#and roy at the very least is like 'oh dang'

[frownyalfred]

Idk how many Green Arrow comics you've read but it is canon that, at least when he's going through a Time like when he came back from the dead, Ollie can just be like. Disturbingly brutal. One of my fave scenes in the comics is where Roy and Ollie both shoot arrows at Catman at the same time, Roy's arrow pins him to the wall and Ollie's arrow shoots straight through his shoulder, and they say "you missed" to each other simultaneously. And after learning Ollie actually meant to hurt Catman Roy just gets really uncomfortable and quiet. It's from somewhere in the Archers' Quest storyline in Green Arrow (2001), I can't remember the specific issue

Oh dang. That gave me chills. Yeah, I haven’t read a ton of stuff with Ollie but it’s very interesting how he kind of oscillates between a charming and sometimes mischievous man and being, like you said, shockingly brutal.

[imxthexhandler]

💕 💕 💕 💕 💕

send 💕 or ( ‘HEART’ ) for me to randomly pick one of my mutuals and write at least two things about why i love seeing them on my dash, writing with them, talking to them, etc.

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

@bennyboylewis : Iz, you have been one of biggest supporters ever, and you’re one of the best friends I’ve ever made in life, and I’m blessed every day for you. I love you, girlie. You’ve been so kind and compassionate and patient with me, and I cannot express my gratitude adequately enough. Also, I love Ben. I think you’re the person I have the most AUs with period. I love Ben’s sense of loyalty and snark--Amelia does, too, even when that crazy mechanic drives her insane. You are an insanely talented person, and I hope one day you see it for yourself.

@tsushimanoonryo : I know we don't write together, but I love reading your threads, and honestly, the few times we've chatted OOC, you've always been so cool and chill to talk with. You're a highly creative individual, and I love all the amount of detail you've poured into your muse. Keep on being awesome!

@wildthiiing : Lanie, gosh, I’ve been writing with you for so long! Over so many muses... I love interacting with all of your muses, and Amelia especially loves Jane and Trip and Barney. I love reading your threads, I love seeing your headcanons and the things you post that remind you of your muses. Thank you for always putting up with my hyper ass. And all the spam.

@bokketo : What can I say about Onyx? They are very talented, able to write such vastly different muses, all of them very well. Onyx is an insanely talented writer and photographer, and they have been such a supportive and sweet friend. I'm very lucky to have met them.

@koiwrites : God, where do I begin with you? You have stuck by me through it all, you were one of my first partners on this hellsite! You are so insanely talented, and I'm always happy to see what you create. Thank you so much for putting up with me and all my screaming about our babies. Thank you for just being a friend and solid partner. I cannot express how much both of those have meant to me over the years.

@quiveringdeer : Nat is a very talented writer, and they have introduced me to different horror movies. Even though I am not a fan of Attack on Titan (nothing wrong with it, just the premise never grabbed my attention), I really enjoy reading her headcanons and ficlets about characters

@adventurepunks : Love this one so much. If anyone likes stuff from Amelia's DC Argus verse, you really have this one to thank. Between the adventures with Zee and Amelia or her romance with Roy. Although he is one of my favorite DC boys of all time, I never expected to ship him with Amelia--or that I would ship these two so dang hard. Not only are they so patient with me for replies, always willing to go along with any of my crazy ideas, they always check up on me, and they are just a sweetheart.

@thedemonconstantine : This person, right here, is an INCREDIBLE artist! Seriously, you need to check out their artwork. I don't know this mun too much OOC, so I don't know if their IRL job involves art, but I hope it does, because again, their talents are incredible. I'm often a spy on their John/Nick threads with @adventurepunks; I can't help it. It may not be my preferred ship for Constantine, but GAWD, their threads are SO GOOD! 10/10 def. recommend!

@blizzardmuses : Bea is just such a sweetheart and always indulges me with whatever crazy idea I throw at them. They are a very talented writer, and I'm always happy when I get to write with them or read their threads. If you're a Starfire or Red Hood fan, then most definitely I recommend following this one 10/10.

@audaxbellator : Oh, wow, Bethany, how long have we been partners?? Seems like it’s been forever, ever since I created Amelia. You’ve always been so kind and so sweet to me, thank you. Steve and Amelia are just perfect for each other, and I always get excited to write with you. Thank you for not only being a friend to me but for being a writing partner.

[rizah]

OK, Berthold used his daughter and Grumman is ambitious, and they both underrated Riza. But what about Roy ? He used her too, if we're being honest : if they hadn't met again in Ishval, would he have come back to her or got in touch with her after that? It seems he hires her because he feels guilty, ashamed, and wants to atone for Ishval, like she does. We always blame Berthold, but Roy isn't better - in the beginning, at least. No?

sorry i got to this weeks later, i’ve been super busy with uni and firefighting and staring deeply at the wall wondering if my existence should even be here ANYWAY

i like the cut of ur jib anon, i really like the cut of ur jib

i totally agree, from the outset it really looks like that. BUT i can’t really think of a ‘good’ way to spin an alchemy like flame alchemy without the whole destructive aspect of it being Blatantly Obvious - so i’m loathe to say that roy was 100% manipulating/using her in the same way i see berthold doing and grumman trying. riza chose to divulge that knowledge to him and she acknowledges that she has to accept some responsibility in the aftermath of creating a new flame alchemist. 

i do like the angst of them being caught up in that whole ‘young love’ affection stuff, and a naughty part of me really likes the idea of exploring a roy who is scrabbling for whatever power he can find at 19/20 to make a point to the military, but even that’s veering into ooc territory for him. ultimately i think they were young ppl who were very idealistic about the world and it took the war for the years of propaganda and naivete to be stripped away. what i love about roy’s character is that despite those horrors he’s left with grit determination to be the change he wants to see, and riza follows him to atone for the consequences of those choices.

i think her choosing to go to ishval hinges purely on learning (or perhaps realising) that flame alchemy has some uses when it comes to Exploding Ppl and Things. i think roy would’ve tried to find her afterwards, but riza struck me as somewhat aimless at the funeral so who knows where she would’ve ended up if not in the military. however - @hlwim​ did a lovely story called ‘homefront’ which explores that premise a bit (go read it. it’s hella).

it’s super easy to blame bertie bc we see the dude for like 10 panels at best but to marry someone and have a kid with them... he’s got to have some redeeming characteristics tucked away somewhere. i would really like to see a fic or even some character studies which flesh him out a bit more and give him some humanity.

ultimately tho, roy is better simply bc we get to see him change. there’s an argument to be made that his intentions were more noble (than say, the more neutral ones of bertie preserving knowledge for knowledge’s sake) but we all know that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. 

[maybestoryideas]

Babysitting Skid & Pump w/ Agoti and Tabi

How They Met

In a momentary lapse of your infinite wisdom and judgement, you accidentally scheduled to meet up with Agoti and Tabi on the same day you offered to watch over the Skid and Pump for Lila. Apparently she had to leave town for the day, and the kids had been getting in more trouble than usual.

You were getting ready to leave for Lila’s, only to be met with a screen demon and floating skull when you opened your front door.

After explaining the situation to them, you promised to hang out some other day, when you wouldn’t be busy. Somehow, Agoti interpreted this as an invitation to join you and help babysit, which is the exact opposite of what you were implying.

You were more than a little worried about Skid and Pump meeting your friends. The kids could be quite the handful sometimes, and your friends were prone to… outbursts.

“Hey, Tabi! I didn’t know you had a little brother.”

“Shut the fu-“

“Language.”

When Skid and Pump see Agoti and Tabi, they’re instantly attached.

“Skid, Pump, these are my friends, and they were just leaving.”

“I like your spooky masks!”

“Um, thanks… Why are you two wearing costumes?”

“It is the spooky month!”

“It’s 90 degrees outside.”

“Wanna see something really cool?”

Agoti then proceeds to get down on the sidewalk and start doing push-ups with his tongue. Skid and Pump are instantly impressed.

“Your spooky friend is so cool!”

“They think I’m cool. Whaddya say about that?”

“I say you just licked a public sidewalk and probably need to go to a hospital.”

“Can Agoti and Tabi hang out with us today? Please?”

“I don’t know. I’m sure they have very important adult things to do and need to get going.”

“Not really.”

“Dang-it.”

“Please???”

Skid, Pump, AND Agoti are at your legs, staring up at you with big begging eyes. Tabi is standing behind them with secondhand embarrassment.

“F-Fine!”

“Yay!”

Agoti is constantly bragging and being a show-off for the kids; he’s playing it up more than normal. Meanwhile Tabi’s being a lot more chill, vaguely answering any questions the kids have about him.

“You’re so good a video games!”

“Yeah, I’m a bit of a celebrity. I actually got so famous that these jerks tried to get rid of me. Obviously it didn’t work, though, and blah blah bla-blah blah…”

“Are you a ghost?”

“My body’s invisible. It’s a long story.”

Skid and Pump try to teach them the Spooky Dance. Emphasis on ‘try’.

“How are you moving your arms that quickly?!”

“I feel like an idiot.”

Meanwhile, you’re recording all of it on your phone. Haha! Blackmail.

You spent the day playing video games, watching TV, and hanging around the house.

So, at the end of the day, it wasn’t a total disaster.

Together

After Agoti and Tabi showed that they can act like decent people in front of kids, you agreed to let them join you whenever you’re babysitting.

You thought having three adults keeping track of two kids would make things easier, but they somehow manage to get into more trouble between the four of them.

“You’re supposed to the mature ones! How do you manage to cause this much trouble? On accident?!”

You always end up having to be the ‘Mom-friend’, but it rarely does any good.

“Let’s go to the spooky forest.”

“Yeah! Let’s go!”

“Let’s… not?”

“Let’s put it to a vote! Who wants to go into the cool spooky, haunted, abandoned forest?”

[Three hands immediately go up, followed by a fourth]

“And who wants to stay home and be boring?”

[One awkward hand goes up]

To be fair, Tabi at least tries to be a responsible adult, so it balances out Agoti’s chaotic enabling.

They once took everyone to Zardy’s maze. Never. Ever. Again.

“You’re going to get us lost, just like last time!”

“That was your fault! I knew exactly where we were going, but you kept taking us in the wrong direction!”

“Guys, we haven’t even gone into the maze yet. Look, the sign’s right behind yo-”

*angry SEGA Genesis and angry Russian noises intensify*

You decided to take Skid and Pump through the maze, and just left the two screaming outside the entrance. When you finally got to the end, they were still screaming. Not at each other, but at a scarecrow.

They’re a lot more well-behaved when you’re just hanging around town. Probably because otherwise they’d have to deal with police and witnesses.

If any shady creeps approach your group, Agoti and Tabi will stand right behind Skid and Pump, silently threatening until they back off.

They also do it whenever the Hatzgang starts picking on Skid and Pump, though they tone it down since Roy and his friends are still teenagers.

“Hey kid. You’re not causing trouble for my friends here, right?”

“N-No, sir! We’re just… kidding around. Oh God, please don’t kill me!”

For one Halloween, Skid and Pump dressed up as Tabi and Agoti.

“Aw! You two are look so cool and spooky!”

“How come you never call us cool and spooky?”

“Skid and Pump are cute kids. You two are public menaces.”

You frequently visit the candy store at the end of the day. On the off chance that there’s something the kids want but can’t get, Agoti will pay for it or bribe Kevin to look the other way. Sometimes it doesn’t work and then Tabi will threaten to demolish the store. That always works. You’ve started forcing them to wait outside the store while you buy everything yourself.

Even though Agoti and Tabi’s chaotic personalities feed into Skid and Pump’s mischievous behavior, you can tell that they genuinely like the kids, and you’re happy they get along well. Sometimes.

“Pump, where did you learn that word?”

“I heard Agoti shouting it when he was playing video games.”

“I thought so.”

Meanwhile

“Hm…”

“What’s up, dude?”

“I don’t why, but I think [Name’s] gonna kick my ass tomorrow.”

(Thanks for reading! Please give me things to write about?)

[copperpieceharlot]

Bud I’m sorry to swing into your inbox uninvited like this but my soul is having an OOTS renaissance thanks to your content in the tag and did you say Leverage AU

haha holy SHIT this got Long. but yes. i’ve been. Thinking. (also literally Never feel like you have to apologize for sending me messages. i was Hoping someone would ask me about this. now i have an Excuse to share EVERYTHING ive written abt it :3)

Obviously, Roy is the leader/brains of the outfit. He grew up having some Strong Opinions abt what’s Legal versus what’s Right due to tragic backstory involving the death of his little brother which was definitely SOMEONE’S fault for negligence but since there technically wasn’t any illegal behavior, there were no consequences for it. Also he’s still angry at his dad bc he thinks his dad is also partly culpable (and also also just a dick). He’s the Moral Backbone of the team (alongside Durkon, more on that later) in basically the same way Nate was in og Leverage. He’s actually not the best at figuring out what people want (that’s Haley and, shockingly, occasionally Elan), but once he has that info, he is the absolute best at figuring out the ideal plan of attack to use in any given case.

Haley is still a thief. I mean she maps to Parker almost PERFECTLY. Her dad was a thief & a conman, her mom wasn’t but knew about it and mostly accepted it, but she died tragically in a mugging gone wrong or smth, which made Ian crank the paranoia WAY up and taught Haley to do the same in the name of “safety”. Let’s keep the “Ian is in Trouble and Haley needs money, Fast” which is why she signs on to the first job in the first place. She’s less acrobatic than Parker, tending towards finding (or making) weak spots in security, but she can still make a tumble check when she needs to.

Elan is the grifter who is somehow an Idiot but also not???? It baffles everyone. When he’s playing a part for a con, he’s FLAWLESS, but then the rest of the time he’s just. No Thoughts Head Empty. He probably gets lured in initially because he’s decided to try his hand at being part of a full team, rather than the two-man cons he’s been running that invariably end w his partner conning him as well and stealing half of his take. Also he likes the idea of being Crime Friends. He’s that tweet where it’s like, Roy: “after the heist is over, we split up and never communicate again” / Elan: [about to unveil his Crime Buddies Forever Friendship Quilt Puppets]: “never?”

Vaarsuvius is the hacker/gadget person. They have a Vaguely Snobby Yet Unidentifiable accent, dyed(?) purple hair (nobody has ever seen their roots) and nobody knows who they “really” are or where they came from, but they’re good at what they do so everyone just accepts the mystery. They probably got suckered into the team by their initial employer (who I’ll get to Eventually, lol) framing it as a challenge to their intellect, like, “oh, I see, you’re not smart enough to make this team work for you...” to which they were like Fucking Watch Me and also melted his computer. Anyways. They are joined (digitally) by their Intrepid Friend And Co-Conspirator (his words, not theirs), a fellow hacker known only as Blackwing, or, on certain forums, Blackwing_Bird. (In the first season, V only occasionally references him when saying they’re “calling in extra help” or smth for a particularly complex hack job. He starts showing up a little more in s2 and eventually by the start of s4 is a regular & established presence, but only appears as actions in a computer interface or output.) Elan is convinced he’s an AI, Belkar doesn’t think he actually exists, Haley pretends she doesn’t think he exists, and Durkon and Roy try not to think about it too hard, as long as B and V still get the job done.

Belkar is the hitter. He is on the team bc their initial employer got him out of jail for it. He doesn’t have a tragic backstory, he just likes doing violent crimes. As the series progresses, he grows some empathy & stuff, but really only for people who actually deserve it. Assholes still get decked. It’s all very touching. (Also he has dwarfism caused by achondroplasia. It doesn’t actually bother him and is useful in fights bc his opponents frequently have no fucking clue how to approach him, but he likes Pretending to take offense at stupid things just to see how far he can go with it.)

Aaaand last but not least, Durkon is the least involved member of the team. He’s actually a career criminal and Roy’s mentor, and wasn’t a member of the initial team that [redacted, I’ll tell you later, PROMISE] put together for a couple of reasons, the main one being that he’s Officially retired in order to spend more time with his family, which consists of his mom, his friend (not girlfriend) Hilgya, baby Kudzu, and a truly stunning number of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Roy frequently calls or visits him for advice and he Occasionally shows up to help out on local jobs, but generally he avoids doing crime if he can (as part of a deal with Hilgya, who is also a career criminal; basically, they’ve both cut back on the crime in order to provide a more stable home environment for Kudzu. But sometimes, you gotta do a little crime, and in those cases, Sigdi enjoys spending time w her grandson.)

NOW. THE BIG REVEAL YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR. Who got the team together in the first place?!

The answer: Lord Shojo (or whatever Normal Person Name you want to assign him). Now this is where it gets tricky: he had them do a thing that they thought was good, THEN they thought it was BAD, but then when they confronted him he revealed that it Appearing to be bad was actually a test of character and would they consider working as basically internal investigators for him? But then he had a heart attack, so, rip. But THEN it turned out that he’d left them a bunch of money anyway and they were all feeling kind of Inspired so they formed the Order of the Stick, LLC (which, no, i am not coming up with a new name, actually, because I just don’t care. someone else can come up w a justification for that name, tho, i’m sure it’s possible). Also Miko was there and was unhappy abt their actions, and also their general existence.

Moving on. Villains!

Redcloak is the Sterling replacement, because that DEEPLY amuses me.

Xykon is a season-long main villain, probably one that Redcloak finds himself working for but then “teams up with” (read: blackmails) the Order to bring him down bc even Redcloak finds Xykon distasteful. That’s season 3, let’s say.

Tarquin is another season villain, say season 2. Nale probably shows up pretty early in s1, actually, as another recurring antagonist like Sterling but uh. Less good at it. Anyways the s2 final 3 eps deal with them (accidentally) discovering that Tarquin runs some Evil Empire Company, then trying to outplay him and take him down. Idk if Nale still dies in this version tbh.

Tsukiko is a one-off s1 villain who returns briefly in s4 alongside Miko, who has gone well and truly off the rails.

Season 1 finale has to do w Roy finally getting Vengeance for his little brother.

The vampire squad is the s4 finale villain who do smth terrible to Durkon and then get the Mother Of All Revenge served up to them by the Order.

I envision the show as being 5 seasons (like og Leverage) but I’m not going to sketch out s5 because I think it should be based off whatever happens in the current story arc, possibly involving some legacy of the OotSquiggle.

Other stuff!

The Order of the Squiggle is a legendary criminal team from the 60s who stole a BUNCH of famous shit & then proceeded to legendarily implode. This has no bearing on the plot I’ve sketched out, I just think it’s fun.

The Sapphire Guard members should probably be reworked as FBI. I don’t care about most of them but I do think that Lien and O-Chul could be like, FBI agents who Choose to look the other way while the Order does their very-much-not-legal-but-still-fair Justice Crime, and maybe even help them out on occasion.

So, the Final season-by-season outline, based on everything I’ve written so far:

s1 e1: getting the team together, doing a con for Shojo, then at the end he dies and the gang is like “dang what now?" and intend to split up except then they Don’t.

mid-s1: Nale shows up and tries to trick the Order, but then gets beat like a drum.

late s1: Tsukiko is an underling of the Villain Of The Week, winds up in police custody. But She’ll Be Back.

s1 finale: Roy’s Vengeance: The Vengeaning. also we meet Redcloak as an antagonist.

s2 e1: the truth abt Haley’s father comes out

early s2: The Two Live Crews Job but it’s the Order vs the Linear Guild and the Linear Guild ARE all bad guys.

mid-s2: Redcloak returns. ugh.

late s2: the sapphire guard FBI makes its first appearance, hello O-Chul and Lien.

s2 pre-finale: once again they’re in conflict w Nale over smth, he spends the whole episodes making Cryptic Remarks, they basically beat him (like a drum!) but then the stinger at the end is that Tarquin reveals himself and Elan is like “Dad?!”, roll credits.

s2 finale, part 1: Elan is hanging out w Tarquin bc he’s DEEP in Denial, the Rest of the team tries to take Tarquin down, but it doesn’t work.

s2 finale, part 2: Elan finally gets a clue and they manage to beat Tarquin. still haven’t decided if Nale dies or not, but I’m leaning towards yes. also they rescue Haley’s dad.

s3 e1: fuck dude idk.

early s3: Redcloak shows up, AGAIN, everyone groans. he has blackmail on them, he wants them to take Xykon down.

mid s3: The Rashomon Job but it’s about stealing the Talisman of Dorukan and it turns out that Nale was there too (“oh!” Elan says. “I was wondering why I looked so weird in all those mirrors! But it wasn’t my reflection, it was Nale’s!” “Sweetie, that wasn’t Nale’s reflection,” says Haley. “Huh,” says Elan, “so the mirrors were broken?”, cue eye rolling from everyone else.), and the Successful thief was Hilgya, who’d nabbed it from the owner before it even went on display.

s3 finale: they beat Xykon, actually factually, because he deserves to get his ass Thoroughly kicked, even if only in AU form. Lien and O-Chul are there, so are some other less helpful FBI people. There’s a bit where O-Chul Exact Wordses his way out of telling his superiors about the Order’s less legal activities without technically lying. King shit.

s4 e1: doesn’t really matter. maybe smth to do w some legacy of Tarquin’s company to set up the drama w Malack & Durkon later.

early s4: Durkon gets SENT TO PRISON. Malack approaches the Order abt this because sure they have Different Ethics but they’re still Friends. (Roy is surprised and a little hurt that he’s never heard of Malack, but he ignores that in favor of Let’s Get Whatever Fuckers Did This To Our Friend.)

immediately after that: Miko and Tsukiko return as a Team, preventing the Order from working on the Durkon situation

mid s4: Redcloak makes another unexpected & unwelcome appearance but he’s maybe a little less of a dick? the Order collaborates with Malack & his Crime Buddies (hello, Vector Legion) to pull one over on him tho, because “less of a dick” does not mean “a pleasant or decent person”, and also he was mean abt Durkon being in jail, so he totally deserved it. he still gets whatever he wanted tho, just takes a blow to his pride. also prevents the Order from helping Durkon. they’re having a LOT of setbacks wonder why that could be, not to make sure the season fills its whole length or anything, no sirree

s4 finale: something something taking down the organization, headed by Hel (yes that’s her real name), which framed Durkon for their Big Crime. Durkon goes free and Extra Firmly retires, For Good, He Swears, but says he “met someone new” who might be an asset.

s5 e1: minrah joins the team! and the episode is set in like, somewhere really snowy. that’s all i got.

the rest of s5: don’t know, don’t care, it’s open-ended until the comic finishes up.

[atopearth]

Court of Darkness Part 2 - Lynt Akedia Route

Considering that Lynt seems interested in her powers but not pushy about it, I like him more than the others already haha. It's cute how he has his own napping place and even slept on the heroine's lap without noticing lol. I also really enjoy Haru appearing more! She's a cute and loyal cat so I wanna see her more haha. It was nice of Lynt to suggest for them to pretend to be dating so that the other guys won't bother her, but lmao when he fell asleep hugging her like a teddy bear, and then gave her a good morning kiss in front of his butler omg!!! I thought Lynt was going to be boring, but he's actually cuter than I thought lmao, I especially love how he pats her head hahaha, it's so adorable. It's pretty funny how much Lynt clings to the heroine, I found it hilarious how he kept snuggling against her and rubbing his face on her cheek(?) in front of her friends lolll, that's embarrassing🤣 It's pretty saddening to hear Lynt be so blunt with her and say that he would never fall for her though.

Hmmm, if Lynt comes from a kingdom that loathes conflict, does it mean that the reason he said he would never really fall for the heroine be because he knows that if he really marries her or something it would incite conflict? Or maybe he's just too sleepy for it🤣 I'm honestly surprised the heroine loves Lynt already lol, but he is pretty nice I guess, and very influential to get all the S ranks to help her with her magic lol. But I honestly think they really haven't communicated all that much for her to be so in love with him loll, like sure interested but not love haha. Oh, Lynt has a fiancee, like I'm not surprised since he's a prince, but yep, I would be so annoyed if I was the heroine too. Regardless of the fact of whether the relationship was fake or not, it's true that they shared a bed together etc, like imagine if the fiancee found out about all that?! Doesn't sound like fun, not to mention other troubles coming from the perception that she's his lover when he's already got a fiancee, it's as if she's his mistress, like yep I'm surprised she's not strangling Lynt lol. Can you imagine all the people in the academy talking behind her back about this, they probably think she's shameless omg. Personally, I think she should be more mad about him not disclosing all this rather than being hurt because he's got someone he's going to marry someday lol. Honestly pretty disappointed in Lynt even though he probably didn't mean it, but still, he's really lacking consideration on her part and his fiancee's part regardless of whether he and his fiancee are really "together" or not. He should know better as royalty.

I think I really like Roy, he seems pretty level-headed, understanding, good at reading the situation and kind. In addition, Sherry is his sister and she's such a nice friend~ Aww, Roy actually likes the heroine?! Too bad it's not his route, I would totally pick him though🥺 I really like how studious the heroine is, she could just ask Lynt to tell her what most of the ancient script says but she gets his help to learn how to decipher it herself and I think that's really admirable of her. Anyway, I have to admit that even though Lynt was kinda cute in the beginning, he really hasn't done much lately to make me like him, especially since he's not someone who could understand why the heroine was mad, nor has he really bothered to ask her about it. It's nice that he's helping her find her way back to her world and I guess he probably doesn't want to make her doubt her decision to go back by getting her tied to things here like himself, but it doesn't really change the fact that even though he is kind, he also doesn't really know how to show his feelings. Well dang, Roy took her rejection with such class, I'm impressed haha. Anyway, I understand why the heroine likes Lynt and not Roy, but I honestly find Lynt's lack of communication quite frustrating, especially when he didn't say anything after she told him her feelings for him. He's probably doing his best in his own way to make sure she can leave to go back home without any worries but it's difficult (for me) to feel anything for him when he one-sidedly decides everything for her whether it be looking for the method for going back home, or who should be the one to kiss her to have stronger powers to send her etc. He doesn't talk to her at all, doesn't listen to her at all, it just frustrates me. Whereas, unlike Lynt, the heroine knows how to think about other people's feelings. I think it was nice of her to apologise to Roy for getting him to kiss her for the ritual even though she can't return his feelings. Anyway, I don't mind if Lynt is awkward but he practically actively ignores every bit of honesty the heroine has shown towards him and I think what's what irks me the most about their relationship (if there is even one lol).

I guess Lynt interrupting the ritual was expected, but it's kinda amusing how he's so confused about it himself? Lol. He should really properly apologise to her, but it's not like she really thinks there's much to go back to anyway, it would be sad if she did though. I can't imagine how big of a deal it was for Lynt to use ancient magic considering how he's a pacifist more than anything, but it's still kinda crazy that that was the only way he could express how much he likes the heroine lol. Tbh, I really don't like how they're making Roy be the reason for the heroine to recognise how much she loves Lynt and won't give up on him until she's properly talked to him, it's really frustrating,  because Roy is like a scapegoat for this route. I feel like Roy could have just encouraged her as a normal friend and it wouldn't have made a difference, so honestly it just feels like pointless drama? Anyway, I really admire the heroine for going allll the way to Lynt's kingdom just to talk to him properly, like wow, I honestly would have given up, but the girl's got the resolve. However, I found it silly that the Headmaster and Roy didn't tell/remind her that she's not going to get in the castle just like that lolll. Can I just say, I nearly spat out my bun when the guards remarked about being surprised to see Lynt running (to the heroine) because he only ever briskly walks? LMAO. No, you're not surprised he's hugging another woman when he's getting married tomorrow, but you're surprised about him running for something HAHAHA. I honestly nearly choked because I had to hold in my laughter hahahaha. Lmao, gotta agree with the heroine that is it okay that everything was resolved so easily and the wedding was just called off like that?! Loll. Colour me impressed at how honest and straightforward Lynt is now that he's not burdened with anything lol. I'm not surprised that the magic to return home was "fake" lol but I guess this is easier than her having to decide to stay or not since it's the ending already haha.

Anyway, the ending was so short compared to all the pain the heroine had to go through! Honestly, I thought Guy was a pain in the ass but omg Lynt's route was as well. Like, I guess at least Lynt seemed rather nice in the beginning so I guess there was more "love" to build up on from there, but honestly the moment Lynt told the heroine he had a fiancee, everything went downhill from there for me. It felt like the whole entire route from there was the heroine chasing after a guy who didn't show his love much (aside from some actions), and all the positives just couldn't cancel out the overwhelming negatives of how painful and heartbreaking of a "relationship" it was, when Lynt never communicated anything. Like literally anything. He's indecisive in the sense that he loves the heroine but can't break off from his burdens, so he basically does nothing and just goes with the flow whilst ignoring the heroine's hopes to make everything clear, and then Lynt just wants the "best" for her by sending her back to her world, BUT he's never really asked how she feels about anything. He just does what he thinks is right and then just leaves her to try and communicate with him but he doesn't say anything ever, until he finds out how determined she is by going all the way to his kingdom, and then he's like yeah, I should do something. Like omg, I felt for the heroine so much because it was such a long and hard battle lmao. I also feel bad for Roy because his love for the heroine was unnecessary imo, and he could have pushed her on regardless, but omg did I feel annoyed every day I read Lynt's route because it was just the same thing of him not talking and the heroine trying to talk to him or being sad, so yeah I didn't like this route much either, even though Lynt seemed like he was going to be so much better than Guy in the beginning, sigh. Honestly, if this was real life, he wouldn't be worth the effort and I wouldn't have gone to his kingdom, but I do admire the heroine for doing all that, so yeah, as usual, props to the heroine for always trying her best and dealing with these guys. The ending really didn't have enough sweetness to it to make me happy for them when it was such an agonising journey tbh, I think I might have been more satisfied if they let us cherish the heroine's happiness a bit more but oh well...

[rogueninja]

Okay so we all know who your top ships are... who are your unpopular ships? Or obscure ships? What characters from what series do you think about often in either good or bad ways? Who is a character that you hate that others love? If you could rewrite a story or part of a book, what would it be and what would you do differently?

Ok I am digging through my brain right now bc if I’m not able to hyperfixate on something then I tend to forget I even liked it. Ok buckle in bc this is gonna be long af. YOU ASKED FOR THIS, REG.

I’m putting a readmore so as not to torture my followers lol

Thinking about Veronica Mars. About Veronica/Logan. Do they have a ship name?? But I love that show and i was THERE for them. They were kind of a surprise ship for me, in that when they got together I was like, wait, WHAT? Like I was totally caught off guard. But there first kiss is, like, sooo romantic to me haha. It’s my fave scene in the show. But Logan is suck a prick sometimes. And they break up like every five minutes. And every season Logan gets accused of murder which of course he ends up not being the murderer. And they get back together eventually and I’m like really? But deep down I am rooting for them lol. I really enjoyed the new season of Veronica Mars that came out last year, actually. The ending made me SO SAD THO.

I also used to watch Supergirl and I thought Kara and Mon-El were adorable. He was very Carswell Thorne-esque, RH, I *think* you would like him. I never watched past season 3(?) though, and he shoots off into space and I never caught up so a few months ago I actually googled what happens and [spoiler] he ends up marrying someone else in the future or something so I was like, ok I’m not investing any more time in this show lol. (Also I had to google Mon-El’s name just now bc i forgot which is a bad look BUT I WAS REALLY RIDE OR DIE FOR THEM FOR A WHILE lol). Also I loved Martian Manhunter in this show, he was my favorite character. But the CGI for him was awful, omg. He had practical makeup at first, they should have just stuck with that.

Speaking of Martian Manhunter, I also used to watch Young Justice and loved Miss Martian/Superboy. Am I basic??? lol oop. But I love basic love stories. Anyway, I thought they were super cute. In season 3 though they’re kind of on the rocks. I haven’t watched season 4. I also loved Artemis/Wally West, but of course that had to end tragically.

Also, let’s talk about Nightcrawler. Allow me to set the scene. Little Kat is 13 and just rediscovered the cartoon she saw a few times as a kid called X-Men: Evolution. And thus, a weird obsession with the German, blue demon boy began. I loved Kurt Wagner. In the cartoon he starts a relationship with Amanda Sefton and I thought they were a-dor-a-ble. She accepted him for who he was, and they had a really nice healthy relationship. A lot of ppl shipped him with Kitty too which i am honestly all for idec I JUST WANT THE BLUE BOI TO BE HAPPY.

Can we talk about A:TLA too??? Like, obviously Zutara, amiright? Power couple. Like, Kataang is.. fine, but its probably my least favorite part about the ending, haha. Also, consider: Tokka. Toph is bae and can get anyone she wants, and she clearly had kind of a crush on Sokka and I think they could have been awesome. It actually kills me that they never say who Lin and Suyin’s father is in LoK. I had a whole theory that it was that kid The Duke from Jet’s band based on like 2 scenes from the series. There’s a tumblr post I made about it somewhere in the ether lol.

I also just remembered Tahnorra (Tahno/Korra) from Legend of Korra. It’s hard for me to explain this one. It’s a weird combination of being hyperfixated on the first season of the show when it came out, and I think I stumbled upon some fic or something???? And I thought Tahno was hot or something??? And FUN FACT, he was voice by Rami Malek BEFORE HE WAS COOL. So like before Rami really got big I knew who he was. He also basically played the Avatar in Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 and I thought that connection was hilarious. It was kind of a problematic crack pairing but there was one author in particular whom i follow to this day hoping she’ll update her Tahnorra fics…. *sigh*

Okay one last ship…. I used to be ride or die for Outlaw Queen in Once Upon a Time (aka Regina/Robin Hood). Like, before TLC, I had a personal tumblr renaissance for that ship alone. My only existing published fanfic is for that ship. Taylor Swift’s 1989 came out that year and I related every dang song to that ship. I loved Regina so much and I just wanted her to be happy. That show is a dumpster fire, though, and spat all over my hopes and dreams. *sigh*

Also, lightning round for obscure pairings I ship and/or never talk about:

Frank Castle/Karen Page (The Punisher) ok this one isnt that obscure but I never talk about it… but the pining, oh god the pining

Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth (GoT) THEIR 5 SECONDS TOGETHER ARE THE ONLY WORTHY PART OF SEASON 8. everything after that never happened

I already listed Roy Mustang/Riza Hawkeye (FMAB) as a top pairing previously but I feel the need to mention it again bc it was for real my OG OTP… LIKE U WANNA TALK ABOUT PINING…. *sobs*

Percy/Annabeth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) This used to be my fave book series and i loved how their relationship developed over the course of the books

Neville Longbottom/Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter) ok can we TALK ABOUT THIS??? They were both badass misfits and they were perfect for each other. But noooo JKR has to announce they marry some nobodies…. this is the only change the last movie did right

Midna/Link (Zelda: Twilight Princess) I honestly have no explanation for this lol

Qui-gon Jinn and Shmi (Star Wars) CAN U IMAGINE if anakin had a proper father figure and didnt have to abandon his mother to slavery

Obi-wan/Satine…. (Star Wars: The clone Wars) we know whats up

OK, to answer some of your other questions: character I hate that others love. HMMMM…….

This one seems too easy/obvious but Professor Snape? Like obviously there’s already a ton of discourse surrounding this but he was gross, mistreated his students for years, committed atrocities, couldn’t get over his high school crush, and we’re supposed to believe he’s a hero in the end and HARRY WOULD NAME HIS SON AFTER HIM….. uh no. “Always” is gross.

I’ve literally been wracking my brain for days and I can’t think of any more characters for this. OK I did some googling and I remembered some LOL.

Ross from friends…. I literally can’t stand him. He’s so entitled and just the worst. He tries to act like he’s the nice, sensitive guy, but really he is so full of himself. Joey on the other hand is portrayed as a womanizer but is actually super sweet and I love him

Archie from Riverdale… I have only seen the first 1.5 seasons ish but he is the worst…. we’re supposed to believe he’s some easygoing musically gifted football player but instead he manages to pull off being bland as heck and actually kind of a terrible garbage person

Nick from chilling adventures of Sabrina. I hate characters that are like hitting on the main character even though she has a bf and are like dark and broody and sexy blah blah blah…. I liked Harvey way better. I never finished season 2 tho

Emma Swan from Once Upon a Time? Idk she was fine she just got old after a while

If you could rewrite a story or part of a book, what would it be and what would you do differently?

HM. First, Harry would name his son Remus Rebeus Potter LOL. Ok but real talk there was a headcanon floating around forever ago that Harry should have become a professor at Hogwarts instead of an auror and I am 100% on board

Ok, ok….. what abouuuttt…… OK, is star wars when Han and Leia get together. I like them as a couple, but the entire first half of the movie Han is being such an ass. And when they kiss the first time, he’s being SOOO creepy. It’s like so quintessentially 80s romance. and HERE’S THE THING. They actually filmed (or maybe just wrote?) a version of that scene that WASNT CREEPY. And i’m like WHY DIDNT YOU USE THAT?!? So I like to pretend that’s the version that actually happened.

This part is way harder than the shipping portion. If I think of anything else i’l dm you. I HOPE YOU ENJOY READING THIS NOVEL LENGTH POST OF ME RAMBLING ABOUT MY FIXATIONS OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS. If anyone actually read this far, you deserve a cup of hot chocolate and a blanket

[scentedbygunpowder]

Moms Made Fullmetal Week, 2019 Day 5: Comfort/Anger/Release Word Count: 2816 Author: Katie/Ally (scentedbygunpowder) Rating: G Characters: Mama Havoc (Marie), Jean Havoc, Papa Havoc (Thomas); Mentions: Havoc siblings and relations, Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye, Heymans Breda Summary: Marie Havoc considered herself a good mother. But that didn’t mean that it was always easy. And when her eldest son is facing his toughest challenge yet, Marie has to figure out what it means to be a good mother in these circumstances.

~*~

Comfort/Anger/Release

Marie Havoc considered herself to be a good mother. Her children seemed to consider her that too. But sometimes she had no idea what a good mother would do for her children. That was especially true now.

Marie stood behind the counter of the Havoc general store and watched. Her eyes stayed glued to her eldest son as he—well, she couldn’t really say “stood” any more could she?—outside where the little ones from around were playing. He was tossing a ball around with them, the kids begging him to throw it as far as he could, and he would throw it hard, sending it further away than anyone else could. The kids delightedly chased after the ball laughing and scrambling after it. Jean laughed too, but as the kids ran off, part of the light in his eyes died. It might not have been as obvious to anyone else, but a mother knew.

“Ma—you’re gonna get a wrinkle between yer eyes if ya don’t stop that.”

Marie’s attention snapped back from the window and to her daughter, who was grinning up at her from where she was replacing some of the stock they kept in the front of the counter. Her hand flew up to her forehead. “Was I doin’ it again?”

Bethany straighten up and nodded. “Yes ma’am. Ya had that look again, the one ya get when ya look at Jean when ya think he’s not lookin’.” She looked out the window at him, too, as the kids ran around back and he wheeled after them, and put her hand over her mother’s. “He knows, ya know. He’s not always the sharpest tool in the shed, but Jean’s observant. He knows how ya worry.”

Marie smiled at Bethany and gave her hand a pat. “It’s a mother’s job to worry,” she said. “Especially when her child’s been through somethin’. Mind the store, will ya?”

Bethany nodded, and walked behind the counter, switching places with her mother. Marie walked towards the back of the store, and through the back, into their home. This store had been here a long time, and when it had been built, it had been built with the store in the front, and the house attached in the back. It was both a blessing and a curse at time, but Marie didn’t give much thought to it anymore. It was as it was, and she had accepted it when she had married Thomas. Right now it afforded her a quick trip into her domain—the kitchen.

There were a few dishes left in the sink, and she set to them, cleaning them up and giving her hands something to do. She needed to think for a few moments. He was so sad, her Jean. He had always been active. It had been obvious from early on that he wasn’t going to be the smartest in the bunch of kids. He was by no means stupid, none of her kids were. They were very well educated and made good grades. But Jean had always struggled more with it then her other children, although he never got jealous about it, always happy for his younger siblings when they understood something. Yes, he had had his insecurities about it, but he had bore them quietly, and instead focused on what he was good at.

Jean’s strengths had always lied more in the physical and untestable. The boy had always been active, always moving, always doing things. He never hesitated to stop to help someone, to do what he could for them. He had a big heart, and a way of just knowing when someone needed something, even if he didn’t always know what that something was. He would gladly go out of his way to help a friend however he could. Those were his strengths.

And now, it seemed, that had been stripped from him. He was lost, and he needed to know that he was still useful, still capable, still good. His insecurities had returned, only this time more potent because he was a man now, not a boy, and his ability to stand strong like he was supposed to had been taken from him. He needed to know he was good for more than just answering phones and throwing balls for kids.

Marie’s hand dried the last dish, and she heard that now-familiar sound of wheels across wooden planks. He must have come up the ramp his father and brothers had built for him, and across the porch. She could see him, as he stopped and looked out into the distance. The kids must have gone somewhere he couldn’t anymore, and it must have rankled him. After all, he grew up running around this countryside.

A thought occurred to her, and she leaned out the window. After all, he had always found comfort in her baking. “Jean? Jean, darlin’, can you come give me a hand?”

Jean looked up, a little surprised, but then wheeled his way towards the screened door, pulling it open with its customary creak, and maneuvered his way inside. “Ma? I thought you were watchin’ the store?”

“Bethany’s gonna watch it for a mite. I had the passin’ urge to do some bakin’ before these apples go bad. You know what a waste that would be. But I could use a hand with some of the mixin’. Ya mind givin’ yer old mama a hand with that?”

He gave her a gentle smile, the one that was just for her, and agreed. “You’re not old, Ma. But sure I’ll give you a hand. Dunno how much help I’ll be, but I can try.”

There he went again, disparaging on himself, and Marie just kept her tongue on it. She had been calling him out on it every time, but Thomas had warned her about doing it too much. After all, he had reminded her, she didn’t want to shut down the grieving he had to be doing about his legs and his former life.

But her feelings on that and his Colonel were another story.

“I’m sure you’ll do just fine. Ya always were a mighty help in the kitchen.” She said firmly. She started doling out directions, at first just asking him to do simple things, like measure out ingredients and such, but after a bit she was asking him to get things or do things that she had been doing. He was doing better at it then she was sure he had thought he would, even if there were some areas he wasn’t able to do yet. When they finished, up, she made them both a cup of coffee and they sat at the table, waiting for the apple turnovers to bake.

“—and that was when we figured out that Heymans had a huge fear of dogs!”

Maria laughed as he finished recounting the story to her, enjoying it, even if she had swatted him a bit at the “joke” he had made about eating the poor pup. “Well I can’t say much for that Lady Lieutenant’s namin’ skills, but I bet she takes good care of that pup!”

“Oh yeah. She loves him almost as much as she loves the Colonel—only she can show the dog her love!”

Marie just hummed at the mention of the Colonel, and took a sip of her coffee, letting the story hang for a moment.

“…Hey, Ma?”

She looked back up at him, leaving her thoughts behind. “Yes?”

“…Thanks. For, ya know, this. It was good t’ feel useful again.”

He wasn’t quite looking at her, his pride being his pride, but Marie didn’t mind. She knew her eldest. She reached across and patted his hand.

“I have no idea what in the world yer talking about, Son,” she said. “I just needed a little help, and I knew you could do it.”

He smiled at her, a bit of tension in him releasing, and something in her loosened a bit as well. It wasn’t much, but it was, at least, one form of comfort she could offer her son—the ability to feel useful.

~*~

“Yer makin’ a lot of noise, ya know.” Her husband stood in the doorway of the kitchen, observing his wife as she viciously attacked the dishes from supper, cleaning them with a vengeance.

“I’m fine.” She said firmly.

“No,” Thomas said, “Yer not. And you hide it pretty well, but ya can’t hide if from me.” He frowned, looking her over. “Yer still angry, aren’t ya?”

She practically threw the scrubbing brush she had in her hands in the sink, and turned to face her husband. He moved all the way in, letting the door close behind him, cutting of the sound of their children and a few grandchildren being entertained by the stories that Jean was telling of his time in the military. Good. They needed the barrier.

“Yer dang-near right I’m still mad!” she snapped at him, keeping her voice low. This wasn’t a conversation she wanted Jean to hear. “That Colonel o’ his—that’s all he can talk about! Colonel Mustang this and Colonel Mustang that, ‘n’ how great the man is!”

“He served under him a while, Marie. Jean obviously looks up to him.” Thomas said, moving closer to her. “He made some big kinda impact on him.”

“Oh, yes! Some big kinda impact!” Marie said mockingly, although she wasn’t mocking her husband. “Big enough that he got our son nearly killed ‘n’ disabled ‘n’ there’s nothin’ that can change that! Yet he’s still in there holdin’ out hope fer somethin’!”

“Marie.”

“Dontcha Marie me, Thomas Havoc! If he was so great, then why’d he go ‘n’ let out boy get hurt like that! Why’d he just turn ‘im loose, ‘steada doin’ somethin’ fer him! Why’d he—Why—“

She was trembling, tears starting to burn hot in her eyes and Thomas came up to her, pulling her close to him and holding her in his arms for a moment. She was balled up and hot with anger, but Thomas had always had a calming effect on her.

“Marie, I know yer angry. I am too. But I think yer angry at the wrong person, love,” Thomas said, his voice as calming as his presence. He pulled back a little. “Yer angry at Colonel Mustang, and I understand that. But Mar… That Colonel was hurt too, and he did what he could to save our boy, then risked his life ta rescue that lady lieutenant and a boy, who called for help after that. Ya know he can’t give us all the details, but he’s told us that much.”

Marie was not ready to stop being angry, though. “But he just turned him loose! He didn’t even have the common curtsey ta try ta do somethin’ else for ‘im!”

Thomas took a breath. “Marie. I get why yer mad. I wanna be too. But Jean still respects that Colonel o’ his, and if we wanna help Jean get used ta his new life, then we can’t be mad at the Colonel. He holds him in too high of regard.”

Marie was silent, her jaw working, and she pulled back and turned to the sink again. “…I can’t promise anythin’ soon, but I see yer point, Tom. I’ll try.”

He kissed her head. “Yer a good mother, and a good wife, and I love ya. All I ask is that ya try.”

Marie kept scrubbing on the dishes.

~*~

Marie let out a sigh as she watched Jean talking to this odd man, and listened to the conversation that he was having. He was being really careful not to let anyone else in on it, but they all knew that he was up to something. These orders of weapons and such from Xing over the past months, he promised that he had a buyer for them. He made calls and talked to people, and bit by bit things were ordered and amassed.

He was working again, her boy.

He had purpose again.

And Marie was pretty darn certain just who she had to thank for that.

Her boy and his big heart and drive to help however he could. She huffed a little.

She waited until the man had left, taking a receipt with him to show to Jean’s brothers who were working on the stock so he could get what he needed. Jean seemed to be grinning to himself, clearly satisfied with whatever had just happened.

“Who was that, Jean?” she asked him.

Jean turned to look at her, looking over his shoulder a bit. ���No one ta worry ‘bout, Ma. Just one of my special orders.”

She reached for the ledger, flipping through it. “You’ve had lots o’ these special orders lately—and there was that beat up ol’ ice cream truck ya found and sold.”

He reached up and gently tugged the ledger from her hands. “Yeah, well, I think I might have found a good market for ‘em, albeit a temporary one.”

She eyed him. “How temporary?” she asked.

“I promise, Ma, I won’t over buy us, okay? I know they’re expensive, but I promise we’ll get paid in full soon.”

Marie took in a breath and let it out again. “…Jean. Just answer this one question for yer old Ma. I won’t say another word about it all, if you’ll just answer it.”

He looked at her curiously.

“…Does this have somethin’ ta do with that Colonel of yers?”

His eyes widened and he looked away from her, instead wheeling himself closer to the counter. “Ma. Does it really matter? I’ve got us a market and it’ll pay off.” He turned and smiled at her. “So dontcha worry about it, Ma! I promise that it’ll all work out!”

She just looked at him evenly, then nodded, and headed back towards the house and the kitchen. “Mind the store for a mite, will ya?” she asked, although she didn’t wait for an answer. “I’ve got some letters and such to attend to.”

She heard his agreement as she left, turning over the conversation she had just had in her mind. Her hands moved to fix herself a cup of tea, going through the motions without her mind really on it, and she sat at the table, looking at the pile of mail she had to go through. There was one that was marked from an address that she had figured out was one of Jean’s military friends, and she stared at it for a moment, before pushing the pile away.

She still had anger towards Colonel Mustang. How could she not? He was supposed to look after her son! But that anger wasn’t doing her any good. It wasn’t helping to comfort her son. It wasn’t helping to make him better or give him focus again. No, her anger was useless, just bogging her down.

Somehow, it always came back to the Colonel. She didn’t know what Jean saw in him, but whatever it was, it was a powerful motivator. She saw the hand exercises he did. She saw the way that he took to studying more, learning more, even if he sometimes needed to talk it over with someone. She saw the motivation he had to find equipment that would help keep him mobile, and talking his brothers into helping him build it. She saw how this new “project” of his—something that she was sure was all to benefit the Colonel somehow—motivated him to keep going and move forward.

Whatever the Colonel was doing, whatever his aims were, her Jean had been quite impacted by them and they were what drove him forward.

And if she kept this anger towards him, it would drive her and her eldest apart.

Marie took a breath. Then another. Then another.

“Alright,” she said in barely a whispered voice. “Alright. I’ve been a-holding onto this for too long. It’s time to let it go. I need to release this anger if I’m to help my son move forward.”

She sat there, breathing in, thinking about all the reasons she had to be angry with the Colonel, and then releasing them one by one, turning them into the good that she could see in her boy and, eventually, she had gone through them all.

Marie opened her eyes, and looked at her tea. She may not understand it, but if it would bring her son healing and comfort, then she’d release the anger she felt towards the Colonel. Perhaps it was a mother’s misplaced anger, or perhaps it was justified. She wasn’t sure. But if her son could get himself together and move on, then so could she. That way she could stay by his side the whole way, supporting him where she could.

After all, what else could a good mother do?

[jinmukangwrites]

Upside

I've had this idea since I watched The Upside. There was this one scene that I thought would be perfect for a DickBabs one shot and now I've finally gotten around to writing it.

-o-o-o-o-

"Oops, there's a puddle-" Dick said. He adjusted his grip on the two handles in front of him, veering right, almost hitting an elderly couple holding hands with his very own Barbara.

"Dick!" Barbara yelled, mostly in exasperation but Dick could hear the amusement in her voice. He laughed and righted the wheelchair as the elderly couple gave them grumpy looks.

"Dick's my name," he insisted, holding back chuckles, "she's just saying my name!"

Barbara burst into laughter, "No, I was calling you a dick!"

The couple rolled their eyes, as if to say 'dang kids these days' before they began to walk away. Dick and Barbara continue to laugh as thunder rumbled in the distance and small drops bounced off the sidewalks and roads of Gotham, reflecting yellow from the street lamps and the moon persistently shining through the smog in the air. It was a crappy night, but most nights were crappy in Gotham. One had to make the most of it.

Barbara sighed in content and leaned back against her chair, folding her arms in front of her tightly and snuggling deeper into her jacket. Dick hummed softly behind her, a familiar tune.

Happy birthday to you~

They continued like that in the drizzling rain down the streets of Gotham until Barbara's apartment building came into view and she suddenly felt trapped. She and Dick had a wonderful date, such a beautifully fun day that she had almost forgotten how miserable she was, how she was crippled and disabled, but the sight of her apartment complex always reminded her that just a few months ago, she gained a bullet wound to her spine by Gotham's very own Joker in that very building. She had considered moving out on multiple occasions to get away from his laughter and his smiling face, away from the fear that sparked her heart every time she opened the door almost expecting to see a purple suit and green hair.

She suddenly didn't want Dick pushing her wheelchair anymore.

"Let go," she said quietly and Dick immediately listened, folding his hands into his jacket pockets as she put her gloved hands on the wheels of her chair. She'd always be thankful to him for that… listening to her.

"So I was thinking," Dick started, walking up besides her like nothing happened, "of extending my stay here a bit before I head back to Blüdhaven."

Barbara glanced at him before she hummed and let Dick open the door to the complex building. The handicap button was always broken. She wheeled her chair inside and made her way over to the elevator with Dick trailing after her. "Does this have to do about that new kid? Tim?"

Dick pressed the elevator button. "Somewhat. Bruce is still morning… from what I've seen so far he isn't giving Tim much freedom in anything, he's afraid the same thing will happen to Tim that happened to…" he cleared his throat as the elevator doors screeched open, she was sure they were both thinking of a pale face that had taken so much from them, "anyway, that's only half the reason." Barbara and Dick walked into the elevator and the doors shut behind them. Dick smiled down at her, "I want to spend more time with you."

Barbara smiled and reached out to grab his hand. He squeezed her fingers as the elevator began to rise. "What about your job?"

"The bar can last without me for a little while."

"Then I'd like if you stayed a bit."

Dick let out a laugh through his nose and turned to the doors as they opened. They both made their way over to her apartment in comfortable silence. She stopped by the door and dug through her purse for her keys before she stuck then up into the door knob. With a click, the door began to swing open to reveal darkness. Dick opened the door the rest of the way and walk in ahead of her. She put her keys back and then wheeled herself in, thinking about maybe binging some Netflix or something before going to bed, but right as the door shut behind her, the lights flashed on and she was suddenly facing dozens of faces in her own home.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BARBARA!"

She stopped still in shock as she stared at each face in front of her. Wally, Roy, Donna, and so many others that she knew on the Batgirl side of things were smiling down at her, clapping and whooping like she was a star; her civilian friends and neighbors welcomed her a bit more calmly. Her Dad was at the front, holding a cake and Bruce Wayne stood more towards the back of the room, smiling just a little. Tim looked excited just to be invited.

"Oh… what a surprise," she said, trying not to choke on her words. She turned away from the crowd that was already turning on music and setting up cake and ice cream and smiled up at Dick. "A word?"

Dick snapped his head down to her, cutting off the wave he had been sending over to Wally. She could see him pale ever so slightly. Good. That way she knew that he knew she was angry with him.

"Y-yeah," he said.

She hummed and began to wheel through the crowd of people towards her bedroom. She wanted to scream when her downstairs neighbor approached her and put a hand on her shoulder. "I can't believe Bruce Wayne is here!" Her neighbor said.

"Yeah, perks of dating his son," Barbara said, forcing out a fake laugh. She rolled her shoulder out of the grip on her and began to wheel away. "I'm going to get changed into something more presentable," she announced, continuing to her room. She shoved open her door and rolled inside with Dick right behind her.

Her dad's voice called out suddenly, "wait, why's Dick going-"

She slammed the door shut, muffling the sounds of the party.

She took a deep breath and rolled her chair around so she could face Dick. She glared and placed her hands on her hips to the best of her ability.

"Dick," she said coolly.

The person in question swallowed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "Look, I know you said no parties-"

"One thing," she cut him off with her voice wavering, "I ask for one thing and you go and do it anyway. I told you I didn't want a party!"

"I know! Just, everyone wanted to see you-"

Barbara groaned and brought her hands up to her hair, pulling at her red curls. God, she could just kill Dick! Frustration, like a fire, began to run through her veins, making her… making her want to punch something.

"I don't care if they wanted to see me! I said I wanted a quiet celebration, with you and Dad and maybe Bruce. Not every person we know!"

Dick kneeled down next to her and grabbed one of her hands, bring it up to his lips, "if it's the suits you're worried about, don't worry, I already told them-"

"That's not what a I care about," she hissed, tugging her hand away from him. "I don't care about one of them accidentally letting it out that half of the room words for the Justice League."

Dick's eyebrows came together. "Then what is this about?"

Barbara shoved him away. "What is this about!?" She practically screamed. She was getting worked up, she knew she should calm down. Dick was just being a good boyfriend, a good friend, but he didn't… no one understood! "What this is about, Dick, is that there is so much in my life that I'm not in control of anymore! The least you could have done is respected my request! That's all I have left, Dick! But now I have to go out there and-" she gasped for air. She was freaking out and Dick was staring at her with wide eyes. The thought that she should stop vibrated through her skull but… it was like the dam broke. Now that she started, she couldn't stop. Her voice raised an octave when she continued. "I have to go out there and deal with their pitying looks. Oh look! There's Barbara Gordon, such a shame she's in that chair. The Joker did that to her!"

"Babs-"

"You don't understand!" She was shaking. "You don't know what it's like to be stared at like that! They lean down when they talk to me, they look at the chair before me, they- they-"

She looked to the side and saw a pillow on the ground. She bent forwards and grabbed it before launching it right at Dick's stupid face, yelling.

Dick, sharp as ever, grabbed the pillow in mid air and stood up, holding it out like he couldn't quite believe whatever was happening was happening. Barbara had thought that throwing it would be satisfying… but it wasn't. Oh God, nothing was satisfying anymore. God, she didn't want to throw anything… she wanted… she wanted...

"I see," Dick said suddenly, interrupting her glaring contest with the pillow. "This isn't about the party, this is about the chair. You didn't want to throw this, did you?"

She took a gasping breath and glared at him. Curse him for knowing her inside and out.

"You wanted to kick this," he said it like a fact, "didn't you?"

She continued to glare and he took a step forwards.

"Didn't you?"

"Yes!" She hissed.

His face went blank for just a millisecond before he looked down at the pillow. Suddenly, he dropped it and cherry bombed it right over towards the bedroom door. It hit with a thud and slid down onto the ground "You want to kick things, Barbara? Break things?" He asked as he stomped over to her dresser and grabbed a stuff animal he won her at a carnival a few years back. He drop kicked it against the wall… and something wonderful and euphoric snapped within her.

"The jar," she gasped, pointing.

Caught off guard, Dick stopped and she wanted to screech at him. "What…?"

"THE JAR!"

Dick turned and saw a small ceramic jar that she impulse bought while visiting Blüdhaven. He didn't ask twice before he grabbed it, placed it on the ground and kicked it across the room, shattering it on its impact. Her heart jumped in her chest and before she knew it, she was pointing at a backpack in the corner of her room and seconds later it was kicked like it was a soccer ball.

"The mug- the mug," she said, gasping, because it felt so good.

Dick grabbed the coffee mug sitting on her dresser and stopped before he could drop it onto the ground. "I gave you this mug-"

"Kick it, God damnit!"

Dick didn't question her again and soon the mug was shattered on the other side of the room.

With that, something so satisfying filled her whole being and she couldn't help but let out a giant sigh of relief. She slumped back into her chair and closed her eyes with her heart pumping in her chest. She heard footsteps approach her and she felt her lips turn upwards ever so slightly.

"If you didn't like the mug, you could have just told me," Dick whispered. He put his hand on her cheek and she practically melted into it. She was laughing now, with tears streaming down. Before she knew it, she was being dragged into the floor and into Dick's lap. He buried her head under his chin and his arms wrapped around her.

"I'll be your legs, Babs," he said quietly. She could feel his voice rumble in his chest and his stomach press against hers. He began to run his fingers into her hair and she tightened her own into his shirt. "All you have to do is ask, and I'll do it for you. I'm sorry about the party... I should have known."

"It's okay…" she whispered into his chest. "I… you were only being nice."

"I'll tell them all to go," he said. He pressed his lips against her hair, but she pushed herself away from him ever so slightly.

"You don't have to do that," she said, "I think… I think I'm good now."

"You sure? It would be simple as telling them-"

She cut him off by pressing her lips against his. He sighed in content and deepened it. Before it could go further, she broke it and brushed her fingers over his cheek. She stared into his sky blue eyes and he returned her gaze.

"Dick, it's okay. Thank you."

He laughed and gently lifted her up bridal style. She wrapped her arms around his muscular shoulders and he placed her down like she was a princess back into her chair. He helped her get out of her jacket and he readjusted the blanket over he legs… which for the first time in forever didn't have an echo of invisible hurt. Didn't feel completely useless. He brushed her hair our from her face and smiled.

"C'mon, there's a lot of people who love you out that door. Let's get drunk and eat cake with them, okay?"

She wiped under her eyes, half wiping away tears and half checking if any mascara had run. She let Dick take the handles of her chair and wheel her towards the door. When they got to the other side, they found, to their horror, that every person in the room were looking awkwardly away from them. Barbara suddenly wondered with the blood rushing to her cheeks how much they had heard.

Dick somehow got the party started again and Bruce later told them that all they heard was a bunch of crashing and mumbled yelling. Even he looked a little concerned, which was so hilarious to Barbara that it was the perfect way to end the night.

[crazyfreckledginger]

Q&A

Thank you to those who have asked questions, y’all are awesome!! It also means the world to me that we got this far! 80k you guys oh my god! You guys brighten my day I love and appreciate every single one of you!

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Everywhere! I want to visit every 

Which Robin is your personal favorite?

Oh no you didn’t! 😂 I can’t really choose, but I know my least favourite is Tim! (Sorry timmy!) But Dick, Jay and Dami are my boys!

Do you like to read? And if so, do you have a favorite book or series? / favorite book?

I like to read fanfiction, does that count? 😂 But as books, I love ‘Finding Audrey’ by Sophie Kinsella and ‘Everything, Everything’ by Nicola Yoon

What got you into the batboys?/  How did you develop interest in the batfamily?

I have absolutely no idea! Oh, no, actually, I think I saw an imagine on Tumblr a year ago and just started reading fanfiction about it!

Outside the Batfamily, who is your favorite superhero (or superheroes)?

Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff, Peter Parker Laura Kinney and Logan Howlett! 

do you considere the robin's similar to peter Parker??

Yes, especially Tim!

How to you get inspiration for your one-shots?/  What inspired you to start writing? / What made you want to start writing? What do you do to get inspiration in writing?/ What is your motivation or drive? 

Before I started requests, I just had an accumulation of random stories in my head and had to write them out, now, most things. Sometimes it’s because of dreams, movie I watch with interesting scenes or plot twists, books or general ideas that just pop into my head, sometimes it’s also ‘what if’ type questions, if that makes sense.   

If your favorite batboy died,  how would you feel?

TeRiRbIE, probably mourning for the rest of my life lol.

Young justice season 3?

HELL YEAH DICK IS HAWT AF OMG

What's your favourite food?/ Favorite Food, 

Indian and Mexican food for life!

What do you like the most about your fave batboy?

EVERYTHING, MY BOYS ARE PRECIOUS

Do you think the rumor about Damian being Jason's son is true?

I didn’t hear about this before but nope, I mean how even?? 😂 Like, in most universes, the age gap between the two is between 10 to 14 years, how- I don’t- no, and besides, they come from a completely different background and I don’t know where this is from but it’s always going to be a no in my heart! 

Can you relate to any of the batboys?

All of them! I’ll generalise a lot because this might turn into an essay otherwise lmao.

Damian for his love of animals and hating people in general. Tim for the lack of sleep.  Jason is me tbh. Dick loves puns and jokes as much as I do.

Are Bruce and your father alike?

Kind of?

What's your favourite T.V show?

Sons Of Anarchy, Friends, The Vampire Diaries and Good Girls

Are you looking forward to Titans on October 18th?

I have mixed feelings about it, I’m happy they are making a live action Dick and Jason but it looks really bad, I’m still going to keep an open mind though!

Jason and Artemis or Kori and Dick?

Kori and Dick, I don’t seen Jason and Artemis’ relationship as more than friends, I don’t know what happened in RHATO, which is funny how I keep talking about the comics since I magically have never read any of them??? 

Thoughts on Redhood's transformation In Redhood the Outlaw?

I want my Jaybird hair back. I’m oKaY with the new design but I adore the old design!

Cookies: Alfred or M'gann?

Alfred’s (that was a tough one though!)

Is Brenton Thwaites good enough to be Robin in the upcoming series?

I don’t know! I’ve never really had a good face claim for Dick so I’m going to keep an open mind about it. He’d better had a nice bubble butt though!

Jason's gun or Dick's eskrimas?

Ughh this is haaard! Maybe Dick’s eskrima sticks.

Talia or Selena?

Selena

Poison ivy or Harley Quinn?

Harley Quinn

If you were in DC universe and you will be able to make a crossover it will be with?: Marvel, Transformers, Supernatural

Marvel or Transformers!!

Do you like birdflash?

I only see them as bros but I respect people’s choice of shipping them together!

Besides Batman what other fandoms are you into ?

Marvel, Sons Of Anarchy, Transformers, Stranger Things, Good Girls, From Dusk Till Dawn, The Vampire Diaries and loads more!

What’s your most liked story on wattpad

This one lmao (batboys x reader)

Do you like voltron  if so who’s your favorite paladin

I don’t watch Voltron, sorry, the fandom is insane and scary on Tumblr (without wanting to generalise) . I’ve tried watching an episode but I just can’t seem to get into it!

Will  you take request in the future Not that I’m asking for one I’m just curious I love your writing style

Aw thanks! 🙈 That’s so sweet of you. And yes of course!! I just closed them because I didn’t know when I would be able to have a reliable amount of time to write, I’m opening them soon hopefully! :)

Favorite movie of all time/  What's your favorite movie and why?

Logan, the FeElS, plus my girl Laura plus my man Donald Pierce is in it.

The Dark Knight (the one with Bane and The Joker) both villains are extremely intimidating and Nolan was able to portray them in an extremely terrifying way whilst keeping us on edge for the whole movies! True masterpieces.

Also Tomb Raider because kick some ass queen omg.

favorite character characters

DONALD PIERCE, Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff, Natasha Romanoff, Laura Kinney, Dick Grayson, Wally West, Roy Harper, Jason Todd, Damian Wayne among so so many others.

favorite (video) game, 

Outlast and Until Dawn! 

Do you have/wish to have any pets? 

Yes I have had a bunch! Three rabbits, a sheep and a goat! I wish I’d have a cat though!

How would you describe your clothing style? 

Comfortable and tries to be at least a little stylish lol

Any artists/celebs You look up to? 

Not really no, I’ve never really looked up to anyone.

What kind of music do you like? 

Pop, Classical not the Mozart type of classical.

Do You have any "rituals" regarding your writing process? 

Yes! If it’s a series, I write the whole plot down on a book with details and elements that I want included. I keep it besie me to be sure I follow the plot whislt writing it.

Since I write in the evening, if there’s a one shot request that I lack inspiration about, I write something else and think of a plot when I’m in bed before i go to sleep. It really helps be get the requests written and in the queue. 

I normally sit in front of my TV, catching up on my series or something and just write. I don’t really have a ritual other than this!

Favourite cartoon?

Young Justice ayyye!

If you were to choose your own name, what would it be? 

I’ve never really thought about it, I don’t know, I like my name! 

But I really like Kia or *gasp* Sam. Not Samantha but just Sam.

Favourite mythical creature? 

Griffin, phenix and dragons!

What language do you wish to speak? 

Italian and Spanish!

Any lucky items/superstisions?

A tiger’s eye necklace my cousin gave me three years ago, I wear it everyday! If you could be any animal, real or mythical, what would you be? 

A tiger, an eagle or a griffin. I can’t choose lol!

Do you think you'd survive in a post apocalyptic world? 

Maybe? I mean I feel like I would be smart enough but I saw World War Z and dying is better than surviving with traumatic experiences running through your head 24/7!

Where would you go for a dream vacation? 

Everywhere! I want to visit the world!

If a genie granted you 3 wishes, what would you wish for? (No wishing for more wishes lol) 

DANG IT! 

1. That everyone should have a different perspective so that they can realise how bad the world is becoming and to change that.

2. Appreciation of every single being on the planet that sexual orientation does not matter in a relationship and that, no matter what you consider yourself, that society accepts you no matter what.

3. That everyone becomes the best person they can possibly be. We could conquer the world!

Do you prefer rain or sun? 

RAIN!

Do you like thunderstorms? 

Hell yeah!

Are you good at puzzles? 

Depends which ones, generally yes. Depending on my mood, I can be very stubborn and finish it and sometimes I’m going to be screw it I give up lol!

What do you enjoy most about life? 

My mutuals, happiness, fraternity, you guys and a few other things I’m sure (can’t remember)

What's your favorite fictional world? (DC, Marvel, Shadowhunters, etc) 

DC, Marvel, Transformers and the 10 year old in me says Narnia as well!

What do you think happens after we die? 

I feel like you’d come back as a different person. I’ve always wanted to believe that you’d become an animal but I have no idea!

If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Indian food!!

Do you like to dance? 

Yes but alone! I’m horrible at dancing!

Where do you feel most comfortable/safe? 

With my best friend! Or at home!

What's something that always makes you smile? 

My mutuals, your comments they seriously make my day a little brighter.

Are you good at gardening? 

Nope I don’t like it either!

What's your preferred footwear? 

Sneakers if that’s what it’s called!

Favorite flower?

Roses!

What fills up your heart to bursting level? 

Kitties and puppies! 😍 Also anything including helping people or animals together and/or animals with their owners.

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done? 

Opening up to someone, showing my feelings and emotions and getting out there to make friends. I haven’t had the best childhood.

What’s your favorite poem or saying? 

“Hope for the Best, Plan for the Worst”

And most importantly: do you think we'll ever see good writing again in DC for our favorite characters?

I really hope so, the writers are becoming more and more despised. Only DC fans hate DC on a completely different level of hatred lmao.

What'd you think of Heath Ledger's Joker?

Terrifying. heath Ledge did a fine good job at portraying someome that puts that unsettling feeling in your gut. Every one of his scenes are iconic. The best Joker so far in my opinion. 

whO rAnKs NumBer TwO iN "Batboys with a fresh booty" since we all know dick ranks number one

Hmmmm, 

Conclusion...

That’s a very cute tushy if you ask me!

[not my pics]

what do you think about Erik Lehnsherr and Stephen Strange?

I’m not particularly attacted to Erik but I know he’s misunderstood and I understand why he’s so loveable by many people in the X-Men fandom. But he’s just not my type of guy.

Stephen Strange is badass and a sass master and no one can convince me otherwise. He’s an awesome character.

what would your perfect date with Donnie (Donald Pierce) be like?

Ohhh, going to the movies and then just hanging out somewhere nice, talking and laughing and then ordering takeaway and cuddling up on the couch whilst watching Netflix ahhh! 🙈

[honeyedmilks]

song tag 💘

hi !! i saw @bubblejoy do this and it looked so fun so here i am to do it too !!

i’ll tag um !! some friends :’) @allonsy-allie , @lavenderbyun , @seokjinings , @myhalloweendreams , @championamjoon , @rabonghee , @rosejaehyun , @electrickisses , @jischangwook , @leekangdoo , @gimme-a-chocolate

1. a song you like with a color in the title: red by hyuna !!

2. a song you like with a number in the title: felices los 4 by maluma (a song about like a messy four people cheating relationship but you know what? it bangs !! also i was so blank went i had to find a song with a number in it but like i really hit the jackpot here thanks maluma)

3. a song that reminds you of summer: oh whisper by vixx lr !! it has a very bright beat and makes me think of seeing sunshine when i close my eyes :’’) a runner up tho is love is so nice by jonghyun :( i used to listen to it a lot in the summer last year

4. a song that reminds you of someone you’d rather forget: hmm memo by years and years takes me back to a time where i was talking to someone a lot and it just became a mess and i wish i could erase all of it so i can enjoy that dang song again

5. a song that needs to be played out loud: roll deep by hyuna 100% it should be blasted in every club and you rock my world by mj !!

6. a song that makes you want to dance: sim ou não by anitta and maluma djdjdjd a big bop !! and like any hyuna and bts bop ever

7. a song to drive to: i don’t drive but when you’re in the car and it’s a late night drive u all better play some coldplay binch !!!!! ghost stories is the album to put on for a sad but romantic midnight mood !!!

8. a random song you first think of: on and on by erykah badu <3

9. a song that makes you happy: essa mina é louca by anitta

10. a song that makes you sad: pearls by sade makes me generally tear up because of its subject matter :( it’s a really gorgeous song . but a song that makes me feel sad because it means something to me personally is probably tomorrow by bts hfhvghh i literally cried when ever i listened to it. but um also everything jonghyun sang :( and like so many other songs since i’m like a sad loser

11. a song you will never get tired of: one song is magic by coldplay . i listen to it often when i can’t sleep and play it on repeat till i can. it’s really romantic and soothing

12. a song from your past: tomorrow by avril lavigne and like all of her old discography snjdkdkd it really takes me back to when i like cried myself to sleep listening to it lol

13. a song that’s sexy: na na by trey songz is a sexy experience that i’m still not over also you know by yugyeom ................... and inspiration by jonghyun :( oh also AHEM LADIES get on your knees by miss nicki . additionally gotta love how it says A song but i don’t seem to care :)

14. a song you’d love to be played at your wedding: omg ... what an amazing question djdjdjd my wedding will most likely be desi so i’ll go with a bollywood banger . probably deewani mastani because it’s like so extra and ethereal but if we’re going for poetic subtlety then um i don’t know !! but i mean masakali is a cheerful sounding song that reflects some of my personality so i feel it should be played at least a few times :p also this is such a complicated question because desi weddings have like four day events KDJDJD so um masakali can be for the mendhi day, deewani for the baraat and um mohe rang do laal for the valeema because it’s very romantic i dunno !!

15. a song you’re currently obsessed with: king is sorrow by sade LOL i really be in my feelings these days crying to this song because i, too, feel like i am the king of sorrow

16. a song you used to love but now hate: crossfire by stephen sjdjdjdjd i don’t like it

17. a song you’d sing a duet with at karaoke: um obviously american boy by estelle with kanye ??

19. a song that makes you think about life: um strangely this came to me after some searching. it’s called you never know by immortal technique and it’s really good but sad and just :( makes u think about love and loss. i dunno tommorow by bts as well makes me think about my mess of a life lol

20. a song that has many meanings to you: hmm this is hard because nearly everything i’ve listed means something to me. but um stranger in moscow by mj is one i’ve not mentioned yet. but many meanings ?? i dunno sjsjsjdjdj proabbly all the songs i’ve mentioned that have comforted me or something

21. a song you think everyone should listen to: human nature by michael jackson and smile by nat king cole :( the later is especially good for when u r very sad :(( i really like these songs . very gentle and good

22. a song by a group you still wish was together: um nails for breakfast, tacks for snacks by panic! djdjdjd ik they’re still a thing but this is from the old original line up :’(

23. a song that makes you want to fall in love: oh like every sade song ever lol especially cherish the day (that’s also where my bio quote is from djdjdjd) um chantaje by shakira puts me in that mood also but like it really depends on what kind of love. like painting greys by emmit fenn and wading by jhene aiko put me in a whole Angsty love mood

24. a song that breaks your heart: pearls by sade :(

25. a song with amazing vocals: um for a vocal experience i love roy woods. get you good is a good one. for like the most mind blowing vocals is it a crime by sade (live version especially) truly ..... did That. and like every jonghyun song :(

26. a song with amazing rap: lol i have no idea what to say here because i genuinely think crank that by soulja boy is really the most iconic rap song ever . but um LOL want some more by nicki minaj is pretty cohesive and really smacks too . that’s a very main stream pick but i like rap artists like immortal technique and stuff too

27. a song that makes you smile: oh may by belle époque !! it’s so sweet sounding and i think it played in a really nice moment in coffee prince !! so maybe that enforces the good feelings

28. a song that makes you feel good about yourself: how’s this by hyuna (it really gets me going)

29. a song that you would dedicate to you and your best friend/mutual/someone close to you: toxic by britney for all my mutuals- this is our song now

30. a song that reminds you of yourself: um gust of wind by pharell if we’re thinking positive and heer if we going sad :( heer is also very meaningful to me ggvbbbnbhj

[jenna347-blog]

Ludwig Von Koopa Chapter 2(Fanfiction)

Sorry it took so dang long but going to post chapter 2-4 working on chapter 5 and 6.

Once entering the Koopa Kingdom, I can see that both Trevin and Gwen were still speechless, and jaws were almost on the floor. And I whispered to them. “You guys may want to close your mouths, or flies could make themselves at home.  And I’m also guessing now you two believe me now. They nod their heads yes. To be honest with you guys I couldn’t believe it either when my mom came through.” “This place is beyond beautiful Jen; this stuff has to be from the 14-16 century.” Gwen said while touching the statue. “True that this is the type of place that I could only dream of living, and don’t want to leave.” “But you two must promise me that you won’t tell a soul, even though no one won’t believe us probably. I told them with a concerned look on my face, and they both agreed with me. If we’re going to explore the castle better stick with me, just make sure not to make any noise.” But Gwen stops us halfway. “Don’t you guys hear that? Crap we need to hide.” There was a dark little area, the voices sounded familiar, then they stopped walking. “Wait Kamek don’t you smell that?” Bowser asked while a sniffing sound came from his nose. “I sure do Lord Bowser, smells like humans to me, 3 of them to be specific. Maybe they could be working for those Mario bros and Princess Peach. Do you think we should call the Koopa Troop?” “No, that won’t be necessary Kamek, you already know they may not make it out alive if they go towards the Roy or Morton rooms.” Bowser replies then have a very loud evil laugh. I knew we had to act quickly, motion them to follow me towards hopefully a safe room. “Dammit Jen, I can’t believe this is happening to us.” “Gwen, you think I knew this was going to happen to any of us.” “All I care about is not becoming Bowsers' next damn meal.” Trevin had a point, but before I could get one word in some type of force that brought us into this dark blue room, almost knocking us out. After coming too felt like I been hit with a brick, but I hear a familiar voice looking around trying to figure out where it was coming from. “Who are you three, and who sent you?” Asking with an angrily growl. “I’m so sorry my Lordship, it was my idea to come across your kingdom. You must Prince Ludwig Von Koopa the leader of the Koopalings, and Bowser’s eldest adopted children, if I’m correct.” Explaining while bowing and letting them know to also bow as well. Then he came out of the darkness, and I have to say I was very speechless. Because he looked like a 5’09” handsome god with those beautiful glowing bright blue eyes, not a hair out of place, his beautiful 16th-century German-style outfit. And that deep German accent was so dreamy, I didn’t what he was saying, because his perfect looks and voice were getting in the way of everything else. Then I felt Ludwig nudge my shoulder trying to bring me back to earth. “What I was paying attention to.” “Oh really, but I think you were daydreaming. I hope you like what you see my beautiful lady. While kissing my hand giving me that sexy smirk. Oh yes, how rude of me do you guys would like to have a seat with me and have some tea and German biscuits.” Before we could say anything, we heard somebody coming this way sounds like Bowser and Kamek, but I could be wrong though. “Bowser, I tried to ask Roy, Lemmy, Larry, and Wendy, if they had known anything about those mystery humans. But none of them knew what I was talking about, all there’s left is Ludwig, Iggy Roy, Bowser Junior, and Morton. The only thing is I’m afraid to ask Morton, no offense, but he’s not the sharpest crayon in the box.” “No, you’re right, Kamek. Gives a heavy sigh. Sometimes I wonder what is wrong with that boy you know; just wish he was like Iggy or at least Ludwig.” “I know Lord Bowser, but I know with a lot of more training and schooling we could get him in the right path, but back to the humans part, Lord Bowser, if we’re going to get to the bottom of this we need to ask the 2nd-3rd command which your sons Junior and Ludwig. Our best luck is with Ludwig, the only reason why I’m saying this is because how old Junior is no disrespect in any means.” Kamek explains and the tone of his voice he was hoping that he didn’t offend King Koopa (Bowser Sr.). “I know what you mean, and you know I always wanted your opinion with anything that goes right or wrong with the kingdom. And you’re right, but we’ll have more luck getting information with Ludwig, but also with Iggy the only ones that’ll give us the right information.” Ludwig had to act fast, so he took his wand from his hair, made us invisible, and whispered to us that he’ll make us harder for them to smell us as well. (Knocking) “Hey son is it okay for us to come in, we need to talk about something just important.” “Yes sure, come on in, and have a seat. So, what’s the problem Bowser and Kamek?” “Well, we believe there are some humans that came here that could be spies from Princess Peach and the Mario Bros., and hopefully you’ll know anything about these “spies”. But if you don’t know we were going to ask Iggy.” Kamek explained. “What about the rest of the Koopalings and Junior?” “Well, I and Kamek already asked most of them, just not you, Iggy, Junior, Morton, and Roy. The ones we did ask including the Koopa troops, didn’t know anything about these humans.” Bowser replied while sipping some of Ludwig tea. “Well, maybe we could do PSA at the Koopa tower. Letting them know that they need to watch out and be a ready charge if needed.” “That’s my boy, you know what I may put you back into the 2nd command after all of this issue is dealt with. I know that you were upset that Junior took your position, but I was thinking about this for an awhile, and maybe you should be the next king of Koopa Kingdom.” “I’m very honored about this, but I do need to get back to writing, have to finish a musical script. Maybe we could talk about all of this after the PSA?” “I like the sound of that Ludwig, but we’ll let you go back to your music writing, don’t want to hold you up further. Let’s do the PSA maybe 2 days from now, sounds good to you?” Ludwig agreed with the idea while showing them the door. Taking out his wand doing a one-way mirror only he’ll see them, but they couldn’t see in, as soon they were too far away from his room and hallway. He turned us back to normal. “Are you okay my dear new beautiful Jennifer?” Ludwig asked while kissed me on my hand like a gentleman. “Yes, I’m doing fine.” “Maybe you two would like to be alone.” Gwen said while start laughing. “Well, I can always send you and Tevin back home, I and Ludwig could get to know each other better.” They all agreed on that idea, I returned them to our universe, and good thing nobody heard my device. “Forgot to mention, you won’t have to worry about me mentioning you are your friends. I maybe Bowsers adopted son, but nothing like him, don’t even think the rest of the koopalings are like him either. Plus, I can’t stand his biological son Junior either, none of us can besides his father.” “Maybe it’ll get better after you get your position back. Don’t let them get to you my dear Ludwig, everything would be okay.” “Maybe you’re right but other than that I would love to get to know you better my dear. Something about you makes me want you more, even though I just met you it feels like I knew you for a very long time my beautiful princess. Would you love to go on a dinner date, maybe tonight?” “Oh my god yes. I felt the same way with you, my handsome prince, I tried to keep my composer but some reason I felt this feeling that I never had before.” “I’ll set up a reservation to a restaurant that I know you’ll love, and not just that I’ll treat you like a princess that you deserved to be treated. But before we head to the restaurant, I need to make sure to treat your nails done, hair done, and a perfect dress.” Takes his wand out again, and got me all doll up, feeling like a true princess. “Oh my gosh, Ludwig, I look amazing.” “I’m so glad that you love it like I mention before I want to treat you like a princess, not just that spoil you like one too.” He explains while holding my chin towards his handsome face. Then he gives me a deep kiss, it was like heaven, never had a guy kiss me this passionate before. Then he made the call to the restaurant to make the reservation and trying to get a limo to take us to the restaurant in style. (phone hangs). “Ludwig, what about your family, would they expect something wasn’t right because they think you’re supposed to write your musical screenplay? Not just that what about the other Koopas see me with you.” “Don’t you worry about a thing my princess, I’ll take care of all of that, and to make sure that you've taken care of. Forgot to mention that the limo will pick us up in a couple of minutes, they’ll let me know when they’re on the way here then zap us. He explains while getting ready for our date, he still couldn’t believe this was going to happen. Like a dream come true, and then he received a text saying they were on their way to the castle. “Just have to make some changes to the room so they wouldn’t suspect anything.” Magically makes a doubleganger telling him that we’ll be back hopefully in an hour and pretend to write most of his plays. We were in the limo faster than I could blink, and this limo is something out of a fairy tales, feeling like a celebrity. “Would you like something to drink my dear?” “Sounds great, I’ll have some red wine, please. Pours both of us some wine. Mm, the best-tasting wine I ever head my dear Ludwig.” “I’m glad you enjoy it, my dear Jennifer.” “I wish met you sooner Ludwig, just never met a perfect gentleman like you in my life.” He kisses my hand. “I’m one of a kind, my dear. I’ll make sure that I would never leave your side no matter what, to me you’re more than gorgeous but more of perfection my love. Everything that a man like me needs, a woman in your caliber needs to be treated like a princess.” The driver had rolled down the back window. “Dear sir, we have arrived.” “Thank you, kind sir, and here’s your tip.” He gives the driver 50 golden coins. Ludwig goes to my side waits for the drive to open the door for me holding his arm, so he could escort me to the front door. “Welcome Lord Ludwig and milady. We hope you have a lovely night.” We both nod our heads, and when we once entered it was something only kings and queens could only dream of. “I could see you already love it, just the beginning. I come here plenty of times the food is top of the line, not just that, I normally come here to play some of my classical music always a hit my love.” When we went to our table, Ludwig pulls out my chair. Then snaps his finger, about 2 or 3 waiters came in a wink of a dime.

[podmusical]

Crumnox, Crumnox Burning Bright

Credits and Lyrics for Episode 4 of Our Dumb Universe

starring:

Announcer - James B Kennedy Crumnox - Graham Rowat Nogus - Caroline Strang Pangla - Melissa Lusk Sondra - Lauren Lim Jackson Huphalumpagus - Rachel Flynn Dankent - Nathaniel Kent Tiny Mechanical Spider Voice - Happy Anderson Fuzzo - Jared Loftin Valborg - Emily Gardner Xu Hall Glorpo - Eryck Tait Feltina - Christina Pumariega Bloor - Carl Howell Ship Computer - Jenni Putney Station Door Operating System Computer - Jenni Putney Yogus - Nathaniel Kent Make Up Artist - Christina Pumariega Director - Caroline Strang Combolady 1 - Melissa Lusk Combolady 2 - Hannah Fairchild Mournful Country Western Singer - Trent Saunders

written by Jonathan A. Goldberg music by Matt roi Berger

recorded, mixed and edited by Martin Fowler Additional vocal arrangement on Long Days... by Martin Fowler

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MAKE WAY FOR THE CRUMNOX!                              CRUMNOX Don’t ‘right but’ me! I AM THE CRUMNOX! (Sings.) The Trogus would be naught If we had not attained the thought Quite early off what commerce offered us The promise of a bottomless Extravagance and Tactfulness To Rise above the Average Races you might find I am the eminent example Of our species’ chosen mantel Unafraid to take a gamble In the chase of all gains ample Leveraging our profits with No reverence of Tolerance For those of poorer mind The earnings I’ve been turning In the service of our flourishing Empire’s evident So when I grant a visit formal Expect I am deserving Of a little more respect! I am the richest of the Crumnox Don’t act dumb-nox, move your buttocks! I’m the summit of abundance Blast the trumpets, rouse these bumpkins Make way for the Cumnox! Give a cheer! I am here.                               NOGUS Yes all that - but, at this current moment I am the only-                              CRUMNOX Do pardon while you chattered I engaged in larger matters Traded Saturn for some atoms That I flipped for several gases Fed rumors to the rabble Worked the market to a later And came out with 20 suns! See, the secret, I’ve determined Is that nothing’s truly worthless: You can mine it, skin it’s surface Put it’s people into service Throw the rest into the the furnace Sell the product for a surplus And purchase once again! All matter is commodity - Be’t rocketry or colony, All meat becomes a meal! All things are merely property Their novelty’ll fetch a fee If you can work the deal! So while we’ve conversate’d Sold the time you kept me waiting - Inflated it and traded it For some trumpets - here start playing’m! Make way for the Crumnox! Give a cheer! I am here!                              NOGUS How - what?? I don’t know how to play these! Listen, I’m trying to tell you - even if I wanted to-                             CRUMNOX You vermin! Can’t you listen? All my time that you’ve been given For the visit to this prison In this distant, driveling system Is a treasure simply glistening I should charge a commission For the privilege of all that you might learn! I don’t just offer such an honor To any sort of pauper Unless I can hope to prosper Time is money, fill the coffer, or else sir, you are a robber! At the very least a bother With a hubris yet unearned... If your credit is in deficit This conversation’s ended I’ve just no time for you But turn your losses into profit Let’s get talking - name the topic! There’s just so much we can do! Time is money and I’m lending So why are you the one that’s spending All my patience? Are we done yet? Times a wasting, sound those trumpets! Make way for the Crumnox! Give a cheer! I am here! Your lesson’s done Now sound the drums Announce that I’ve de-spaced The sooner we do, The sooner it’s thru And I’ll leave this wretched place I am the richest of the Crumnox Don’t act dumb-nox, move your buttocks! I’m the summit of abundance Blast the trumpets, rouse these bumpkins Make way for the Cumnox! Give a cheer! I am here.

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LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO SPACE                               FELTINA We’re really up and off to space now, wow...                               GLORPO Relax, you’re gonna love the ride By that I mean the trip and move! We’re gonna wow them ain’t we-                              BLOOR Bloor!                               GLORPO From that big ol’ relay station in the sky!                               PANGLA I am so glad that we’re together!                               HUPHELUMPHAGUS We’re really somewhere new this time...                               SONDRA Space is easy, nothing tough                               PANGLA It’s like a big old empty hug! That’s wrapped around the earth - we’re goon be fine!                FELTINA/PANGLA/HUPHELUMPHAGUS/SONDRA Oh here we go!  Into the great unknown! Our lives so far below - we’re on our way! What lies above? What can the whole sky hold?                               HUPHELUMPHAGUS I’m nervous for the future that awaits                FELTINA/PANGLA/HUPHELUMPHAGUS/SONDRA After our long day’s journey into space                                FUZZO Oh wow the world is so dang tiny Really makes you think about your place                              VALBORG Controls are stuck!  We’re on a course Dictated by a pre-programmed force To dock within the relay station’s bay This isn’t how I planned my day...                 FELTINA / PANGLA / HUPH / SONDRA / FUZZO / VALBORG And off we go! Into the great unknown! Our homes so far below - we’re on our way What lies inside, what future does it hide Together we’ll discover what awaits On our long days journey into Space-                               FUZZO Space is great, an endless vacuum                               SONDRA I hope this station has a bathroom                               HUPHELUMPHUGUS I’m scared                               VALBORG I’m worried                               PANGLA Onwards!                               GLORPO Hurry!                               ALL OOOOoooo             ��                 HUPHELUMPHAGUS/FELTINA I finally feel a calm inside me This is the place I need to be                               GLORPO You’ll find your love, we’ll do our show                               SONDRA We’ll free the rebels                                PANGLA I’ll broadcast hope!                     GLORPO/PANGLA/FELTINA/HUPH Yes things are finally looking good for me                       VALBORG/FUZZO Please send us home                              SONDRA Man, I really need to pee!                             ALL Oh, Here we are! Out among the star! Where we will constalate - and choose our fate It’s growing near - our future’s finally here Somewhere just inside those metal gates                             GLORPO Hurry, can’t be late!                                ALL Oh here we go, into the great unknown! Our home’s so far below, we’re on our way What lies inside, what does our future hold? Together we’ll discover what awaits Find what changes wait in the new day From our long day’s journey into Space Ah!                          VALBORG / FUZZO Space is huge and I’m so minuscule                                                           SONDRA I feel like I’m sitting on a swimming pool!                             PANGLA I told you to go before we left home!                            HUPHELUMPHAGUS It’s ok to be scared some times I know.                           ALL Oh! Oh! It’s ok to be scared some times, I- It’s ok to be scared some times I know!

__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/__/ ADIOS EARTH                 MOURNFUL COUNTRY WESTERN SINGER Well damn I guess we finally gone and done it I’m reeling from the sight Apologies are in order; boy we’re blushing I wish we’d done you right I get it if you’re angry, I’m sure I would be too If I put up with half the junk we went and done to you Don’t mean to compare, but too, for me, it’s pretty rough Cuz you’re where I was keeping all my stuff Adios Earth, It’s been fun Seems we really screwed the poochie on this one Adios Earth, ciao and so long Feels super duper weird now that you’re gone Well hopefully you’re in some planet heaven Where planet Jesus reigns Where all his angel moons are in attendance Strumming Saturn’s rings to ease your pain And maybe you look down on us, the few that still remain, And wonder why you fed us and gave us a place to stay We couldn’t’ve hoped to be here without your loving grace So I guess this is your fault too, in some ways. Adios Earth, sure got you good Like some of us were pretty sure we would Adios Earth, you sure were swell And perhaps we’ll see you soon again in hell Don’t know what it was that got into us But we sure wanted you dead We scorched and torched your forests, choked your oceans Poisoned you everywhere we spread Perhaps we were all sadists, or maybe just a plague A common sort of cancer for a planet of your age Whatever was the reason, I guess I’m here to say “Sorry that we murdered you today” Adios Earth, it’s been fun Seems we really pooped the bucket on this one Adios Earth, we did you wrong Feels super duper weird now that you’re gone But we’re all dead now too, oh well, so long

[ntrending]

Our stupid brains love spreading lies all over the internet

New Post has been published on https://nexcraft.co/our-stupid-brains-love-spreading-lies-all-over-the-internet/

Our stupid brains love spreading lies all over the internet

Social media allows us to catch news in real time, but it also makes it incredibly easy for false information to spread. A new study published this week in Science suggests that hoaxes, whether they be unintentional nuggets of misinformation or malicious pieces of propaganda, actually disseminate more quickly than pieces of true news.

But that’s not at all surprising, from a psychological standpoint. By their very design, these falsehoods prey upon some of humanity’s greatest cognitive weaknesses.

Because most people get information from social media without thinking about which traditional news outlets the stories come from, the researchers—Soroush Vosoughi, Deb Roy, and Sinan Aral of MIT’s Media Lab—didn’t just look at “fake news” published in full-article form. They instead tracked “rumor cascades,” or the spread of tweets involving any piece of information (texts, photos, links to articles) that purported to be true news. That leads us to a brief caveat: this study isn’t necessarily evaluating our ability to tell whether or not a news article is biased to the point of absurdity, or downright untrue. A tweet with a lie in it isn’t exactly the same thing as a news article full of misinformation. But while “fake news” is quite the hot topic, internet falsehoods in general are probably pretty dangerous, too.

Back to the methodology: Each individual fact counted as a rumor, and each time it was independently presented as news counted as a cascade. Cascades grew with every retweet. A rumor might have several “size one” cascades if multiple individuals tweeted the information without getting any retweets, or a rumor might have a single, large cascade if 1,000 people retweeted a single instance of the claim.

By mining Twitter data from 2006 to 2017, the MIT team found around 126,000 cascades spread by some 3 million people more than 4.5 million times. They then fact checked them with reliable sources (snopes.com, politifact.com, factcheck.org, truthorfiction.com, hoax-slayer.com, and urbanlegends.about.com) and calculated how big each rumor got—and how quickly.

According to their analysis, false information was 70 percent more likely to get an initial retweet. On the whole, they report, “falsehood diffused significantly farther, faster, deeper and more broadly than the truth in all categories of information.” But the effects were strongest for false political news, with the total number of false rumors peaking at the end of both 2013 and 2015 and again at the end of 2016, corresponding to the last U.S. presidential election.

Lest you try to blame bots, well, the researchers used software to try to weed them out. At least based on the fake accounts they were able to catch, it seems that robo-tweeters had equal success in sharing true and false pieces of info; it was human users who saw runaway success when spreading fake news. Major influencers weren’t to blame either, apparently, because the MIT researchers saw more falsehoods spreading faster from Twitter users who followed and were followed by fewer people. After looking at the kinds of language used in sharing the most pervasive falsehoods, the authors concluded that the novelty and emotional charge of untrue rumors fueled their spread.

But this study doesn’t mean we’re all trapped in a hopeless cyclone of misinformation.

“I think that panicking about fake news on Twitter is the wrong reaction,” Duncan Watts, a specialist in social networks at Microsoft Research who wasn’t involved in the new study, told Nature. Other research, he argues, suggests that most people overwhelmingly consume real news in lieu of the fake stuff. Robinson Meyer at The Atlantic also rightfully points out that the study’s methods might inadvertently ignore non-contested news—stories so undeniably true they don’t get fact checked on websites like Snopes. But the findings are still disturbing.

“The key takeaway is really that content that arouses strong emotions spreads further, faster, more deeply, and more broadly on Twitter,” Rebekah Tromble, a professor of political science at Leiden University in the Netherlands, told The Atlantic. “This particular finding is consistent with research in a number of different areas, including psychology and communication studies. It’s also relatively intuitive.”

Indeed, the notion that we might be attracted to false information is far from surprising. The simple fact of the matter is that our simple brains only want to believe facts that fit our existing belief systems.

Our minds boast many a cognitive bias—ways we process information other than thinking about it rationally, probably as an evolutionary quirk meant to help us make snap decisions before getting, like, eaten or something—and they’re a real pain in the butt. We remember the past as being better than it was, we believe things more the more often they’re repeated, and we let new events color our recollection of old memories, among other things. But a lot of our love for lies comes from good old confirmation bias.

Most people wouldn’t share something they suspected to be untrue, so it’s probably safe to posit that a fake rumor is more likely to be successful if it makes someone say, “yeah, sure, makes sense to me!” Unfortunately, we have a hard-wired tendency to try to fit every new piece of information we learn into what we already know to be true. This can lead us to dismiss evidence of climate change as being obviously untrue, or encourage us to cherry-pick pieces of data that support the (debunked) notion that global warming is happening naturally, without human input. Our brains are desperate for evidence that what we already believe is true, which makes it oh-so-tempting to take for granted something that fits our favorite narrative. Admit it, it’s happened to you: even if you’re sure you’re not one of those people who spreads so-called fake news, it’s pretty dang likely you’ve accidentally shared something false at least once because something in your brain sang out “yessssss, I knew it.”

We also love finding patterns where there aren’t any, which allows all sorts of conspiracy theories to persist on Twitter and elsewhere. In short, our brains are often quite dumb.

The MIT researchers think that sheer surprise might also be a factor. Something made up is more likely to seem like it’s coming out of left field than something true (given how real-world events tend to unfold in a linear fashion, and all that) and that might make us more excited to spread the word. Of course, many would argue that our current news cycle is frequently surprising, so perhaps phonies won’t have an edge in this regard for much longer.

In any case, the only way forward—at least while the engineers behind our favorite social media platforms continue to fail to stop the spread of falsehoods—is to put that lazy brain of yours to work. We may be simple creatures with biases a-plenty, but pausing to think through the rationality of something (or, crazy thought here, checking other sources to see if it’s true) before hitting the retweet button can help elevate our powers of reasoning. Another recent study found that folks get worse at weeding out hoaxes when their newsfeed is too flooded, suggesting a little more time to think might make all the difference.

And eventually, maybe scientists and social media companies will figure out what else we can do about it. MIT’s team hopes to explore options in future studies. “Let’s not take it as our destiny,” study author Deb Roy told Reuters, “that we have entered into the post-truth world from which we will not emerge.”

Written By Rachel Feltman