that'd be fine, but the issue is, his face is on 87% of the customers. The Clone Troopers. So they gave up. After order 66, the dreams get more concerning and they have to leave Coruscant, and takes a job on another planet as a singer for Cid's Parlour(or something like). Finally meets him. Clone of your choosing.

Prompt #6: Soulmate AU where you can see your soulmate in your dreams

Summary: Having a soulmate that looks like the entire clone army has its challenges, enough to make you lose hope. But the possibility of love for you resurfaces when a cyborg man and his strange crew enter your life.

Words: 1200+

Warnings: none

Author’s Notes: I thought Echo would go best with this prompt since for most of his life he looked exactly like the other clones, whereas the rest of The Bad Batch might be more uniquely recognizable. Hope you enjoy!

-

-

-

You sigh, finishing the dishes and restocking the shelves. Once again, you had a beautiful dream about your soulmate last night, but woke up with no more hope of meeting them than you had before.

For most people, the mental link through the dreamscape is no trouble at all. They get to see their soulmate long before they meet them, and then they can easily recognize them when they finally do.

But not you. No, you just hadto have a soulmate who had the same face as the Galactic Republic’s entire army.

Sure, it’s pretty cool that your soulmate is a clone soldier fighting for you and all the other citizens in the galaxy. It’s worrying sometimes, hearing about all the harsh battles they go through, but you’re proud of whoever he is nonetheless. You hope one day he’ll find his way to you safely, and you can live a life together after the war is over.

Until then, though, you’re stuck working a job at 79s, a bar on Coruscant where the majority of the customers are clones.

You enjoy your job, you really do. You like mixing all the drinks and bringing out the food, and all the soldiers are very kind. It just hurts a bit to constantly see the face of your soulmate, and not a single one recognizing you.

As much as you try to push the thought out of your mind, sometimes you wonder if he’s dead. It’s certainly not an irrational possibility. Maybe the visions of him you have in your dreams are figments of the past, nothing more than a memory. Maybe he’s long gone, and you’re better off giving up and moving on.

-

Several months later, your life is entirely different.

It feels like the galaxy changed overnight. One day you were working your job and everything was normal, the next you witnessed a squad of clones chase a Jedi into the bar and shoot him. You ran, not knowing what else to do, all you knew is you weren’t safe anymore.

You took the little spare money you had to book a transport to a planet you have an old friend living on, and that’s where you’ve been ever since.

“I just…I still don’t get it,” you shake your head as you watch the Empire’s latest recruitment ad on the Holoscreen.

“What’s there not to get? The war’s over,” your friend shrugs.

“So why does everything almost feel worse?”

“It’ll settle down eventually,” they say. “Hopefully,”

You know your friend was never in the midst of the war like you were, living in the center of the galaxy and hearing all the battle stories, but gosh do you wish you could convey to them that what you saw before you left was much more horrifying. Seeing the soldiers you trusted for years all of a sudden kill the Jedi you also trusted and looked up to, the soldiers who shared the face of the man you’re destined to love.

Supposedly the Jedi were not to be relied upon anymore, something about corruption or treason, but you’re not sure you believe that. Something was off about the situation, and something was definitelyoff about the clones. And why would the Empire be putting so much effort into hiring non-clone soldiers if everything was fine?

Despite your concerns though, you understand that life has to go on. Eventually you take a job as an entertainer at a local lounge and buy your own place. You meet all sorts of people and try to forget your past and troubles. You can’t even remember the last time you saw the face of a clone, so even thoughts of your soulmate have started to slip your mind.

One night, midway through singing one of your most popular songs, you notice a particularly strange group come in. They wear armor similar to the clones and troopers, but it’s painted black and red, and a little girl tags along beside them. You continue, but you keep your eye on them.

One of them is significantly taller, speaking in a loud, gruff voice. One of them takes his helmet off to reveal some tattoos and a full head of wavy hair, and one looks to be deep in thought, hunched over a screen.

And the last one was walking towards you.

As you finish your song and step off the stage for your break, he slowly approaches you, his face still hidden.

“Hi,” he says, in a voice you still recognize even after some time.

You smile politely, but stay on your guard. You have no idea if this is a clone that can be trusted.

“Sorry if I startled you,” he must’ve noticed you tense up, “I just wanted to tell you you’re very talented, and-“

He stops.

“Well, thank you very much,” you nod, trying to ease the silence. “No need to apologize, I was just surprised to see one of you around here,”

“Yeah. Things are really different now,” his head falls a bit, “Can we- can we talk somewhere?”

“Uh, yeah. Sure,” you smile, leading him to the back room. You doubt he’s dangerous, if he and his crew were really out to get you they probably would’ve kidnapped you by now or something. They certainly look like they could.

He takes a deep breath, and you sit down.

“I think you’re my soulmate,” he finally says.

Your heart skips a beat, “What?”

“No, no, I don’t think. I know,” he fumbles. “Seeing your face was the only thing that kept me going when I was close to death, I’ve memorized your features more than any battle plan I’ve ever drawn. It must be you,”

“Wow, I-“ you gasp. “Holy shit,”

You stand up and look into the visor of his helmet. You can’t see his eyes, but you’ve seen them a million times before in a way.

“But…” you squint. “You’re different than the others, aren’t you?”

“We’re not with the Empire,” he assures you. “We-“

“Hey,” you bring a hand up to his covered face. “You can explain everything to me later. I’m just glad we’re together now,” your fingers fall to the bottom of the helmet. “Can I see you?”

“There’s…something you should know first,” he grabs your wrist with his human hand. “I was captured by the Separatists during the war, they- they turned me into a machine. I might not look like what you’ve seen in your dreams,”

You glance down at his cyborg arm you vaguely noticed when you first saw him. You can’t tell if his legs are also cybernetic as well, but with how happy you are just to be with your soulmate right now, you don’t really care.

“I will love you no matter what,” you promise him.

He releases your wrist, and you gently remove his helmet.

He has a device wrapped around his head and ears, and scars patched with metal on the top of his head. But beneath the years of suffering plaguing him, he’s still the same familiar face you’ve dreamt of.

You run your thumbs across his cheeks, meeting his eyes with a smirk, “You really thought I wouldn’t still find you handsome?”

“Yeah,” he chuckles.

You close the gap between you, placing a soft kiss on his lips, “You’re literally everything I’ve ever dreamed of,”

He smiles, pulling you back and holding you close. He doesn’t have to say anything else for you to know everything’s going to be alright, as long as you’re together.

[miserablesme]

The Les Miserables Changelog Part 1: Barbican Previews

Hello everyone! I'm starting out a blog which will look at my favorite musical, Les Miserables, and will discuss the various changes it has gone through over time (musically and lyrically). As it turns out, a LOT of edits have been made over the years so this will doubtless be a series with several parts.

This first part may well be the most difficult and will almost certainly be the most incomplete, as previews can be a time of extensive editing and experimentation. At least for the first few weeks or so, it's perfectly possible any one day of previews will be slightly different than any other day. However, I only have access to two audios from the Barbican Theatre previews of Les Miserables, meaning it's likely that lyrical variants exist which I have no way of hearing.

I am aware of the existence of a third audio which is fairly early in the run of previews, as the tape's master has told me that Gavroche's death scene is in its original form (I'll clarify that later). However, that tape has never been traded, and has sadly only been listened to by its master. I am also aware of a video proshot of the Barbican era that exists in the Royal Shakespeare Company library, but currently have no access to it. I plan to inquire about whether I can look at it sometime (though I'm not sure a blog like this is "official" enough to warrant it for research purposes). As such, this comparison only entails the two widely circulated audios from the Barbican run.

Now that we've gotten that cleared up, let's get started!

First, let's look at the opening "Work Song". In the earlier recording I have (let's call it R1), the beginning music (the same tune used, for instance, at the opening of "At the End of the Day" and "One Day More" and for Marius and Cosette's meeting in "The Robbery") stops. Then, a few moments later, the more familiar opening that leads directly into the prologue begins. By the time of the later recording I have (let's call it R2), the scores have been combined so that the first tune directly transitions into the second one.

Meanwhile, in R1 there is a sequence of lines that goes as follows:

I've done no wrong

Sweet Jesus, hear my prayer

Look down, look down

Sweet Jesus doesn't care

I killed a man

He tried to steal my wife

Look down, look down

She wasn't worth your life

I know she'll wait

I know that she'll be true

Look down, look down

She's long forgotten you

Most fans of the musical recognize the middle sequence of lines ("I killed a man" through "She wasn't worth your life") as no longer being lines in the show (for good reason, as we'll get into in a later edition of this blog). However, R2 keeps the lines. Instead, it deletes the third sequence ("I know she'll wait" through "She's long forgotten you"). I have no idea if this lasted only a few performances or made it all the way to the end of the Barbican run, or somewhere in between.

During "On Parole", specifically after Valjean is underpaid for his labor and sings about his frustration, R1 uses a variation of the "Work Song" theme which, to my recollection, is heard nowhere else in the musical. It can be heard here. By R2, it was switched to an in-tune version of the number with a unique opening. The musical retains that version to this day, but in case you can't recall it you can hear it here.

Minus an unintentional line flub in "At the End of the Day" in R2, the two Barbican recordings seem to use the same libretto and score from this point until "The Runaway Cart". At this point, R1 has a rather extensive scene leading up to Valjean saving Fauchelevent, which goes approximately as follows (the dialog is difficult to make out):

(VALJEAN)

Is there anyone here who will rescue the man?

Who will help me to shoulder the weight of the cart?

I will pay any man thirty louis d’or more

I will do it myself if there’s no one who will

We can’t let him die like that down in the street

Can you all watch him die and do nothing at all?

(FAUCHELEVENT)

Don’t approach me, Monsieur Mayor

The cart’s not gonna be holding

Not my poor mother would care if I should die

(TOWNSPEOPLE)

Don't go near him, Monsieur Mayor

There's nothing at all you can do

The old man's a goner for sure

Leave him alone

Most of that dialog is deleted in R2, so that it goes directly from "Who will help me to shoulder the weight of the cart" to "Don't go near him, Monsieur Mayor". I really like the idea of the original version; it seems reasonable that Valjean, having become a more trusted man, would expect the townspeople to help him. It's more meaningful that Valjean is good enough to do what's right when there's more time to establish that no one else is. Having said that, the original version did take quite a while and didn't really contain any relevant information that wasn't in the final version. I think the cut version as heard in R2 is a good compromise and retains the general mood and pacing to make Valjean's ultimate action satisfying (something that can't be said of later cuts, as will be discussed in a future edition of this blog).

Additionally, at the end of the number Javert refers to "the mark upon his skin" in R1 and "the brand upon his skin in R2 (as well as literally every subsequent performance since then to my knowledge). I have no idea if the "mark" line was a minor flub or was actually the original lyric.

"Who Am I?" is an interesting one. The musical content is identical in R1 and R2, but in R1 after his high note, Valjean shouts "You know where to find me!" with emotion so dramatic it sits right on the border between awesome and campy. By contrast, Valjean is totally silent after his high note in R2. Neither version would see its final day just yet, although the latter certainly has become more traditional over time. More on that in future editions.

From this point until "Master of the House" everything is the same between the two recordings. Roger Allam even comes in slightly late in both "Confrontation" scenes (making his line "-jean, at last...")! However, in the opening to "Master of the House" the following lines occur in R1:

(THENARDIER)

My band of soaks, my den of dissolutes

My dirty jokes, my always pissed as newts

My sons of whores

Spend their lives in my inn

Homing pigeons flying in

They fly through my doors

And their money's good as yours

(CUSTOMERS)

Ain't got a clue what he put into his stew

Must've scraped it off the street

Hell, what a wine

Châteauneuf de Turpentine

Must've pressed it with his feet

Landlord over here

Where's the bloody man

One more for the road

One more slug of gin

Just one more or my old man is gonna do me in

All of those lines would be scrapped in R2. Personally I prefer this shortened variant than the one that would occur much later. Sure, some fun moments get lost, but nothing that actually adds any substance or characterization to the musical (unlike the later cut, which I'll discuss in a later edition of this blog). Some have speculated that this is simply lost dialog due to a tape flip of degrading, given that future performances would retain those lines. However, there is firsthand confirmation that the cuts were in fact part of the performance. To quote Trevor Nunn on page 87 of 1990's The Complete Book of Les Miserables (a page which elaborates that "the cost of overtime incurred after three hours could be crippling at a time when Les Miserables was still trying to find an audience"):

"Cameron wanted major cuts, which would have reduced its length to two and a half hours. I resisted, refusing to discuss things on those terms... Some of the other proposed cuts - like the removal of the "Master of the House" scene-setting preamble - were tried out in previews and then restored as the scenes would not work without them."

From a historical perspective that quote is invaluable. As will be brought up in a later blog post (notice a pattern today?) the musical would in fact be cut much later to avoid overtime charges. When people like myself have expressed the opinion that these cuts come at the expense of artistic integrity, I've seen others defend them by claiming that the overtime costs never were relevant to Cameron and the gang until Broadway sales began to go down, and that if they were taken into account the musical may well be in its shortened form from the beginning. However, this quote proves that argument to be false. Right from day one, the crew was aware that retaining a >3 hour runtime would come with severe financial costs, but this was deemed a worthy sacrifice in order to tell the story they wanted told. Indeed, it sounds like Cameron Mackintosh was waiting quite some time to enact his infamous cuts! (Cameron Mackintosh valuing profit above art?! Crazy, right??)

But I digress. Going back to the musical, the "Waltz of Treachery" number is mostly the same. However, after Valjean's "It won't take you too long to forget" line, R1 has over a minute of wordless vamping which leads right into the rather awkwardly-placed "Stars" song. By contrast, in R2 this vamping (which is still a minute long, mind you) leads into a humming duet between Little Cosette and Valjean, similar to the duet right before the number. A nice little bookend that makes the scene feel all the more resolved. (Much later this duet reprise would ironically be scrapped again, though!) The remaining segment of R1's vamping now plays after this sequence in R2.

Minus some unintentional missed lines at the beginning of "Stars" in R1, the recordings seem to follow the same libretto right up until "One Day More". Here, R1 uses the following lines:

(EPONINE)

One more day with him not caring

(MARIUS and COSETTE)

Was there ever love so true?

(EPONINE)

What a life I might have known

(MARIUS and COSETTE)

I was born to be with you

However, by R2 this scene is in its current form:

(EPONINE)

One more day with him not caring

(MARIUS and COSETTE)

I was born to be with you

(EPONINE)

What a life I might have known

(MARIUS and COSETTE)

And I swear I will be true

And that closes act one! Going on to the second act, the opening barricade scene has a few changes. First off, following the opening notes, R1 features a rather odd tune bearing resemblance to "Do You Hear the People Sing" (which can be heard here) before transitioning to a more true-to-form instrumental reprise of "Do You Hear the People Sing?" By contrast, R2 goes straight from the opening notes to the true-to-form reprise.

Next, Enjolras proclaims "Have faith in yourself and do not be afraid" in R1, while in R2 he instead states "Every man to his duty and don't be afraid". It's unknown if this was an intentional libretto change or if it simply reflects a flub during R1. A later sequence uses the "Have faith in yourself" line, meaning he may have just sung the wrong line for that particular scene.

Finally, R1 includes the following sequence (at least I think this is how it goes, since the lyrics are a little hard to hear):

(PROUVAIRE)

And the people will fight

(GRANTAIRE)

And join with you

Who gives a speech in the square

Fortunately, R2 uses a much less clunky (though still somewhat so) sequence:

(PROUVAIRE)

And the people will fight

(GRANTAIRE)

And so they might

Some will bark, some will bite

This isn't quite its current form ("dogs" and "fleas" will soon respectively replace the two usages of "some"), but it's pretty darn close.

I've heard that the very first Barbican preview(s?) didn't have a finalized opening to "On My Own". Sadly there is no known audio record of this, so I cannot comment on what exactly it began as. As such, the next major change takes place during Gavroche's death scene. This honestly is probably the biggest of all the changes between the two recordings. R1 uses the following death scene (in the tune of "Look Down" right up until the "So never kick a dog" verse, which is in the tune of "Little People"):

How do you do, my name’s Gavroche

These are my people, here’s my patch

Not much to look at, nothing posh

Nothing that you’d call up to scratch

Some fool, I bet, whose brains are made of fat

Picks up a gun and shoots me down

Nobody told him who he’s shooting at

He doesn’t know who runs this town

Life’s like that

There’s some folk

Missed the joke

That’s three, that’s three

That one has done for me

Too fast, too fast

They’ve got Gavroche at last

So never kick a dog

Because he’s just a pup

You better run for cover when the pup grows...

By contrast, R2 uses a much shorter variant which is set entirely to the tune of "Little People":

And little people know

When little people fight

We may look easy picking but we've got some bite

So never kick a dog

Because he's just a pup

You'd better run for cover when the pup grows up

And we'll fight like twenty armies and we won't give...

This is much closer to its current form, although the last two lines are inverted (we'll get to that in a later edition).

We now fast-forward to "Dog Eats Dog", which while recognizable is very different from the number we know today. The chorus of R1 claims that "It's a dirty great sewer that's crawling with rats", which R2 changes it to "stinking great sewer" instead. I'd definitely say the revised lyric better captures Thenardier's and the sewer's grossness.

Additionally, regarding Marius' ring, Thenardier originally exclaims that he "didn't mean to waste it, that would really be a crime". By R2, the line changes to "wouldn't want to waste it", which I'd say makes a lot more sense.

"Javert's Suicide" has changed a lot. R1 features the following remarks following "Vengeance was his and he gave me back my life":

Damned if I live in this caper of grace

Damned if I live in the debt of Valjean

I'll spit his pity right back in his face

Is this the law or has sanity gone?

(I'm a little unsure as to how accurate the final line is.)

By R2, the lines have been replaced with the current ones:

Damned if I live in the debt of a thief

Damned if I yield at the end of the chase

I am the law and the law is not mocked

I'll spit his pity right back in his face

In R1, the "Where's the new world, now the fighting's done" line is absent, and there is nothing but instrumentals in the segment where it is usually sung. By contrast, it is sung as usual in R2. My guess is that an actress simply forgot her line in R1 and it was always supposed to be there, though I can't say for sure.

The final change occurs at the wedding scene. The singing which opens the number is repeated in R1. By contrast, R2 has it sung once and then done with, as it currently is (and as it should be in my opinion, since the music isn't particularly pretty and contributes nothing to the plot).

Later in the same scene, R1 includes approximately this exchange (again, it's quite hard to make out the exact lyrics):

(THENARDIER)

I was there

Never fear

Even got me this fine souvenir

He was there

Her old dad

*indecipherable* and fleecing this lad

Robbed the dead

That's his way

(MME. THENARDIER)

That's worth five hundred any old day

(MARIUS)

I know this...

By R2, everything between "He was there" and "Any old day" were removed, which makes sense given that they essentially just rehash what was already said.

Finally, there's a subtle difference in the epilogue, specifically during the "Do You Hear the People Sing?" reprise. In R1, the ensemble sings "They will live again in glory in the garden of the Lord". R2 replaces the word "glory" with "freedom", and that word remains the one used to this day. I suppose "freedom" is more appropriate for the context of peace and prosperity. To many, I'd guess that "glory" conjures imagery of knights, battles, and the like; just the kind of violence that the characters wish to move away from! I have no idea if this was why the writers changed the lyric, but it's my hypothesis.

Towards the end of the show, the chorus in R1 sings "Even the darkest moon will end and the sun will rise". By R2, this is changed to "the darkest night". Makes more sense to me, since moons aren't known for being particularly dark!

And that just about sums this part up! If I missed anything feel free to let me know, as my goal is to create a changelog as thorough and complete as possible. I plan on making more parts in the near future covering all the changes that have been made in the show up until this day (discounting concerts). Any feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated.

As a side note, both for this project and my own enjoyment, I want as complete a collection of Les Miserables audios as possible. I already have most of what's commonly circulated, but if you have any audios or videos you know are rare, I'd love it if you DMed me!

Until the turntable puts me at the forefront again, good-bye...

[oldfritz]

I'm genuinely curious and don't want to start something! Just wanted to ask what you make of the 'Old Fritz might've been asexual' take, I don't know much about him and I feel you're one of the best people to ask esp since you lean towards 'he was probably queer in some way' too

Hey there! So, first off, don’t ever worry about me interpreting you asking me a question as starting something. As much as I love making dumb jokes about the guy, I love nothing more than doing this kind of stuff and defending or explaining my points. There’s two degrees I want to get over the next decade: first my JD and then my MA in Prussian history. I live for this stuff! Always have! Second off, I’m very sorry for not getting to this sooner. Things have been incredibly stressful for me for a variety of different reasons which have made answering your question, until now, rather difficult. Putting this under a cut because, holy shit, it got long!

My personal reasoning for why I think he’s bi (which, correct me if I’m wrong, I’m assuming is what you meant instead of ace and could be a different post entirely since some historians have tried to argue that) stems more to do with some of my lingering questions about the nature of his relationships with certain woman, rather than that of his relationships with men. To me and my modern, queer eye, Fritz’s relationships with men like Hans Hermann von Katte, Francisco Algarotti, Michael Gabriel Fredersdorf, and (much to my personal vexation) one Monsieur Voltaire are either outright homosexual/homoerotic in nature or very, very easily lend themselves to that interpretation rather than strictly romantic friendships (which Wikipedia does a fairly good overview of and, if you’re coming to me from AmRev perspective, uses Hamilton and Laurens’ relationship as a familiar example). While I’m avoiding those relationships in this ask, I’d be more than happy to elaborate upon one/all of them in a different one. 

Before I go into the big pauses that Fritz’s relationships with Madame von Wreech and Countess Orzelska give me, I want to deny the use of Fritz’s wife as an example of Fritz’s attraction to woman. While this, admittedly, may sound odd, we have ample evidence of how turned off and repulsed Fritz found Elisabeth Christine. Before he had even met her, Fritz was complaining about how she was ‘not very pretty, speaks but little, and acts like a blockhead’ (Asprey, 87) and, later, admitted to Grumbkow his plan to ‘keep my word,...get married, but afterwards it will be a case of that is that, and goodbye, Madame, and fare thee well’ (Jones, 52). For Christ’s sake, the man pitied her knowing how his treatment would leave her as ‘one more unhappy princess in the world’! Which is little consolation when you remember he also referred to her with such romantic terms as ‘this unpleasant creature,’ ‘the abominable object of my desires,’ ‘the person,’ and claimed to have preferred to marry ‘the biggest whore in Berlin’ (Asprey, 87). And while we (fortunately? unfortunately?) know quite a bit about their sex life, Fritz largely regarded it as just another duty - to quote him, ‘I will only have the duty to fuck’ (Ibid, 87). And while Seckendorf heard - first, presumably from Count von der Schulenburg and, later on, Count Friedrich von Wartensleben, a close and intimate friend of the then-crown prince - that Fritz would ‘fuck and refuck’ Elisabeth Christine and that said act occurred in the afternoon, it still was out of a sense of obligation (Bely, 481-2). When reminded that if he wanted more money for frivolities, he’d need to produce an heir, Fritz bemoaned that he ‘cannot sleep with my wife out of desire, and when I do sleep with her, I do it out of duty rather than inclination’ (Clark, 50). All this in accumulation, as well as the myriad of other quotes and incidents I’ve left out, makes one wonder why his relationship with Elisabeth Christine is sometimes used by historians to prove any sort of heterosexual impulse in the man when she’s the woman with the weakest supports for that argument.

That being said, now we get to the women with a more muddled places in his romantic escapades, if you will. What exactly happened between Orzelska and Fritz during his trip with his father to Dresden in 1728? The main source for everything that occurred during this trip is Wilhelmina, who didn’t attend and without anything about this specific incident coming from Fritz or Friedrich Wilhelm I, make it rather hard to use as concrete, irrefutable proof. Now, if her recollections were contemporaneous - like coming from a diary or journal she kept at the time - that would be one thing. But it comes from her memoirs which, while a delightful read 10/10 recommend, are written decades after this trip took place and, memory being a finicky thing, can’t be taken to the bank. All those disclaimers, here’s the story as told by her:

‘One evening...,the King of Poland [note: Augustus II] insensibly led the King of Prussia to a very richly decorated room...The King of Prussia, delighted with what he saw, stopped to contemplate all its beauties, when [all of] a sudden a tapestry was rolled up, which procured him a very novel sight. It was a lovely female in a state of nudity [note: Countess Orzelska, the Polish king’s daughter], carelessly reclined on a couch. Her beauty excelled that of the finest pictures of Venus and the Graces; her body seemed of ivory, whiter than snow, and better shaped than that of the Venus de Medicis at Florence.

...Scarcely had the King cast his eyes on the fair one, than he turned about with indignation; and seeing my brother behind him, he rudely pushed him out of the room, and left it immediately after in a violent irritation against the trickery they had attempted to practice on him. ...In spite of the King’s vigilance, [Frederick] had had time to contemplate the Venus of the closet, who did not cause him so much horror as she had done to his father. (Wilhelmina’s Memoirs, vol. 1, 107-6)

Wilhelmina then goes on to claim Fritz had fallen ‘passionately in love’ with Orzelska and that the illness Fritz experienced upon returning home was simply being lovesick. Pinning the accuracy of this story is incredibly difficult because, again, we have only one source relayed decades after the fact and from two volumes of memoirs known to have inaccuracies. While I, personally, would love if he had had a tryst with Orzelska (who is such a badass in her own right and deserves more recognition than as a footnote in this guy’s story), there’s no one way to say with more than 30% confidence. I am inclined to believe something along these lines happened because if someone told me a story like this, lord knows I wouldn’t forget it for the rest of my life. And, with Wilhelmina being so close with her brother, it lends a bit more credence but as to the actual emotional or physical response Fritz had to it, well, without my time machine, I can’t and don’t want to say.

With Madame Eleonore-Louise von Wreech, things are a little more concrete. For starters, Fritz actually talked about her! In written correspondence that survived! We even have seven letters between the two of them that survived, which is a bigger win! As Blanning says, they’re ‘ardent but light in tone, ironic, almost flippant, and highly stylized’ (Blanning, 58). Their relationship was known to those close with Fritz at the time that Schulenberg felt compelled to visit and warn the crown prince against devoting himself to women because ‘the slight pleasures gained cause a million displeasures.’  Fritz’s response? To tell the poor guy that he may have ‘the gift of continence, but I assure you that I do not’ (Asprey, 83-4). Firtz even went so far as to send a letter to her mother, waxing poetic about Louise’s ‘beauty, her majestic air, her bearing, and her entire department.’ It’s worth noting that Louise eventually broke off the affair due to being bored by how he ‘loved [her] too much and often annoyed [her] with his clumsy love’ (Ibid, 84). Contemporaries, including Friedrich Wilhelm, believed Fritz had impregnated her with a daughter who her ‘cuckolded husband would refuse to recognize’ (Blanning, 58). Blanning is the only source I’ve seen dispute this due to this news coming from Seckendorf, who didn’t reveal how he came about this information; that Fritz and Madame von Wreech’s correspondence doesn’t indicate a physical relationship; and on the fact that she was not pregnant. I haven’t been able to find the birth dates or any sort of records for Louise’s two daughters to figure out where their conception could’ve been in the timeline and if it matches with the likely dates for the affair, but I also don’t have the resources Cambridge would afford Blanning. Either way, while the physical nature of the affair is in dispute, the emotional aspect certainly was there. Especially when taking into consideration the fact that she’s the woman Fritz was likely referring to in the 16 August 1737 letter to Voltaire where he claimed she had taught him how to love (and also inspired him to write poetry, which we shouldn’t be thankful for). Specifically, all these years later, he stated how ‘this little miracle of nature possessed every possible charm, together with good taste and delicacy. She sought to transfer these qualities to me. I succeeded well in love but poorly in poetry. Since that time I have very often been in love and have always been a poet’ (Fritz’s Oeuvres, vol. 21, 96).

All this to say, there’s a bit too much evidence of some degree of opposite-gender attraction in Fritz to completely write off the possibility that he could’ve been bisexual. While it’s undeniable he held a preference for men and that’s whose company he typically enjoyed, I still do find it interesting the two exceptions (one potential and the other with a fair degree of certainty) to this. And, while I would never want his attraction to men be minimized in favor of that to women, it still remains important to note to get the most comprehensive picture of the man.

[kiragecko]

DC Sidekick Age References

Here’s a dump of all the references I’ve found. Know I’m missing a lot, and quite a few were found on other sites that didn’t give me the most precise info.

If you know of anything else, can correct a mistake you see, or want to discuss comic book aging - please send me an ask, message, or reblog!

?? - means I don’t know where the info is from, “quotes” are direct copies of the wording in the comic

-

?? Parents died when Bruce was 8

Detective Comics #27 (May 1939) – Batman introduced

Detective Comics #38 (Apr 1940)  – Dick is (8 when parents killed/9 when Robin) 12 when he becomes Robin, it's Bruce's 3rd year as Batman

More Fun Comics 73 (Nov 1941) – Green Arrow Introduced

1962 - JLA formed

1964 – Dick teams up with Wally and Garth

Teen Titans 1 (Jan-Feb 1966) – Teen Titans form, Donna is introduced (all 5 are 14ish?)

Detective 359 (Jan 1967) – Babs introduced, has PhD, has graduated

Batman #217 (Dec 1969) – Dick graduates high school, enrolls in University (starts 3 months later)

1971 - Roy discovered using drugs by Ollie and Hal in a drug den (he was trading arrows for drugs), retcon has Wally and Dick discovering him at tower and making him promise to get help

Justice League 116 (Mar-Apr 1975) Charley Parker is 16

Batman Family 10 (Mar-Apr 1977) – Dick is teenager, Babs is 25

Teen Titans 53 (Feb 1978) – Dick, Wally, Donna, Vic all started college at same time

DC Special Series: The Flash Spectacular (May 1978) – Wally graduates high school

New Teen Titans 1 (Nov 1980) – Raven forms New Titans, Gar is 16 during run

New Teen Titans 2 (Dec 1980) – Slade meets team, Grant dies

1981 - Dick drops out of university after 1 semester, he never really was interested

New Teen Titans 20 (June 1982) – Vic turns 19, Donna already is

Tales of the New Teen Titans 2 (July 1982) – Raven turned 18 just before forming Titans

Batman #357 (Mar 1983) – Jason’s first appearance

Detective Comics #526 (May 1983) – Bruce adopts Jason, Dick is there and approving

New Teen Titans 34 (Aug 1983) – Terra turns 16

Batman #368 (Feb 1984) – Dick gives Jason the Robin costume, Jason becomes Robin

Blue Devil(84) – Eddie is 11/12

Tales of the Teen Titans (May 1984) – Joey introduced, Author describes him as 17?

New Teen Titans #39 (Feb 1984) – Dick stops being Robin, Wally quits being a superhero/the team

Tales of the Teen Titans 50 (Feb 1985) – Terry and Donna's wedding (she got married while 19)

New Teen Titans 10 (July 1985) – Kole says she's at least 18

Crisis on Infinite Earths 7 (Oct 1985) – Supergirl dies in Superman’s arms after mostly destroying the Anti-Monitor, who has to flee reality

New Teen Titans 18 (Mar 1986) – Dick turns 20 (“Dick Grayson celebrates his birthday away from home with a traditional Tamaranean feast.” (While sulking because Kory got space-married))

New Teen Titans 20 (May 1986) – Roy locates baby Lian, Terry Long is 29

?? Roy is 22(when he gets Lian)

Batman #404 - Batman Year One (Feb 1987) – Bruce is 25, spent 12 years training, became Batman at 26, Barbara Gordon is pregnant, her and Jim move to Gotham

Detective Comics #571 (Feb 1987) – we see Bruce’s fear gas induced vision of Jason’s tombstone (birth: 1974 – death: 1986, so he’d be 12)

Secret Origins 13 (April 87) – 15 years ago, it was Dick’s 5th birthday. Soon after tenth birthday, parents are killed. [Set during New TT 18])

Batman #409 (July 1987) – Jason becomes Robin (In Detective Comics, Jason has been Robin the whole time, but is still being wwritten with Pre-Crisis personality)

Flash 1 (June 1987) – Wally turns 20

New Teen Titans Ann 3 (Nov 1987) – Danny Chase is 13 and introduced

Batman #416 (Feb 1988) – Dick in Gotham, meets the new Robin on patrol. Confronts Bruce later, says he was ‘fired’ less than a year ago (since then he was briefly in college), makes Bruce admit he missed him. Dick finds Jason again, expose the drug dealers, and Dick gives Jason his old costume (symbolically, since Jason already has one) and a phone number, Dick was Robin for 6 years

Batman #427 (Winter 1988) – Jason dies

Batman #436, Batman: Year Three (Aug 1989) – 2 years since Dick stopped being Bruce’s sidekick (When he became Nightwing? Or when he quit?), parents died 10 years earlier

Batman #441, A Lonely Place of Dying (Nov 1989) – Tim 13, was 7 when Dick’s parents died

Robin #1 (Jan 1991) – Tim debuts as Robin

New Titans 84 (March 1992) – Joey dies

Deathstroke, the Terminator #15 (Oct 1992) – Rose introduced

Team Titans 3 (Nov 1992) – Robert Long is born

Adventures of Superman 500 (June 1993) – Kon appears and escapes from Cadmus with Newboy Legion, John Henry Irons first appearance, Eradicator and Cyborg Superman also appear for first time

Batman: BTAS: Robin’s Reckoning (1993) - 'Richard 'Dick' Grayson: Age 10'

Detective Comics 668 (Nov 1993) – Tim gets license (because dad is disabled) even though he hasn’t turned 16 yet, gets beat up by Jean-Paul

Flash 92 (July 1994) – Bart aged to 14

?? Shortly after Knight’s End – Tim is 15 and in the 10th grade

Flash 0 (Oct 1994) – Wally is 23

Damage 1(94) – Grant is 16

Deathstroke, The Terminator Annual 4 (Aug 1995) – Rose is 14, “What would that do to a kid? A fourteen-year-old girl whose father is an assassin she’s never met?”

Wonder Woman 105(95) – Cassie is 14

Tempest 1(96) – Garth spends many months in other dimension

Aquaman 20 (May 1996) – Garth aged 3-4 years in other dimension, now older than other Titans

Teen Titans 1 (Oct 1996) – Argent, Risk, Joto, Prysm all turn 16(they were conceived by seed things on same day)

Superboy Annual 2 – to Kon: “Happy birthday, Kid - - number one in a long successful series, we hope.” “He will effectively remain sixteen years old - - forever!”

Green Lantern 82(97) – Robert Long is 3

Wonder Woman 121(97) – Terry and Robert die

Secret Origins Giant 1(98) – Bart is “Three. Fifteen. Depends.”, “you’re almost 15, Tim.”

Titans 5(99) – Donna is 23

Titans(99) – Lian is 4

Sins of Youth(99) – Kon 16, aging normally again

Aquaman 63 (Jan 2000) – Future Garth tells granddaughter Donna about Cerdian being born (think this is his weird birth issue)

Wonder Woman Secret Files (2002) – „Wonder Girl is a precocious outgoing 15-year-old named Cassandra „Cassie“ Sandsmark.“

Bruce Wayne: Murderer (2002) – Oracle says Tim is 15

Batgirl #37 (April 2003) – “Cain said ... today was ... my birthday.”

Batgirl #39 (June 2003) – “I see an eighteen-year-old girl, who’s out of her depth.” (Babs about Cass)

Robin #116 (Sept 2003) – Dana: “Oh, I’m so glad we’ll all be together on Thursday ... !” Tim: “Why? What’s Thursday?” Jack: “Yeah. What’s Thursday?” Dana: “Wait a minute – seriously? Tim: “Yeah. Tell. Us.” Dana: “It’s nothing – never mind. Just leave your schedules open for a nice family dinner.”| Jack: “Dana, what’s – “ Dana: “Shh! Thursday ...  the 19th of July ... ?” Jack: “Um ... oh! Right!” | Steph: “So – Thursday!! Are you excited? Got any ideas for it, yet? ... Tim ... ?” [Tim is asleep.] | [Ives and Steph come over, with pizza that says “Happy B-Day Tim.”] Ives: “Sixteen spankings – get that boy up!!” | Dana says: “I remember when I was in 11th grade.” | he also gets the first ‘clue’ for Bruce’s ‘birthday present.’

Teen Titans 1 (Nov 2003) – Gar is 19, Is this Joey’s return?? (He’s puppeting Slade)

Teen Titans ½ (2004) – Rose’s early years, with a ‘6 years ago’ flashback, she was raised in a brothel her mom ran, tutored, never allowed the outside world, but had relationships with kids her age

Detective Comics #790 (Mar 2004) – Jason’s 18th birthday “he would have been 18 today”

Teen Titans 8 (April 2004) – Raven looks 'barely older' than Cassie

TEEN TITANS #1/2 [2004]: The flashback panels totally sync up with my age theories; Flash to 10 years ago: Dick Grayson’s parents die. Flash to 6 years ago: Rose Wilson is schooled at home by her mother, Lili. Flash to 5 years ago: Ravager I is killed. Flash to 3 years ago: Slade is forced to kill Jericho. Flash to 2 years ago: Cadmus attempts to clone Superman. Flash to 18 months ago: Rose deals with the death of her mother. Flash to one week ago: Bart Allen is shot by Slade.

Identity Crisis 4 (Dec 2004) –(Tim still 16)

Green Arrow 47(05) – Mia is 17

Return of Donna Troy 3(05) – Cassie barely 16

Nightwing: Year One(05) – Dick is 26

Batgirl #65 (Aug 2005) – Cass decides to figure out if Shiva is her mom, Jason and Cass roughly the same age

Flash(05/06) – Wally is 26

?? Robin #136 – Tim still 16 ???

Detective Comics #868 (Oct 2010)– Kate is 32 years old??

One Year Later(Mar 06)

Flash 1(06) – Bart 4 years older(20?)

Blue Beetle 2 (June 2006) – Find out Jaime was in space/a pocket dimension for One Year Later

?? Just prior to 52 (July 2006-July 2007)– told Tim is 17 (long before he’s also  17 in Red Robin, 52 is 1 year long)

Teen Titans 42 (Feb 2007) – Eddie is 17

Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds 3-4 (Apr-June 2009) – Bart and Kon back, same as when died

Batman 677 (July 2008) – Batman over 30

Batman: Battle for the Cowl (May-July 2009) – Damian is 10, Ends with Dick and Damian becoming Batman and Robin

Brave & The Bold 2 (May 2007) – Kara is 17, “You have food in the refrigerator older than her, Hal. Who are you, Ollie? No bad thoughts. She’s seventeen.”

Batgirl #1 (Oct 2009) – Steph starting college

Batgirl #7 (Apr 2010) - Damian is "what happens when you work with a 10-year-old."

Red Robin #12 (July 2010) – Tim spent “a few months” looking for evidence before returning to Gotham, becomes emancipated minor

Detective Comics #871 (Jan 2011)– Mention that Dick and Babs went to prom together

Red Robin #25 (Sept 2011) – Tim “and you are only 17”

The Batman Files (Oct 2014) – Jason was 15 at death (seen on death certificate)

?? Rebirth Young Justice series – Cassie: “didn’t mean to end up back in high school feeling - - like I did back when I went to high school.” Later, she says she’s in Metropolis “Working. Going to school in the fall.” So she’s probably starting college.

?? Bart in some Rebirth comic: “Am I six? Am I nineteen? That’s a really freaky thing, right?”

?? At some point: Donna says shes a little older than Kyle

[jombocostello]

Storyteller (Jotaro x Reader)

Anonymous asked: hello! can i request a fic for jotaro (part 4) comforting his s/o? maybe he comes back from work early, and see them crying? gender neutral reader if that's possible please, and thank you! (:

Most definitely! Man I love Jotaro in part 4. I hope you enjoy it!

It's late at night when Dr. Jotato Kujo returns home from a day of work at the local college. He's been brought in to work with graduate students on a large research project, and it's been going on for a couple weeks now. His work day has been a little shorter in these past two weeks, and you've forgotten that he'll be getting home earlier today.

You always try not to cry in front of him. You know he's a busy man, and he's incredibly hardworking, and you never want to disturb him with your crying and the horribly sad thoughts that plague you. You don't think you could explain your feelings even if you tried - all you know is that you can't stop the tears falling from your eyes.

You sit on your bed, with your legs dangling over the side. You look up at the framed picture of you and Jotaro at the local aquarium on the wall and you sniffle, rubbing your nose and turning your gaze away. He always makes time for you; despite his seemingly endless workload, he always makes sure that he's around to spend quality time with you and take you places that you'll both enjoy. You can't remember how many aquariums you've visited with him, but you've loved them all. He does so much for you.

You hold back a sob, pulling your legs up to your chest. As you cry you don't hear the front door open, and you don't hear Jotaro's quiet steps down the hall. You only notice his presence when he's right in front of you, on his knees to meet you at face-level. "What's wrong?"

You blink, in a futile effort to rid yourself of your tears. You're not sure why your first impulse is to apologize. "Jotaro, I - "

He cuts you off by sweeping you into a hug, and you gasp as he nearly lifts you into the air. "You're alright," he mumbles a little clumsily as he sits down on the bed, with you wrapped up in his arms. "Do you want to talk about what's wrong?"

You take a shuddering breath in, feeling suddenly embarrassed. "I - Well..." You sniffle again, finally shaking your head.

"Alright." Jotaro lets up on his grip on you for a moment, and you sit down next to him. You can't look him in the eyes, but you can feel his gaze glued to you. "I hope... I hope it's not me."

"No!" You turn to him quickly, grabbing his hands. "It's never you. I love you so much, Jotaro. I just - I can't explain how I feel right now." Your voice is a little shaky, but Jotaro just sighs and nods. He seems relieved; did he really think he'd made you cry...?

"I get it." He slides his hands from yours and moves to hug you again, watching you. He only pulls you into his arms after you've nodded. He rests his chin on the top of your head as he speaks, and you can feel the rumble of his voice in his chest. "It happens to me too," he murmurs. "It's a kind of crushing sadness, that creeps in over time and before you know it, it's taken over." You nod slightly, holding him a little tighter. His voice sounds a little pained as well; he must have dealt with a lot in his life. The way he describes that sadness sounds a little too familiar.

He pulls himself back a bit to look at you, and you frown, taking his hand and rubbing circles into his palm. "I didn't realize you... Well, you got the same feelings. I thought I was totally alone in this."

"You're never alone, (Y/N). I always want to help you." He leans in and presses a short kiss to your forehead, and the sweet motion nearly stops your tears in their tracks. Jotaro's not the most forward person in romantic gestures, so seeing him initiate it all to make you feel better makes you feel indescribably in love. "I love you, (Y/N). I want you to be happy with me." You finally manage a smile.

"I love you too." It's been a little while since he's said he loved you. Obviously he shows you his love in other ways than words, and you always feel it, but it's nice to hear the sentiment out loud. "Thank you, I... I feel a little better now." You didn't even notice when you stopped crying. Jotaro's surprisingly good at comfort, considering that he's usually pretty stoic. You nearly find yourself apologizing, but you stop yourself. "I love you," you murmur one more time, and you lean in and gently kiss him.

His lips are soft, and he just barely smiles when you press your lips to his. You part after that fleeting, lovely kiss, and you just sit there and look at each other now. "I really do understand that feeling," Jotaro says, nodding. "It's horrible."

"I'm sorry," you say softly. "Has it gotten better?"

"Yeah. It's not often that I get as sad as I used to." His brows furrow and he turns to his bedside drawer. He opens it and takes out a small picture, and you lean over to get a better look at it. It's him as a teenager, you're pretty sure, and he's sitting in the desert with four men and a dog. You recognize one of them to be Mr. Joestar, Jotaro's granddad, but you've never seen the others before.

"Who are they?" you ask, glancing up at Jotaro. You've been with Jotaro for a couple years now, but he hasn't told you much about his past.

He smiles a bit and resituates himself a bit, so he's leaning against the headboard of the bed. "I'd like to tell you about them, but it's an unbelievably long story."

You laugh a little. "Well I'd like to hear it. I've got all night." You scoot over next to him, and he wraps his free arm around your shoulders.

"It has a sad ending." You look up at Jotaro and frown at the distant look in his eyes as he stares at the little photograph. "But I think you'll like it."

"I bet I will. These guys all look interesting as hell - what's up with the guy with the hair next to your granddad?"

Jotaro laughs loudly, making you jump a little. You grin as his laughter dies down a bit. "You'd like him, he's a weirdo. I've got his number somewhere around here if you want to meet him. It's been too long since we talked."

"Oh, invite him over!" you insist, nodding. "I'd like to meet all your friends."

Jotaro's smile fades a bit and he nods. "...Yeah." He shakes himself a bit and lowers the picture. "Well, it started the summer of '87. I had just landed myself in jail again."

Your eyes go wide and he snorts at your expression. "Again? What the hell did you get up to as a kid?!"

He shrugs. "I was just a little asshole." He turns away and continues. "So my mom showed up to bail me out, but I wouldn't go with her. I thought I was possessed by an evil spirit and I didn't want to leave my cell."

You listen to him tell the story, completely enraptured. His eyes light up as he retells his first battle with Mohammed Avdol, his introduction to Noriaki Kakyoin, and his journey halfway across the world. You don't think you've ever seen Jotaro this animated. After a bit, once you learn about the mind-control of one Jean Pierre Polnareff, you've completely forgotten that you had been crying such a short time ago. Jotaro's your favorite person in the world, and you feel so lucky that you get to spend every day with him. He's really an extraordinary guy, who knows exactly how to lift your spirits.

"Hey, are you listening?" You blink when Jotaro snaps you from your thoughts, and he laughs.

"Zoned out a little, sorry," you say, grinning. "I just love you a lot."

He blinks, a bit surprised to hear that, and his face goes a little red. He coughs as you giggle at his sweet, flustered expression. "Well. Anyways... We managed to snap Polnareff out of it and get Dio's fleshbud out of his brain. He decided to join us after we told him what Dio was really doing. Then we had to get to Singapore, so we got a private boat. The old man promised us that he'd vetted all the crew members, but as you can probably guess - one stand user still managed to sneak on. Now I could tell there was something up, so I..."

You listen to his story, completely elated to hear how much of a badass he was in his youth. You lean your head on his shoulder and glance back down at the little picture sitting in his lap. They're all the people who helped shape Jotaro into the man he is today and the man you love, and you're eternally grateful to them. Most of all, though, you're grateful for your amazing partner. You're never going to stop loving him.

[thiswasinevitableid]

87. you’re a P.I. my parents hired to investigate my fiancee and you completely ruined my engagement party with the dirt you found but I want to know all the details right now

Sternclay, sfw or nsfw, please!

Here you go! I went NSFW and set it in the same universe as this Indruck fill. The orc designs are once again inspired by @kriskukko, whose art everyone should check out

The air is grey and chilly, and his best coat is still a bit too plain for this affair, but Barclay can’t help but glow. His husband to be is using this engagement party to invite him into parts of society he’s only glimpsed from behind kitchen counters or through windows on his way home in the early hours of the morning.

He didn’t even have to cook the table of delicacies and warm punches, which is usually his entry fee into any social space not hosted by Mama or his other friends back at Amnesty Lodge.

“Are you alright my dear?” William touches his shoulder. He’s the height of fashion from the new stud in his nose to the cut of his suit. Barclay looks at their linked hands, marveling at how his tattoos and calluses contrast with the smooth, unmarked green of Williams' skin. It’s wonderful to know he can be part of such an unlikely match.

“I’m fine. I just wish Mama and them could be here too.”

“Barclay, I know you care for them, but they agreed with me that this is not a party they’d feel comfortable attending.”

If memory serves, Mama’s word choice was “enjoy” not “comfortable” but he’s distracted from this detail by the orc currently in a hushed conversation with William’s parents. His accent is American, the same as Barclay’s. He knows William has no friends or family on the other side of the Atlantic, and he’s too well-dressed to be an attendant. When William’s parents fervently shake their heads, the newcomer turns and strides across the floor, right to the happy couple.

“Mr. Cobb” he offers Barclay a slight bow, shows no deference to William, “My name is Joseph Stern. I’m a private detective hired by your fiance’s family. They hoped I would find reason for him not to marry you. I have.”

“I, I don’t understand. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“No, you haven’t. The reason I suggest calling off the wedding is that he” Stern indicates William, “is not the least bit interested in you. He chose you because he knew his parents would disapprove of the match, which would in turn make it easier for him to call off the engagement two months from now and, three months after that, propose to his lifelong friend, Albert Rothby.”

Gasps and whispers fill the room. Barclay looks to William for reassurance but can’t find any; William’s too busy trading alarmed glances with Albert.

Stern continues, “His parents would be all too happy to accept the orc they once rejected for being from a slightly less well-off family after the shock and scandal of him almost marrying a nobody cook.”

“Hey!”

“His words, not mine.” The detective turns to the hosts, “You don’t need to pay me for my time, since I didn’t give you what you wanted. Good afternoon.”

A thoroughly baffled servant hands him his coat and hat as he exits, the room overflowing with chaotic accusations behind him. William doesn’t say two words to Barclay, choosing instead to shout at his parents. Barclay pulls off his silver engagement band, shoves it into his now ex-fiance’s hand, and storms out of the room.

He intends to make straight for the train station, hide his tears and humiliation until he’s safe under Amnesty’s worn shingles. But when he spies Stern on the corner handing coins to an errand boy, his foolish hope gets the better of him.

“How do you know?”

“Excuse me?”

“How do you know that’s really what William planned?”

Stern hails a cab, motions for Barclay to join him inside it. When they’re seated, he reaches into his coat and removes a bound stack of letters.

“Albert’s arrogant and sloppy; all it took was five pounds to get one of the maids to fish these out of his wastebasket.” He passes the notes to Barclay.

Each one he skims is like slicing his finger with a meat cleaver. Not a single piece of his personality or appearance remains unmocked by the time he’s done.

“I was just a game to him.” He stares at William’s signature, the same one that dots a pile of letters he’ll burn when he gets home. When he looks up, Stern’s face is full of sympathy.

“I considered not saying anything. That even if the engagement ended, you might be able to tell yourself it was a true love that wasn’t meant to be. But the longer I trailed you...I saw that you deserved better than being a pawn in someone else's trivial chess game. I offered his parent’s the chance for me to have the conversation in private; they doubled down on their insistence that you must be secretly awful to have lured their dear son to you. Ruining their party seemed fair.”

“I guess.” Barclay’s lip trembles. What was it William wrote? That he was as tender and devoted as a lapdog and twice as fun to kick around?

Stern produces a monogrammed handkerchief from his pocket, holds it out to him, “I’m sorry. I know ignorance is bliss but, um, wasting your heart on someone like him strikes me as hellish.”

Barclay wipes his eyes, but the tears insist on flowing, “No you’re, you’re right, it just, I, I really thought he loved me.” He lets out a bitter laugh, “I really am more brawn than brain, just like he said.”

“No, you’re not.” The cab slows, and Joseph’s blue eyes pin the pieces of his crumbling heart together, “and even if you were every single thing he said you were in those letters, that wouldn’t justify his treatment of you. You’re a good man, Barclay” he smiles for the first time, “someone will treat you how you deserve one of these days.”

The driver announces they’ve arrived at Barclays hotel. He glances at Stern, surprised.

He opens the door for Barclay with a wink, “detective.”

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

Fall arrived on the first of September, meaning the business at Amnesty dwindles right along with leaves. They won’t see another flood of visitors until the winter holidays, when everyone travels up and down the country to meet with family. Barclay fills his days with work and tries not to think about how happy he was a year ago.

Dani has a cold, so he’s working the lobby counter until it’s time for him to start dinner. A chill and burst of nickel-tinted light announce a guest. When the orc approaches him, he drops his pen.

“Hello, Barclay. It’s nice to see you under happier circumstances.” Stern removes his hat, runs his fingers through his black hair, “would it be possible to rent a room here indefinitely? I’m on a case and I have no idea how long it’ll take.”

“Yeah, of course.” He pulls out the register to check which rooms are open, which would be easier if his eyes didn’t insist on flicking back to the orc in front of him. He’d noticed Stern was handsome before, in the same way he noticed the sky is blue or a piece of fruit was ripe. Now it’s all he sees; the cut of his clothes suggesting a trim, capable figure beneath, his clean shaveness showing off the angles of his jaw and cheeks. His tusks are the same size and not chipped like Barclays own. The cook wants Stern to sink them into his skin and not let up until he sobs for a kiss instead.

“Uh, here” he retrieves a key, “I can put you in number twelve. It’s upstairs, last door if you take a left.

“Great!” Stern takes the key, lifts his two bags, “thank you for accommodating me.” His gaze slows as it moves up to Barclays face, “I think I’m going to enjoy my stay.”

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

Joseph hates the days where he has to wait for telegrams before proceeding with his investigation. It makes him feel like a dog gnawing its tail out of boredom. At least, it used to. Now that he’s at Amnesty, he’s never bored. It’s hard to be when the best looking orc he’s ever seen likes to talk with him while cleaning tables or making breakfast.

William Ashby is a fool. Joseph knew this when he watched him forgo a kind, interesting orc who was built like a god and had eminently kissable lips for the sake of some uninteresting upper class nobody. But now that he’s eating Barclays’ cooking every day, the opinion is twice as strong. No one should be able to make potatoes a divine experience, but his friend manages.

“No running around stuffy offices or abandoned houses today?” Barclay sits down across from him.

“Not until I get a telegram from that solicitor in London. Black or white?”

“White. Well, that’s good news for me, I get a chance to beat you.” He’s smiling, the firelight dancing in his eyes and off the copper in his beard. Joseph wishes he could mimic the light's path with his hands.

Instead, he grins as he lays out the chess pieces, “In your dreams.”

An hour and a half later, Barclay whoops, “checkmate” and Joseph falls even more in love.

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

“Barclay? Since it’s not raining I thought you might like to…” Joseph falls silent at the sight of Barclay sitting on his bed, facing the window with a defeated set to his shoulders.

“Sure, as long as we’re back before dark.” He shrugs and doesn’t so much as look over his shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” Joseph settles beside him, notices the handkerchief with his initials on it clutched between his hands. The tears on it are fresh.

“Nothing. Just, uh, just….this is the anniversary of when he proposed. Of when I thought someone loved me that way, of when I thought that, that...fuck, it’s gonna sound so silly.”

“You don’t have to say it but I, um, I hope you know I won’t judge you for whatever it is.”

Barclay twists the fabric, “I love my life here at Amnesty. I love Mama, all my friends, I love being a cook. But I’ve never been wealthy; Mama and I faced lots of hard times before coming here, especially when my folks died and she took me in. The Lodge does well but there’s always the fear that one day it won’t. I can be happy without fancy food or nice clothes or nights out but, uh,” he clears his throat, “that doesn’t mean I didn’t really like having them. I don’t miss him so much as I miss this feeling of being able to want without worry. Of, of thinking I’d get to do that forever.”

He lists to the side, rests his head on Joseph’s shoulder. He’s both taller and broader than Joseph, which adds to his charms, but right now the detective wishes he was smaller so he could gather him in his arms and protect him from the disappointing world. Give him what he’s missing.

An idea buzzes to the front of his mind. He rubs Barclays shoulder soothingly, “You have to go into London for some orders, right?”

“Uh huh.”

“I have to go in to deal with this case and check to make sure nothing urgent is waiting at my office. Do you want to go together?”

Barclay looks up at him, brown eyes glittering like precious metal, “I’d love to.”

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

Barclay knows Joseph has wealthy clients; he’s starting to suspect he has even more of them than he lets on. They’re in London for two days, and every moment not spent sleeping or working is filled by Joseph taking Barclay somewhere. The meals are by far his favorite, but Joseph bought them tickets to the opera their second night. When Barclay worried he wouldn’t be well dressed enough, Joseph decided they could both do with new clothes and bought everything without blinking at the bill.

Now, Barclay is in a private box, belly full from their stop at Simpson’s and Joseph’s shoulder resting against his own. The music is beautiful, the staging intriguing, but he’s struggling to keep his eyes open, too warm and comfortable from the company and the darkness.

The port they had after dinner probably isn’t helping.

He rests his head back, let’s his eyes flutter closed. After a moment Joseph laughs softly and whispers, “A bit too full from dinner?”

“Mmmhmmm.”

“That’s okay. The whole point of tonight is for you to enjoy yourself. If that means happily lazing like a dog by a fire, that’s what you should do.”

Barclay tenses for a second, then relaxes. It’s not like when William kept referring to him as a dog; in Joseph’s voice it’s fond, like a master who knows he indulges his hound but doesn’t care.

“That’s me. Just a spoiled pet.” He murmurs.

Short claws trace across his upper thigh, “As it should be.”

His eyes flutter open; Joseph watches him in the dark, expression attentive and possessive. His fingers don’t move even a centimeter until Barclay nods. Then they finish curving over his thigh to stroke his cock through his pants.

No one can see them, but even so his eyes dart side to side before shutting once more.

“Good boy” Joseph sighs, “sweet boy.”

Barclay nods, squirms as the touches stay teasing.

“Don’t rush. We have a whole other act to go. Just keep quiet; you’re a big, sweet beast, I’d hate to have to” he presses his palm down, “discipline you.”

He bites his tongue to keep from groaning; when they’re back at the lodge, he’s going to misbehave so much.

Joseph keeps up his steady, calculated teasing, Barclay never moving past half-hard. He falls into an almost sleep-like state, feeling weightless and far away from himself yet completely safe in Joseph’s care.

Then swift fingers undo his trousers and a handkerchief wraps around his cock. He throws a palm over his mouth as Joseph jerks his hand up and down.

“It’s almost over.” The detective murmurs, chuckles when Barclay crumples to hide his face in his neck, “that’s it, be a good boy and---oh, oh good lord.” He stifles a sigh in Barclays hair while Barclay cums into the cloth, saturating it embarrassingly fast. William once compared him, unfavorably, to a centaur in that regard. Joseph simply kisses his forehead and tidies him up. By the time they exit, the only sign of their dalliance is Barclays wobbly legs.

He fully intends to return the favor, but sex-drunkeness and general exhaustion drag him to sleep before Joseph is even in bed.

Their morning is a brisk packing up of things followed by a trip to the train station. Once they’re in their cabin, Joseph looks over the notes he made during his research.

“I just can’t shake the feeling Mr. Newton is in danger.”

“Giant cursed hound will do that.”

“I’m not so sure that’s it. I’m not ruling out the supernatural, but there are elements of this that feel distinctly orcish and very much alive in their threat. I’m glad he brought that friend of his with him; were he in Beacon House alone, he could be in serious trouble.” He closes his small notebook.

“I still can’t tell if he’s more than a friend.”

“They might not know. The few times I’ve run into Mr. Newton or Mr.Cold, they seem to be in stalemate, neither willing to make a move.”

“Good thing you don’t have that problem.” Barclay winks, then realizes he might be reading the other orc wrong, “I, uh, I mean, not that last night has to mean anything.”

Joseph unbuttons his coat, “I, um, I hoped it might.”

“Thankfuck.” Barclay slumps back, “me too.”

There’s a click of the lock, then Joseph stands and begins undoing his pants, “speaking of which, it seems to me a good boy would reward me for last night.”

“Yes, oh fuck yes.” He scrambles to get his cock out, stroking it frantically as Joseph rolls up his sleeves.

“You’re so eager to please, it makes me want to give you everything you ask for.”

“Please?”

Joseph, now bare from the waist down, bends to kiss him, “Please what?”

“Please let me fuck you, let me mppph!” His moan slips straight down Joseph’s throat as he sinks onto Barclays cock.

“Ohhhhhyes, ohmylord” the tips of his ears twitch as he rocks his hips, “you feel so good”

“Y-you’re one to talk, fuck, Joseph can I touch you?”

“Anywhere you waAAnt” he tips his head back, whisper threatening to break as Barclay drops a thumb down to rub his cock. He sets his hands on Barclay’s shoulders, “we, we don’t have much time, and I do need to review more of the case before we arrive, so be a good boy and let me ride you hard and fast?”

“Yes, yesfuck, ohyeah” A laugh catches on his tongue as Joseph, his dignified, debonair detective, sets to bouncing up and down on his cock with the kind of abandon he only witnessed when he used to serve drinks in a brothel.

Joseph grins, kisses him messily as their grunts meld with the rumble of the train. Barclay glides his free hand around to grope and paw his ass, savoring how it tightens with the effort of riding, of taking Barclay again and again. Curious, he gives it a light slap, wishing he could see a little pink bloom on the green there.

“Careful, sweet boy; if anyone’s ass is getting bruised it’s yours.”

“Tonight?” He smiles hopefully at Joseph’s flushed face.

“Yes, Barclay tonight. Tonight I’ll, ohlord, strip you down, let you rut on the bed like the needy beast you are while I turn your ass tender and red before fucking it, oh, ohshit, Barclay.” He smashes their lips together as he cums, Barclay whining with pleasure at the fact that he got him there. The detective doesn’t break the kiss as he pulls off, simply uses his strong legs to keep straddling him as he jerks Barclay off with one hand and rucks his own shirt up with the other. Barclay moans helplessly as he cums in large, white droplets all up his stomach and chest.

“You’re wonderful.” Joseph kisses his cheek.

“So are you.” Barclay holds him close, giggles adoringly when Joseph starts concocting theories while half-naked and cuddled in his lap. By the time they reach home, there’s no sign of their dalliance.

Except for their linked hands and matching smiles.