#ended up using the style i usually do for my dc stuff

[rio-rakuen]

Since Ranma 1/2 does show martial arts, does Lia know any Brazilian martial arts?

Ps. If Lia fell in any cursed spring it would be the spring of drowned bear cause she a mama bear☺️

“um…no…?”

it’s…complicated.

lia’s relationship with martial arts is one of her bigger story arcs— ranma (and pretty much everyone else) clocks her as a martial artist, the bigger mystery is why she so adamantly denies it. she will not fight, evade at most, even at the cost of her own safety. why this is, i’m still figuring out how to show, so i’ll keep that under wraps for now.

but the short answer is yes.

ps - this is real cute, but it also got me thinking of an au where if lia did become a jusenkyo victim, she’d be an otter. maybe i’ve been watching too much kotsumet.

[cryptocism]

AAAHHHAHAHA DUDE (GIRL, THEY THEM) YOUR IWTV IS AMAZING!!!! Your art style is like a characterization of them but much more realistic. It's like you took a photo of them and applied a filter. This is amazing, I love your DC Tim art but this is definitely making love your work more!

thanks!!! tbh applying a filter would probably be an easier route to go if it didnt sit wrong in my like... idk creative instincts. instead i use a very time consuming method called "drawing a face over and over and over again until i kinda get how it works"

actually im gonna use this ask as an excuse to post some studies here is the process:

basically step 1 i trace a photo so i can kinda get an idea of how shit works, then i try to draw the photo using what i learned from the tracing. 1st round is always wack so step 3 is comparing my proportions to the photo again. with armand i consistently drew his face too long lmao u can see it in the corrected sketches. then i do a second round of sketches, corrections, and usually a final sketch that i use as a light/shadow study. sometimes i end up doing more sketch passes if i really cant get the hang of it.

then repeat:

the goal is proportions and consistency, so hopefully when i draw a face with different expressions and angles - even if I dont have a reference that precisely lines up - i can still end up in the ballpark of recognizability.

funnily older daniel is much easier for me to draw than younger daniel tbh. theyve got similar faces but the actor for older daniel just has more distinctive features i can center stuff around, whereas young daniel eludes me a lil bit.... i gotta do more studies of those guys if i can shake the armand fixation for like 10 minutes

[highlordofkrypton]

Thank you so much for the tag @zenkindoflove, I freaking love being tagged in writing games!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 32 (To think I started??? This year??? Or end of last year???)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 271,982

3. What fandoms do you write for? ACOTAR & DC Comics.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Regrets (Superbats, DC Comics)

Little Secrets for my Soul (Batjokes, DC Comics)

The Lighthouse (The Aquaman Family, DC Comics)

Wildflowers (Tamsand, A Court of Thorns and Roses)

The Justice League's Mom's Book Club's Guide to Vampire Slaying (Martha Kent, Alfred Pennyworth, Hippolyta & Atlanna, DC Comics)

5. Do you respond to comments? Always! My readers made the effort to comment on my fic, so I will absolutely respond with the utmost enthusiasm. It means the world to me when I get comments.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Oh, it's absolutely Wildflowers. I mean, it's canon ending so does it really count?

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I think most of them have happy endings, especially the oneshots. If they're not happy, they're some kind of tender, or sweet. I do think Regrets has the most upbeat ending.

8. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Yes. More and more lately. I would say I write the kind of smut that makes you question yourself (and I haven't even dived into the kinkiest kinks). Are you confused? Yes. Do you know what happened? No. Do I know what happened? No. Were we all entertained? HELL YES.

9. Do you write crossovers? I didn't name my blog home of the crackships for nothing. I LOVE crossovers. I have a few on my AO3, but so many on my to-write list.

10. Have you ever had a fic translated? No.

11. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Nope! Not formally. I do roleplay with a partner. I tried to re-write one of ours as a fic, but it's soooo tricky.

12. What is your all-time favorite ship? SUPERBATS SUPERBATS SUPERBATS. At least, if we're talking something that has a fandom. If we're talking my fav ships forreal, it's Lambert x Gojo Satoru x Clark Kent, Orm Marius x Clark Kent x Bruce Wayne, Barry Allen x Hal Jordan x Komand'r, Lilith x Eskel, etc.

13. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? None that I know of. I usually circle back and/or can be swayed to finish one.

14. What are your writing strengths?

Details. I think I have a few. I get weird fixated on details that I think make the writing feel more 'lived in' and immersive.

Side characters. I think I'm very good at creating intriguing side characters that you'll get attached to. My trick is that the character is fully developed with their own story before they appear on my page. How else will I get their interactions down, even if it's for a chapter and they're never seen again?

Humour. I literally cannot be serious. I have to shitpost halfway through my story.

15. What are your writing weaknesses?  

Pacing. I am impatient, I wanna get to the juicy parts, but some stories need to cook a little before getting to the fun stuff. I tend to use the excuse that since it's fanfiction, I can #yolo and post.

I cannot write something short for the life of me. Everything needs to end up being multi-chapter, I'm TIRED.

Smut. It's not raw enough. It's not filthy enough. I need to let go and be less formal about it. Just dig right in and have a meatier writing. I just don't think my current style fits pure smut. It does fit trying to fuck an eldritch horror and soul-shattering orgasms tho 😂 But sometimes, I just wanna go to pound town, not achieve self-actualization through butt stuff, you know???

16. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I have some foreign words in my Illyrian fic, and I am fluent in french. I do hate seeing other people write dialogue in different languages SPECIFICALLY FRENCH, so I won't be doing that.

17. First fandom you wrote for? A Court of Thorns and Roses.

18. Favorite fic you’ve written? I have different favourite ones for different reasons.

I like cosmic bloom because it's unhinged smut.

I like Regrets because it's my first ever Superbats fic and got so many kudos!

I like Wildflowers because it's my first story I ever wrote from start to finish.

I like Needle & King because it's healing a lot of trauma to write it, and I get to discover my identity and explore lore/worldbuilding that I've been putting off for ages.

NO PRESSURE TAGS: @goldheartedchaoticdisaster @praetorqueenreyna @achaotichuman @arson-09 @unanswered-stars @matrixsss @watcherintheweyr @witch-and-her-witcher @chunkypossum @foxcort @positivelyruined @angelosearch @goforth-ladymidnight @themildestofwriters

[small-screen-superman]

Plastic Man No More! #1 Review (Plus Some Thoughts on Fan Reactions)

For an enhanced experience, read this post on my personal blog! https://www.sssuperman.com/blog/plastic-man-no-more-1-review/

Plastic Man No More! is a new DC Black Label comic series written by Christopher Cantwell about Plastic Man potentially dying as his body melts. It’s a surreal premise with a lot of potential for both introspection and body horror, and though it’s only one issue in, it’s delivering so far. DC Black Label is usually intended for more mature, out-of-continuity stories, so it seems to be a perfect fit.

This issue basically does two things: establish who Plastic Man is (including his backstory and current life) and begin the current story. As a result, the amount of stuff that happens in the present story isn’t a lot, but that feels perfectly fine. The comic still feels content-rich since it efficiently conveys quite a lot about the title character, including various different eras of his history, his relationship with his family, his relationship with the Justice League, and his insecurities and regrets. To me, it’s a mark of a great comic to be able to say a lot with relatively few pages or panels, especially if you do so using the conventions of the medium to their fullest.

Some comics lean heavily on just one or two tools, such as relying heavily on just narration boxes to tell their story, but this one takes advantage of a breadth of storytelling tools comics have to offer. For example, there are a couple instances of panel montages to convey a lot about Plastic Man’s life in just a page or two.

Another excellent utilization of the comic book medium is its usage of two different art styles drawn by two different artists, Alex Lins and Jacob Edgar (and a colorist, Marcelo Maiolo, using two distinct coloring styles). The main style, Lins’, has a certain roughness and dinginess with colors tending towards the dark and desaturated, while Edgar’s is clean, bright, and classic. The latter style is used for scenes with the Justice League and a couple of “happy” panels. Both styles are realistically-proportioned but a bit cartoony, especially the latter. (Cartooniness seems like a good fit for Plas in general.)

This art style contrast extends to the fact that the Justice League scenes have bright lighting (taking place outside during the day or in the well-lit Hall of Justice), while the other style is used for night scenes. It was written to ensure this wonderful visual contrast makes sense in-universe too.

So much depth and interest is generated in a scene like this. Though the League seems oblivious and even uncaring, it’s clear that some of their reaction is also due to Plastic Man’s self-presentation. Joking almost seems like a compulsion for him, a coping mechanism built up so strongly over the years that it’s hard to stop. It makes me excited to dive deeper into Plas psychologically.

I also liked the body horror; it’s gross and disturbing but also appropriately goofy and strange. The color and texture added by the colorist certainly helps with the gross factor. The art in general is great; I particularly loved Jacob Edgar’s bright and classic art, while Alex Lins’ (the main artist) wasn’t as beautiful to look at, but was extremely effective in setting the tone and conveying emotion. All in all, this issue delivered what it promised and was enjoyable, intriguing, and dramatic, and I think this series has huge potential.

Before I end this review, I’d like to share my opinion on some negative reactions to this book.

Some Negative Reactions & My Response

To be clear, this book is receiving a great reception from many corners. I’m not claiming it’s not, nor am I trying to claim that anyone’s opinion about this book or its premise is illegitimate. I just want to mention a couple arguments against this book and why I understand where they’re coming from, but don’t fully agree.

First of all, there are some people who dislike this book’s premise because Plastic Man stories are generally more light-hearted. This isn’t “wrong”, of course; we all have our own preferences. But I guess it seems a little limiting. I actually think it’s pretty cool to find potential for a character to be used in new ways that, despite going against what that character is usually used for, still make use of their unique traits. This story is clearly leveraging the established facts about Plas despite using him in a tonally different story. It’s not a direction everyone will like, and that’s fine. But considering it’s not even an in-continuity story, I think it should be given a chance.

Even for characters who I’m more attached to than Plastic Man (I confess this is actually the first comic of his I’ve read!), I don’t like the idea of limiting superheroes too much, when many of them are actually quite versatile. For example, I don’t think the idea of Superman stories being dark or having a dour tone is inherently bad (though it needs to be done with care, of course).

I somewhat understand the fact that, since Plastic Man doesn’t have another title right now (or even a series where he appears regularly), it’s annoying to some that he finally gets his own title, and it’s not what anyone would expect a series starring him to be. But on the other hand, I don’t think there’s any reason to believe that, if this title didn’t exist, a more conventional Plastic Man series would be released.

For me, the big thing is that this is it out-of-continuity. Things don’t have to be the same as the mainstream comics.

Especially with the above point being the case, it’s generally more important that characterization serves the story than that it conforms to canon or expectations.

The characterization of the Justice League isn’t that bad. It’s somewhat believable that they would be too preoccupied to understand the seriousness of the situation.

All this to say, I don’t exactly disagree with the notion that the Justice League’s characterization is bad. It just doesn’t really matter in this particular context. It still annoys me a little bit, but I can accept it for the sake of the story.

To conclude, the negative reactions to this book are the kind of reactions you see a lot in fandom, especially superhero fandoms. It’s justified in many cases, but sometimes it annoys me if I feel like people aren’t being open-minded to new ideas, or aren’t thinking about the context or goals of the specific story.

[wolame-o-ccx]

would genuinely love to see your process for sketching out your comics!! ive wanted to make my own but i have never really figured out the process and end up overwhelmed- and you're one of the folks who makes stuff in a style that I kinda draw close to, and u do ur comics with pencil and paper- so if you wouldn't mind in the future, it'd be really cool to see how you actually get everything planned :)

This ask is so cute :( probably genuinely the biggest compliment I've ever received! Well, no waiting in the future! I'll tell you now what happens behind the scenes! :)

SO FIRSTLY, I'd like to clarify I am in no way a professional or even close to one, I never even looked up how to do comics, I just kinda do them and use what I've read from DC comics and Pinterest tips.

But! Personally, I find that making comics is fun and that's what I strive on. I won't lie when I say my comics are pretty bland, the surroundings are empty and lame but I think the character's expressions and body language make up for it, and especially the script. So altogether in this post, I'll be breaking down how my comics are made!

↓↓↓ if you're interested, open up the full post!

1 - Scripting

In both dialogue and character detail/placing!

I use a notes app for when I get ideas!

* I usually don't do specific dialogue, only stating the idea and then coming up with dialogue in my head, but there are some exceptions where I do write down pre-thought-out dialogues you can see in the examples I put below!

With the idea / dialogue in tow, we can go to character detail / placing. I don't know the actual word for it but basically how the character acts in a specific scene / dialogue!

Character expression is especially important when it comes to any type of art, be it comics or animation as it can tell a story with little to no dialogue!

* panels taken from 1 and 2 for context

From here you can clearly tell their expressions well! Be sure to exaggerate!

2 - Limit planning

With Tumblr's 10 images limit, as well as Instagram if you post there, it's important to note that limit and know when to end the comic with a good panel where it doesn't feel like it's supposed to continue UNLESS you're making two parts!

I can't tell you how many times I've ruined my sketchbook papers trying to get a perfect script but I've been doing it long enough that my brain has adapted to the limit and every comic I've done since adapting had been a perfect ≤10.

But even if you decide to go with two (or maybe even more) parts, you should make sure it ends well still! Like a book! Those spaces between paragraphs and chapters and such!

Take these for examples too!

* panels taken from 1 and 2 for context

So treat it like a book! I guess ?

3 - Panel placement

This isn't a necessity, but my personal way of drawing each panel is having it scattered around randomly around my sketchbook. I don't use strips or anything like that as it restricts me because using strips on paper is a whole lot harder than on digital. Because I have such a wide area to draw, I'm less restricted from drawing any excess things I want to add in case my dialogue doesn't fit the panel or so!

4 - Draw

Now to put it all together and make the comic! I usually already have my vision in mind so I can just go draw it without a light sketch layer, but I do recommend it!

What that is is essentially a sketch but drawn like.. your pencil is hovered above the page? Like you don't press down on it or something like that. Basically a guideline! So do that if you need it, and when you're satisfied with how it looks, you can draw it! And make sure it's clear!

After that, it's just picture and post! (Make sure you crop it right tho!)

4.5 - BONUS / TIPS

When I started posting Belos drawings, I never expected it to get any attention or even end up as a whole AU 😭 I just drew him in a babygirl hoodie and people ate that shit up so now it's an AU 💀 and because of that you need to prepare personalized tags!

Tags like pitmdau or sharing caleb au ! Very very useful for navigation

More important than tags, make sure you have a Masterpost!

I'm aware mine are unfinished and very messy and I'm trying to work on that right now but it's very difficult but people really need it so when making Masterposts, YOU HAVE KEEP UP WITH IT. I slacked of for ONE POST and now it's a mess.

Also another important note you can only put 100 links in one post so you have to make more Masterposts to navigate through the comics 😭

5 - Have fun!

When getting into comic making, I think really the most important thing to keep in mind is your enjoyment in making said comics. Sometimes some things can burn you out very quickly so when you're getting into things like this, especially when you're not getting paid, you gotta make sure you have fun doing it. It doesn't matter if it doesn't get a lot of traction or not, it only matters that you are enjoying making and posting them!

I've experienced MULTIPLE burn outs from making too many comics for my TOH AUs that at some point I just completely died and lacked motivation. But what drives me into making them are other people's enjoyment! Their enjoyment gives me enjoyment which gives me motivation to make more. Someday I'll know the AUs I've created will inevitably be over, at some point, but right now I'm just having fun with the small community I've built!

So make comics, and have fun!

I hope this was helpful in any way. I just want to clarify that, again, this is my way of making comics, and you don't have to follow anything I put into the post. I'm mostly hoping this was easy to understand as well. I'm more of a visual learner so making up the words to make this was kinda hard so I'm sorry if some parts didn't make sense. If anything, feel free to hit me with another ask or a PM! I know me not posting seems like I'm inactive but I promise I check Tumblr frequently 😭

Happy posting!!! :3

[focuriousity25-blog]

Will literally pay to roleplay with someone who can do a decent Kirk Langstrom impression (Status: OPEN)

A little over a year ago I made a post advertising I was looking for a roleplay partner who could do an impression of the Trollhunters character Draal the Deadly, and said partner would receive $50, as a sort of thank you reward for the time and effort they’d dedicate to indulging all the storylines and little ideas rattling around in head lol xP

Since it worked out pretty well, I’ve decided to give it another go with a different character 🙂

This time I'm looking to roleplay with someone who can do an impression of the DC Comics character, Professor Kirk Langstrom, aka the Man-Bat. Specifically, a redeemed version akin to the Earth Prime variation who would later go on to join the Justice League Dark, who makes his latest appearance to date (to the best of my knowledge) in Batman and Robin 2023.

Just like last time, the volunteer will receive $25 immediately and $25 upon the initial roleplay’s completion. For your convenience, please allow me to once again up-front clarify these important points: 

* This is NOT an NSFW or romance/shipping-based in general type of roleplay; that isn’t really my style. I'm more the action-adventure with a dash of mystery and character-development kind of guy.

* While I do have a general plot in mind, it is completely subject to change depending on what the volunteer is comfortable with; in other words, I'm willing to work with you to take into account how you usually prefer to pace things or if you have your own headcanon details you'd like to include to make this an enjoyable experience to both participants.

* If worried about literation, well, not to brag, but I think you'll find I've got eight years worth of roleplay and storytelling experience, and my narrative abilities are second to none ^^

* I’ll reserve the right to cancel the roleplay and keep the remaining half of the money if I'm kept waiting for more than two weeks during RP turns/responses. I understand if you're busy or have other stuff going on, but please understand in turn that if you make me wait for days, days and more days on end just to get like a sentence…well, that’s just not very considerate  :l

* I usually use Discord to RP, as I find it to be a quick and efficient means of communication while also having the perfect conditions for roleplaying when considering you can create organized servers and channels. However, if the volunteer is more comfortable using a different format I'll adapt accordingly :)

* I generally use PayPal, but if the volunteer uses a different payment method, that’s fine, all I humbly ask is that you walk me through how it works if I’m unfamiliar with it.

* Upon contact and if you do wish to roleplay, I’ll give you one or two questions, mainly, a prompt I’ll ask you to respond to; this will just be a little practice scenario that will allow you to showcase your impression of what you would do in said-scenario as Langstrom. This will demonstrate to me that you understand the character and aren’t just rushing into this for the $50 without even having seen the shows or comics he appears in. 

Like before, if you’re interested in taking this offer, or, if you just have questions, feel free to contact me directly here on Tumblr or send me a message to my Discord ID, “gallifrey22”. If I do get a volunteer I’ll edit this post (marking it as “CLOSED”) to signify the position’s been filled. 

Once again, thank you so much for your time, hope you’re having a fantastic holiday season ^^

~HSeeker

P.S. To those wondering, this doesn’t mean I have shifted my focus from Tales of Arcadia to DC (in fact, expect the next ‘I Remember’ comic relatively soon ;) ), this is just a fun little thing on the side while future TOA content is still cooking in the metaphorical oven of imagination lol xP

[emeritus-fuckers]

For the match up event rerun! I decided to not be shy and anonymous

1. My name is Hunter or also nicknamed RockNRoll. I'm a trans male who uses He/They pronouns mostly. I mostly allow it/Its with friends only. I honestly don't even know what my romantic/sexual orientation is at this point.

2. Ghouls ,, Repugnant,, Papas

3. My body is something I struggle with and honestly hate to describe. I'm more on the somewhat chubby side. I most of the time have chewed up nails (anxiety and stress-) Anywho my hair is mostly shaved around the sides and trimmed up on the front. It usually blends down on the sides and back. My clothing style I wouldn't say ranges its mostly neutral colors with some color. I usually wear jeans, sweatpants or some fuzzy pants (pajama pants) for when I'm feeling lazy and cozy.

4. My personality is definitely and interesting one that's for sure. I don't have any patience whatsoever. It's very rare and my patience will run thin extremely fast, it honestly depends on the situation and stuff. I definitely have a short temper. My humor is.. dark to say the least. I'm not really a humorous kind of person. In general I can be a little asshole but once you get through my somewhat tough exterior and earn my trust, you find somebody who's broken, sweet, and 100% is so touchstarved it's not even funny.

5. Hobbies that I indulge myself with are definitely writing and reading. That's one of the biggest things that I do. My music taste? That's a funny one because my music taste ranges so much. Old-school music is something I was very big on, mostly anything Rock/Metal. Some of my favorite old school bands are AC/DC, Metallica, Slipknot, and Katationia. Those are just a few there's to many bands I love to list.

6. Little things that I didn't add and want to add here. I have braces and absolutely despise them. They are the absolute worst and I hate them. I'm also so big on physical touch (may be because I'm touch starved..) Its also my love language! I'm so big on cuddles too. I'm also an introvert and hate to socialize with many people at once. The last thing I'm adding, I also do age regress. It's to help deal with the trauma.

This post is part of the 1000 followers match up event. Entries for the event are now closed.

Your match is... E. Forcas

Jez to check before publishing

It's G. who spoke to you first, he'd seen you looking at E. but never going over. G. is used to interesting personalities, so he just kinda spoke to you anyway and he's so nice it's impossible to not to start to open up to him. E. just sits there not really saying anything but watching. Eventually G. leaves you two be as he knows you don't like hanging out with more than one person.

E's resting expression is murderous, he to comes accross differently to how he actually is. You end up talking to him and start to realise he's actually really sweet to those he likes.

He also starts to see the real you as you begin to trust him and open up. E. has gone through some hard things, so he knows what it's like to feel broken, you two just click. You get each other.

E. isn't normally one to initiate cuddles (unless it's during aftercare). But he is always happy to recieve your cuddles. He knows you are touch starved so makes an effort to try and hug you more because he just wants you to be happy. Also you can curl up in his arms whenever you want, he won't ever say no.

E. is always happy to lend you his comfy grey hoodie, all you have to do is shiver and he's taking it off and putting it on you. It is the comfortable hoodie, ever.

E. has a little amused smile at your dark humour. He gets it.

He'll somehow know what you need, even if you don't say it outloud, he'll just hand you a drink or a snack when you need it. He also carries a book around for you to read, incase you get bored.

When you are having a bad day, E. gets the band to play some Slipknot and Metallica for you during practice. He does this by starting off with the drum beat and the others just naturally join in.

While you write you often sit snuggled together on the sofa, E doing one of his Rubik's cubes.

~

Written by Nyx

[hangonimevolving]

The Super

Im so happy and relieve that both we, and Ajima and Thatha, are settled into our new-to-us homes. Of course, being settled in hasn’t meant that all house-related work is over. Maintaining a home can sometimes feel like a job in itself - not only all the cleaning and chores, but also the handyman visits, trips to home improvement stores to buy stuff, and replacing/repairing things as needed. This weekend, I’ve felt like the Super of our two houses, fixing issues and overseeing work.

A month ago, I accompanied Ajima and Thatha to Home Depot to shop for new kitchen appliances. The old microwave in their house worked fine, except that the handle had fallen off, and Ajima had cleverly rigged it back up again…with a rope of medical tape from their first aid cabinet.

Yep…. Not the classiest look. She was also interested in replacing their gargantuan side-by-side refrigerator and freezer with a more modern and functional French-door style fridge and undercounted freezer drawer - better for the layout of their kitchen, and her mobility issues. I figured at that point, we also just get them a new range/oven and dishwasher, so everything would match and we could take advantage of “buy 3 get one free” sales.

We ordered everything at the end of April, but the delivery and install date happened to be today, and Ajima and Thatha had a planned trip to DC to visit my sister Rithers and her kids H2O and NiNi…so I told them never to fear, their Super would personally attend to the appliance situation at their home. And so I did. It took a few hours of me sitting around, with a little bit of floor sweeping, fridge shelf cleaning, and replacement of refrigerated items once the time came - but in the end, I think their newly refreshed kitchen is looking rather spiffy and more functional now!

Back at my own home front - an unwelcome issue awaited me as I pulled into the driveway right after helping Ajima and Thatha’s home improvement. I got out of the car to discover this unwelcome sight, with an accompanying (PIERCING) sound:

This is the control box to our sewage liftgate pump. What is a sewage liftgate pump? Yeah, a short 2-ish years ago, I had no idea either. I had to do a lot of reading and educating myself when we bought this house. Basically, it’s a system where the house has its sewage line that ordinarily connects to a city sewer line, but here, the home’s sewer line goes down to a holding tank at a deeper level than where the city sewer line runs….then, the liftgate pump lifts the wastewater up within that holding tank to an elevation where it can appropriately connect to the city sewer line. Its like, if a regular house with a city sewer line and a house with a septic tank had a baby, it would be a sewer liftgate system. It’s like an elevator for poop-water. Gross. And weird. But true. Here, a picture (don’t worry, it’s just a drawing schematic, not an actual picture).

Note: this is not my original artwork; I’ve shamelessly stolen it from the website of some sewer liftgate servicer in an entirely different part of the country than where I live. I’ve left their business name and info on the image as a way of citing them…and thanking them for doing a job that I would never want to do in a zillion years.

Anyway. So - I call the utility company, and they say most likely, our pump is failing, and they put me on the list as first appointment for replacement in the morning. In the meantime, they caution, please be mindful of your water usage, take short showers, and maybe don’t do laundry today. And call if our toilets simply stop flushing at any point.

Ummm. That’s absolutely not reassuring, I tell them - but they insist that there is usually a lot of reserve in the tank so showering/toilet usage and ordinary water usage for washing hands, etc should be okay. I am nervous, but I also do appreciate that they’re giving me first appointment. So I thank them and hang up.

And then…..I decide that as payment for my Super services rendered….we are gonna go right back to Ajima and Thatha’s house tonight for our showers.

[pidayforpi]

4, 15, 18, 23 for the End of Year ask

4. Movie of the Year?

Um...this is simultaneously the easiest and the hardest for me to answer XD

I have watched quite a number of movies this year, both cartoons and non-cartoons (though mostly cartoons because it's me XD). I would say...

Objectively, it's The Bad Guys. I have to mention this one, because I had really anticipated since the promotions started, and it was VERY GOOD when I actually watched it. Everything about the movie is amazing. Cute, funny, CUTE. Especially love the animations and art styles. VERY UNIQUE.

(A small story regarding me and The Bad Guys: I actually thought I had missed the movie and was rather disappointed. Until one day I came across a cinema timetable showing The Bad Guys on it (but I couldn't watch that one show). I then searched for any other screening of the movie, and eventually watched it in late June. Quite a journey!)

But I have to mention another one: DC League of Super-Pets. Yes.

For one, I am not a DC (or Marvel) fan to start with, so I actually didn't know anything about the background stuff (except, well, obvious ones like Superman and Batman). I didn't even know Krypto or Ace before this movie. I really just went to the cinema because I needed any cartoon movies. I didn't expect much, as well.

But then...Oh my god that movie is GOLD.

First of all, give whoever wrote the script a damn Oscar. Because the script is pure COMEDY GOLD. And I don't mean it in a "cringe" sense of funny. The script is unironically funny.

Witty is the best word I can find to describe the entire movie. It has to be one of the most entertaining movies I have ever watched in my life. In terms of the comedy factor, not even The Bad Guys can best this one. It is smart, funny, a bit of feels when needed, but light-hearted all of the time (even in "serious" scenes, which definitely helps to keep the movie feel-good and enjoyable, which is very important to me).

(Looking at you, "juice-box" punch thingie XD)

Another Oscar goes to whoever did the voice-casting (and the voice actors themselves, of course). Best of the best goes to Kate McKinnon and Kevin Hart. Lulu and Ace have to be the funniest of all cast. The delivery of their already funny lines doubles the wittiness. I don't exactly know how to describe it, but the voices are talented, on-point and natural. They definitely make the funny movie even more hilarious.

(Favourite character is Chip, tho)

(Also didn't expect to see Dewey Ben Schwartz there XD At last he doesn't voice a blue character!)

League of Super-Pets is really the surprise movie to me this year. I never expected it to be such a banger. It is smart, quick, funny, and had me making this face the entire movie:

(Ah, accidentally did a mini-review... _(:3 」∠)_)

15. What's a bad habit you picked up this year?

I am not sure how to answer this one...Not sure if this counts as a bad habit, but...

I think I have become more stressed/tense/insecure/paranoid (?) this year. Probably due to me moving to a new place, and perhaps university starting. Sometimes I do feel (and act) overly cautious and skittish, as well as hyper-aware of my presentation...

Hopefully I can get better as days go by. I am...quite slow to warm up (I am already surprised how "okay" I feel before/after moving), so I may need some time to get used to things. Hopefully it'll get better soon.

18. A memorable meal this year?

I would say my last meal at a noodle shop I had been a patron of.

I had been to that place since...7th grade? I don't remember how I started to go to that shop. But it had given me valuable memories throughout the years. My family said that I had become a VIP at that store. The people there could already remember what I usually ordered (I seldom changed).

I remember I used to go there on Sundays after church (just because we needed a place for lunch, though my family usually picked another restaurant). I remember I used to go there for dinner last year, after a long day of work at the old university (especially on Fridays, because I had a tutorial at around 6:00pm).

I also remember one period in 2020 when I thought it had closed down. Turned out it was just refurbishing.

I had my last meal there in May this year. I really didn't know if I should tell them, what to tell them, or how to tell them. My family even suggested that I take a picture with the boss/chef there.

At the end, I just told the waiter/cashier lady that I am going to study abroad. I don't know the boss', or any of the employees' names. They probably don't know mine too.

Before I departed, when one of my friends asked me what I would miss the most (other than the people), I said "food". That place is one of the things I miss, and one of the things I miss the most. I try not to think about it these days, but sometimes I do have dreams about it.

23. If you could send a message to yourself back on the first day of the year, what would it be?

"You are doing great. Stay strong. Be brave. Never despair."

[achillieus]

let you down. (sebastian stan x reader)

summary: it's a universal truth but it's worth repeating; feelings eat us raw. or just an actor and a girl falling in and out of love over the course of three months.

(this was inspired by sebastian's visit to greece for his movie, monday, and is based on that, so that means in the story we’re in 2018. also i have this posted on ao3 too but while i’m writing the last parts i thought of posting it here too)

pairing: sebastian stan x reader

warnings: alcohol, sexual references, implied depression, sebastian desperately needs to hug the reader, it's kinda slowburn because i love the yearning

(pinterest inspired board)

part: 1/6

(other parts)  (masterlist)

The day it happened, it wasn't a significant meeting at all, you barely even talked. In fact, when he opened the door of your neighbor’s flat that day with a beer in his right hand and his hair messy, he didn't have any effect on you. You always knew that living next to a director meant that sooner or later you’d bump into the pretty faces of well-known people. Sure, you didn’t expect them to be Hollywood actors like him, but to say you were starstruck by the man, would be the overstatement of the year.

The building you’ve lived in for the last three years has five floors; you live in the 4th, he lives in the 5th. He’s a quiet person, usually spending his evenings out of his apartment. You’ve talked sometimes, about the weather and the weird lady that lives in the 1st floor. You’ve never told him you find his directing style a little pretentious.

You’ve never been to his place until that annoyingly warm August evening, when you find a white button up shirt on your balcony. You can clearly see more clothing when you look up and you’re certain the item you’re holding belongs to him.

He’s not there though. Instead you find a different face behind the door. Lighter eyes and darker hair. The man in front of you is definitely younger than the director. You don’t bother to notice what he’s wearing.

“Can I help you?” His voice is deeper than you expected. Stronger, with a touch of European accent. The sound of English surprises you at first but soon you realize he must be another foreign coworker that came to visit your neighbor

“No, I just think Argyris dropped this and it ended up on my floor.”

He looks at you and then at the shirt, in your hands.

Then he says “Sure, I’ll take it.”

“Okay.”

Then it ends. He doesn’t even ask your name. You don’t have to ask his. You figure out, as soon as you walk down the stairs, that it’s Sebastian Stan that you just talked to.

And while being a big fan of marvel movies, you think nothing special of him at first. You just wonder how a mostly unknown director from Greece got an actor like Sebastian to come here so they can work together. It makes no sense to you, but you forget it when your phone starts ringing.

/

It would’ve been easier if you never saw him again, yet you do. You see him trying to understand what the old lady from the first floor is trying to tell him. You already know. The elevator is not working. The next day you see him walking up the stairs.

You exchange a quick hello, how are you and then off you both go.

The same night Argyris invites you to have a drink with them in the terrace. Part of you wants to just stay in bed and binge watch some Sherlock episodes. Part of you already thinks of what to wear.

There are around ten people there when you show up. They’re all sitting down in huge pillows drinking and talking loudly. You don’t know most of them.

You sit next to a blonde girl, across from Sebastian. This time you notice he’s wearing a plain black shirt and holds a glass of whiskey.

You don’t share any direct conversations but you learn that he’s afraid of growing old and that he thinks Taxi Driver is one fucking masterpiece, as he says.

When you mention that you’re probably the least artistic person in the room right now, you hear him laugh.

A curly haired woman starts dancing with him at some point. You decide he’s not a good dancer.

He leaves the same time you do, following you down the stairs.

“I thought you live here.” You say when he doesn’t stop at the floor you expect him to.

“Ah no, I stay at a hotel near the centre.”

He keeps talking about his suite until you reach your door.

You part in a blur, with a short goodbye.

He still doesn’t ask for your name.

It makes you feel genuinely offended.

/

Two days after, he is the farthest thing from your mind, until you find him sitting in front of your door, his eyes roaming the place with despair. And then he sees you.

“Ah finally you are here.” He starts casually. “Thank god.”

You just nod.

“Argyris told me to wait for him with you. We had a meeting but he got stuck in traffic.”

You give him a look.

“He said you’re always at home so you won’t mind.”

Ouch. Yeah sure, your social life wasn’t something to brag about but for some reason the way Sebastian said it, it sounded like an insult.

“Okay, come in.” You shrug, clearly not feeling comfortable and turn around to unlock the door.

You hear him call your name. You thought he didn’t know.

“Yes?”

He offers you an easy smile.  “Thank you.”

/

Sitting in your couch he’s eyeing the entire room, while you put some groceries in the fridge.

“Argyris says you’re a great girl.” He clears his throat. “But he thinks you’re too quiet for your own good.”

You look at him, your eyes flicking up and down his face.

“And from what I can tell, he’s right.”  You hear him laugh.

It felt weird to see him laugh while he was leaning back at your cozy pillow. He had entered your life so suddenly you didn’t even have time to react to it.

“I’m sorry but I barely know you.” Your words are sharp. He sits up.

“Okay then let’s get to know each other, what’s your favorite Disney princess?”

Defeated, you laugh. “Are you kidding me?”

“No, this is an important question.”

You wait for him to crack up but then you remember he’s an actor.

“I don’t know.” You think for a second. “Mulan?”

“Oh my god. Mulan is amazing.” You smile at him. “My favorite is Jasmine, she’s just so badass.”

You share your favorites that day, having almost nothing in common rather than your everlast love for animated movies and buttered popcorn.

When it’s time for him to leave, he stops and looks at you in the eye.

“You should talk more often.”

You stare at him with confusion. “I talk,” you raise your eyebrows. “When I have something to say.”

“Good.” he says, still looking.

/

Later in the evening, you’re eating some yoghurt when he comes knocking on your door.

He’s different. The white tank top he was wearing this morning is replaced with a dark shirt and his face looks tired. You assume they’ve been working since he went upstairs.

“Hiii”, he says dragging the i, “Am I interrupting anything?”

You desperately want to nod. You want to tell him that you were doing the most exciting thing in the world, before he came but you were never a good liar.

So you just tilt your head and take a step back.

That’s when he enters and is met with some loud rock music blaring from your laptop.

“You like AC/DC?” he asks, almost wide-eyed.

“Well, I can tell it’s them when I hear their stuff.”  For the first time that day, he seems to be in loss of words. “Why are you so surprised?”

He sits in the same spot in the couch as earlier and laughs.

“I just didn’t take you for the kind of girl who likes this music.” It’s your turn to laugh.

“Why?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. Quiet girl who loves animated films and eats kids’ yoghurt” he looks at the carton in your kitchen table, “and also likes metal music? Doesn’t add up.”

“We’ve basically just met; you shouldn’t make assumptions about me.”

“Fair enough.” He sits back, fidgeting with his fingers.

You take some time just looking at him

There was a certain vibe about that man that made you wonder how it’d feel to cruise down a dessert highway in a convertible mustang with him. In the summer. With him wearing that white tank top.

The color of strawberries emerges at your cheeks just at the thought of it.

You wish he doesn’t notice.

You’re glad to find him looking the other way, before he speaks up.

“We’re going out tonight.” His voice is warm now. “Argyris says you should come along, even though I’m quite sure there’s no hardcore music where we’re going.” He laughs again.

I can’t. You almost say. But then anxiety slips away from you and out of sudden you want him to stop being so freaking arrogant, going around and acting like he knows exactly what kind of person you are.

He thinks you’ll say no. You can see it in his eyes.

“Sure, when should I be ready?” you say, surprising both of you.

He looks at you for some time and then trying to hide whatever he was thinking he says the first thing on his mind.

“How old are you?” He sounds pitiful. He knows. He wishes he could hit a wall; with his head.

“Twenty-one.” His eyes scan yours, unsure of what they’re looking for. “Why?”

“No reason.”

He inhales deep.

/

You try to blink. You’re at a party in a little bar you’ve never been before and a lot of people are wearing black. Alcohol. You can still taste it on the back of your tongue. You don’t remember how you end up pressed against a dark skinned man, but you can tell he smells of cigarettes and despair.

You sway your body to the beat, close your eyes. Breath in. And out. You think the music deafens you for a second but you open your lids and see Sebastian and he’s watching you, unashamed.

He’s not that far, though it feels like it with countless bodies in the way. The music melts. His gaze is almost angelic. Or devious. You can’t really tell.

He’s dancing with that curly haired woman again. You wonder how intimate their relationship is.

The red neon lights make his skin glisten. His muscles move divinely. It makes you think there’s an entire world inside him, his flesh barely keeping it hidden. Out of sudden you get the urge to walk towards him. You want to see him up close under this dim lighting. But you don’t move.

The man that’s groping your waist asks for your name. You tell him you need to flee. He doesn’t understand.

You sit outside with the sweet summer breeze touching your bare arms. The bass of the music in the background syncs with the beating of your heart. You can feel your ribs grow with every breath you take. Until you stop breathing because the door opens and his eyes suffocate you.

You can’t fathom the effect he has on you. He was a pretty face on screen some days ago. But right now he steals distance and stays near you.

You don’t look his way. He doesn’t say a word. Nicotine and smoke surround you as he exhales. His fingers hold the cigarette butt with care.

“Do you want some?”

You turn to look at him.

“I don’t smoke.” He laughs.

“That doesn’t mean you don’t want some.”

You want to know if his breath has the taste of sulfur. You want to pretend it’s the alcohol or the loud music that makes your head hurt.

“What’s the best part of being an actor?” The blue in his eyes glows.

There’s silence but he seems to be thinking about it.

“Do you ever feel things too much?” He says, his voice hoarse. “I mean, when you feel something so intensely it becomes a part of who you are.”

You nod. You understand.

“Acting allows you to let go of these feelings,” he starts. “You share the burden with the audience until it becomes light and you can hold it again.”

You look at him, shaking your head.

“I don’t think I could that,” you close your eyes. “I don’t think I could share what I feel so easily.”

He stands up. The wind hits you again.

“A lot people can’t. That’s why everyone is heartbroken,” he takes a breath, “Feelings eat us raw.”

You both go to bed alone that night. Tomorrow there is a hole next to you.

/

the morning after, search history

(02:45 PM) hangover recovery

(03:00 PM) best food after a hangover

(03:10 PM) sebastian stan

(03:30 PM) sebastian stan girlfriend

(06:00 PM) xanax side effects

/

You follow him on Instagram. He doesn’t follow you back. You remember he probably gets tons of followers every day and decide not to let it bother you. Instead you study for the exams of the following month.

The subject of your studies doesn’t interest you. Another poor decision you made under pressure. Sometimes you feel as if your life is borrowed from someone else. Sometimes you feel as if you haven’t found your home yet.

Feelings eat us raw.

His girlfriend looks beautiful in the pictures you find online. The media isn’t certain if they’re still together but you like to think so. It makes it easier to avoid him.

But the universe seems to be oblivious to your thoughts and you see him that same day. You’re taking the garbage out and he’s coming down from the top floor. You meet in the elevator.

“I’m glad to see you’re still alive,” his eyes are smiling as he talks “you looked kinda drunk last night.”

You fidget with the hem of the bag you’re holding.

“I wasn’t drunk.” You notice he’s growing some stubble. You’re not sure you like it.

“Whatever you say, doll.”  You bite your cheek trying to devour any sign that might give away how his words make you flinch.

He turns his body a little so now you’re facing each other. He’s so pretty. He’s so pretty in a way that doesn’t hurt. You try not to stare at him, but you fail sometimes. You’ve never noticed how slow the elevator moves until you want to get out. You can’t stand being so close to him for much longer.

He’s an arrogant rich actor who loves Disney and smokes a lot, you think. I have no reason to be affected by him.

“Ah! Argyris said we’re leaving for the weekend.” You eye him curiously. “He wants to show us some small villages in the south. He thinks we should get to know the country a little more before we start.”

You’re stunned by your neighbor’s dedication to his work. Sometimes you wish you had something you could be passionate about too. Sometimes you think you’re never going to find it.

“That’s great. I’m sure you’ll like it.” You give him a smile.

He leans his back at the wall. The elevator stops. Finally.

“I like your eyes.” You grab tight onto the bag. “But they don’t smile when you do.”

He opens the door and he’s gone.

They tell you that it’s fun to meet a famous person. They tell you, you can ask for a photo and a hug. They tell you celebrities don’t talk a lot but that doesn’t mean they’re rude.

But he’s not like that.

He’s fire. He’s burning heat and scorching flames. His words are his thoughts; raw. You don’t like it.

/

late night search history

(00:38 AM) blue valentine movie soundtrack

(01:15 AM) is sebastian stan a bad person

(01:30 AM) acting classes for amateurs

(01:50 AM) cheap leather boots

(02:10 AM) sebastian stan eyes

 You find it annoying; how he’s present even when you’re alone.

Thankfully he’s leaving for the weekend, you think.

/

The weekend, however, is two days away.

You think you can get away without seeing him. And you do. Until it’s late at night again. And they’re all upstairs with music so loud you’re certain the lady on the first floor is going to be rude about it in the morning.

The music tempo has you unaffected. All you think about is if he’s dancing with that woman again.

He’s such a bad dancer, he should not be dancing.

There’s a subtle knock on your door. You know it’s him. You hope you’re wrong.

“Do you feel like dancing?” His face is all flustered. It’s a good look on him.

“You can’t come knocking on my door at 2 AM and ask me to dance.” His gaze is filled with confusion.

“So you don’t feel like dancing?” You roll your eyes. He notices.

“That’s not the point Sebastian.” It’s the first time you call him by his name. You let it slip away slowly, testing the way it sounds coming out of your mouth.

He takes a step closer. You are suddenly aware of your pyjama shorts and your exposed skin.

“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to irritate you.” His eyes are the cliché blue of the sky. “I just thought you might want to dance, that’s all.”

Suddenly you feel guilty and embarrassed. He’s oblivious to it.

For a moment you feel his eyes linger on you. It feels surreal.

You nod at him.

He’s ready to say something when Argyris comes down the stairs, his shirt slightly unbuttoned.

“Ah man, I thought you got lost or something.” You lower your eyes. “Stop messing with the poor girl. People are looking for you.”

He throws a smile at you and Sebastian takes a quick breath.

“People are always looking for me.”

He gives away that he’s carrying a burden. Your expression softens. But then you look at Argyris and you see he doesn’t really pay attention to these words.

You share a quick look before you’re there standing alone at your doorstep, trying to grasp the idea of him.

/

When you wake up you feel like running. You can’t fathom where the feeling comes from but it starts like a liquid running down your veins and soon you can’t stay in bed even for a second.

Feelings eat us raw. Only if you let them.

.

i really appreciate feedback, it motivates me tons and also tell me if you’d like to be tagged in this six part story :)

[danny-chase]

wait selina had her own protege? Tell me more 🥺

[Image ID: A young girl (maybe like 13-15) with hazel (yellowish) eyes and short brown hair. She's wearing a lot of eye makeup, a little hat with cat ears, and goggles. She wears a tie, pink vest, and grey t-shirt with pawprints. End ID]

Batman (1940) #642

Kitrina Falcone - link to wiki

She was a Catwoman copy cat (haha sorry i couldn't help it) who grew up with her abusive uncle (Mario Falcone - he literally tries to kill her in the arc she's in, she calls him uncle - but others claim she's his little sister and she claims she's Carmine's daughter) and lived on the streets for a while. She looked up to Catwoman and imitated her, but Selina steals some of her maps (i think like blueprints for heists or smth idk) so she breaks in to Selina's house to steal them back.

At this point she was working for Penguin (she bombed a place it was a whole thing) - her map making skills are vital for taking down/locating Black Mask so she's vital (she's doing this for the bounty). And she and Selina get on and Selina gives her a costume and she becomes Catgirl.

[Image ID: Selina Kyle as Catwoman and Kitrina Falcone as Catgirl stand on a rooftop next to each other with the moon illuminating them. The Catgirl costume has a studded silver belt and collar, black claw-like gloves, black leggings, and a black tank. There are pink zagging stripes on the side of the torso and back of her calf that have silver behind them. She also wears pink ankle high converse with a purple cat icon patch on the side. She has a mini cowl with cat ears that are pink on the inside and pink scale-like bracelets/ruffles at the end of her gloves. Narration boxes (Dick): Or in this case, in the reflection I catch out of the corner of my eye - the swift and agile movement in the reflection of the windows across the street. Selina: He's gone, Catgirl. Kitrina: I want to follow him. I bet he has a cool hideout. Selina: No. You have much to learn... and lesson one starts tonight. End ID]

Batman (1940) #697

Idk if she has any appearances as Catgirl, but following her appearances listed in the wiki she lives with Selina for a while until Dick tries to talk her into going to boarding school (with Selina also on board) on orders from Bruce.

[Image ID: Dick and Kitrina argue on a rooftop, Dick as Batman and Kitrina in a white tank top and pink pajama pants. Narration box: I don't have much time to spare on a night like tonight. But Bruce wants Kitrina Falcone out of Gotham. I can't say I disagree. Dick: The Aldridge Boarding School for girls is one of the best in the country, Kitrina. It's everything you need. Kitrina: And nothing I want. Dick: You can't have what you want. I'm taking that away from you. Kitrina Why are you acting like such a dork? I've proven myself. I helped you. Are you forgetting all the - Dick: You're young enough... smart enough to have a normal life. And you're an opportunist... take the one I'm giving yo - Kitrina: No one gives me anything. I take. I have everything I need here. Support. Training. Selina (off panel): Listen to him, Kitrina. End ID]

Batman (1940) #710

Dick lecturing a kid about not being a child vigilante is just jdfklajdkfla hypocrite XD

Anyways from here on, she runs ahead on the case they're working on (i skimmed didn't actually read it) leaving him clues and such it's like the typical young vigilante storyline of being over confident. She gets in over her head, Dick catches up and bails her out - she runs (because this one actually has self preservation instincts unlike the 934758 other batfam characters). Dick gets shot in the head (again - but don't worry the cowl redistributed its impact *sigh* this man has so much head trauma, but comic book logic) by Harvey Dent's wife Gilda no less and wakes up later and finds this letter.

[Image ID: Dick looks down at a paper, bandages are wrapped around his forehead. He's drawn with blocky features there art style isn't doing him any favors. Dick: A letter from Kitrina Flacone. The note reads: Dear Batman, I am writing to keep you from worrying about what became of me. I wouldn't want you to think that "Catgirl" got in over her head. Or was kidnapped, or killed. They show the side of a travelling bus. Note: I'm leaving voluntarily. In fact, I'm going to try out that school you signed me up for. It's probably a dumb idea... but I'm a girl who likes challenges. Kitrina sits looking into the window, seeing her reflection as Catgirl, earbuds in her ears. Note: And putting up with a bunch of rich prissy debutantes will be a challenge. I'm sure I'll put a few of them on their rears by the time it's over. But the point I'm making is, don't count me out. I'll be back. And I will be bad-assed. - Sincerely, K End ID]

Batman (1940) #712

The arc itself is pretty dry and follows a pattern we've already seen from DC comics. Also she's like "I'll be back" and DC just went sike. So. Yeah. Reboot messed her stuff up. It's annoying to me that they made Lian Selina's new protégé or whatever when they already had this storyline right here, and to have Jade drop her off like that is ooc, especially because Roy was right there as well. And while Kitrina might not be for everyone personality wise, I personally would love to see her kick rich kids asses at boarding school. Or just have her train under Selina - because at the least she already grew up watching Selina and trying to emulate her, both in personality and in the skills she taught herself - so the connection for this character is already there - whereas "Shoes" just came out of nowhere.

Another thing I find kind of funny is the popularity of "Stray" fics, because she hits some of the same beats I've heard about (i haven't read any though this is second hand knowledge). To my understanding, when someone (Tim or Jason) is stray, they grow up on the streets trying to escape familial abuse (which she does) and eventually is taken in by Catwoman (which she is) and becomes her protégé (again which canonically happened to this character). Though she doesn't interact with her respective Robin (Damian at the time) too much which i think is also usually a part of said fics.

Anyways here's her being called a stray lakdfjaslfdj

[Image ID: Kitrina as Catgirl slams into a car, Riddler's daughter following after her. Riddler's daughter: I need to warn you. I hate cats. Kitrina is kicked through the cars windshield. Riddler's daughter: Especially strays. Kitrina: Oofh! End ID]

Batman (1940) #711

I have no idea if this is a coincidence or not - this character has very few appearances, which date back to the Dick!Bats era - so i assume most of this fandom doesn't actually know who she is, but it's possible one of the first "Stray" fics used her as inspiration.

Also she freaking bit Dick as Batman which i find hilarious - i know fandom makes a big thing about Damian being a biter but like:

[Image ID: Kitrina bites someone's gloved forearm - it's Dick as Batman but you can't tell from the panel, forcing him to drop a knife. There's a chomp sound effect. Kitrina: What're ya? Crazy?! You're not killing him! Dick: Umff!]

Batman (1940) #696

*CHOMP*

[stephaniejuhnay]

Alright yall. I finished The Batman.

Now. Y’all are aware of my deep Batman love. Like, I love my white billionaire angsty superhero so much. Batman: The Animated Series is kinda my gold standard in Batman-lore. And Tim Burton’s take (which informed that show) is my favorite live-action take. Also very much enjoyed the Dark Knight trilogy. (Not a fan of the recent DCEU takes with Affleck.) I’ve watched full walkthroughs of the Arkham Asylum games multiple times. Year One & The Killing Joke & Assault on Arkham are great animated feature films. I played both the Batman Telltale series games through multiple times bc I thought the plot was just that compelling. Mask of the Phantasm IS MY SHIT. I thought Gotham was a nice spin on an origin story we’ve seen a million times.

Said all that to say, I enjoy and am very particular abt my Batman content. I like things with a grounding in the canon but a unique perspective/twist to it. I was worried and almost committed to not seeing this movie bc I was tired of being disappointed by Batman live-action films in the last few years.

I’m so glad I went. This is by and far the best DCEU film. I would even place it over the first Wonder Woman, which I thought was DCs strongest film to date (that I’ve seen - I couldn’t get through Birds of Prey and haven’t bothered to watch The Suicide Squad). But this? I am SO IMPRESSED. There is potential for another good trilogy here and that makes me very happy.

It was longer than it needed to be. We definitely could’ve gotten away with a 2hr film here. I felt like I was watching a director’s cut instead of a theatrical release, but I didn’t necessarily mind that.

I really do feel like I watched an amalgam of Tim Burton’s/Nolan’s Batman with the fighting styles and plot points of the Arkham & Telltale games. In the best way possible. The mystery at the heart of the story was pretty easy to figure out but didn’t make it any less enjoyable going on the ride. And there were a couple twists (the Selina/Falcons connection, the reveal that Riddler DIDNT actually know Bruce’s identity bc I was so sure he did) that I thought were pretty dope. My favorite new piece of origin story is the reveal that Martha Kane was instead Martha ARKHAM. That was such a dope twist and is gonna set up some really interesting stuff down the line if we get more movies. Again, it’s reminding me of the Arkham series and I LOVED the plots of those games. I always said they played like movies and digging into the Arkhams’ history is just…exciting to me.

I TOTALLY called Barry Keoghan being The Joker before he even got on screen. I saw him playing “unnamed Arkham prisoner” and was like “Joker. He’s The Joker, that’s tHE JOKER!!!!!” Again, VERY exciting.

I also really appreciated the twist on the “Batman’s existence is responsible for the types of villains Gotham produces” trope too. It’s usually because they’re sick of him trying to clean up Gotham, want to be the one to take him down, blah blah. But the Riddler here was INSPIRED by Batman because of his use of fear to control the city, and I thought that that was such a clever and poignant take.

And lastly. Rob. Well done sir. I have no qualms. I do think it’s interesting that I ended up buying him more as Batman than as Bruce Wayne which is NOT what I was expecting. But he did a really good job here. Everyone did honestly. Super impressed with every performance, I dug the fighting styles (I really think the Arkham games have forever influenced the fighting in any Batman media to come after it), I thought the cinematography was great. I also appreciate the…basic-ness of the Waynetech too. He’s only 2 years into the Batman gig here so the tech to come (hopefully) has such great potential.

Overall. I REALLY liked this film and I fully expected not to when I learned it was happening. I am more than happy to have this film prove me wrong. I hope we get more.

[superman86to99]

Superman #85 (January 1994)

Cat Grant in... "DARK RETRIBUTION"! Which is like normal retribution, but somehow darker. On the receiving end of Cat's darktribution is Winslow Schott, the Toyman, who suddenly changed his MO from "pestering Superman with wacky robots" to "murdering children" back on Superman #84, with one of his victims being Cat's young son Adam. Now Cat has a gun and intends to sneak it into prison to use it on Toyman. She's also pretty pissed at Superman for taking so long to find Toyman after Adam’s death (to be fair, Superman did lose several days being frozen in time by an S&M demon, as seen in Man of Steel #29).

So how did Superman find Toyman anyway? Basically, by spying on like 25% of Metropolis. After finding out from Inspector Turpin that the kids were killed near the docks, Superman goes there and focuses all of his super-senses to get "a quick glimpse of every person" until he sees a bald, robed man sitting on a giant crib, and goes "hmmm, yeah, that looks like someone who murders children." At first, Superman doesn't understand why Toyman would do such a horrible thing, but then Schott starts talking to his mommy in his head and the answer becomes clear: he watched Psycho too many times (or Dan Jurgens did, anyway).

Immediately after wondering why no one buys his toys, Toyman makes some machine guns spring out of his giant crib. I don't know, man, maybe it's because they're all full of explosives and stuff? Anyway, Toyman throws a bunch of exploding toys at Superman, including a robot duplicate of himself, but of course they do nothing. Superman takes him to jail so he can get the help he needs -- which, according to Cat, is a bullet to the face. Or so it seems, until she gets in front of him, pulls the trigger, and...

PSYCHE! It was one of those classic joke guns I’ve only ever seen in comics! Cat says she DID plan to bring a real gun, but then she saw one of these at a toy store and just couldn't resist. Superman, who was watching the whole thing, tells Cat she could get in trouble for this stunt, but he won't tell anyone because she's already been through enough. Then he asks her if she needs help getting home and she says no, because she wants to be more self-sufficient.

I think that's supposed to be an inspiring ending, but I don't know... Adam's eerie face floating in the background there makes me think she's gonna shave her head and climb into a giant crib any day, too. THE END!

Character-Watch:

Cat did become more self-sufficient after this, though. Up to now, all of her storylines seemed to revolve around other people: her ex-husband, Morgan Edge, José Delgado, Vinnie Edge, and finally Toyman. After this, I feel like there was a clear effort to turn her into a character that works by herself. I actually like what they did with Cat in the coming years, though I still don’t think they had to kill her poor kid to do that -- they could have sent him off to boarding school, or maybe to live with his dad. Or with José Delgado, over at Power of Shazam! I bet Jerry Ordway would have taken good care of him.

Plotline-Watch:

Wait, so can Superman just find anyone in Metropolis any time he wants? Not really: this is part of the ongoing storyline about his powers getting boosted after he came back from the dead, which sounds pretty useful now but is about to get very inconvenient.

Don Sparrow points out: "It is interesting that as Superman tries to capture Schott, he at one point instead captures a robot decoy, particularly knowing what Geoff Johns will retroactively do to this storyline in years to come, in Action Comics #865, as we mentioned in our review of Superman #84." Johns also explained that the robot thought he was hearing his mother's voice due to the real Toyman trying to contact him via radio, which I prefer to the "psycho talks to his dead mom" cliche.

Superman says "I never thought he'd get to the point where he'd KILL anyone -- especially children!" Agreed about the children part but, uh, did Superman already forget that Toyman murdered a whole bunch people on his very first appearance, in Superman #13? Or does Superman not count greedy toy company owners as people? Understandable, I guess.

There's a sequence about Cat starting a fire in a paper basket at the prison to sneak past the metal detector, but why do that if she had a toy gun all long? Other than to prevent smartass readers like us from saying "How did she get the gun into the prison?!" before the plot twist, that is.

Patreon-Watch:

Shout out to our patient Patreon patrons, Aaron, Murray Qualie, Chris “Ace” Hendrix, britneyspearsatemyshorts, Patrick D. Ryall, Bheki Latha, Mark Syp, Ryan Bush, Raphael Fischer, Dave Shevlin, and Kit! The latest Patreon-only article was about another episode of the 1988 Superman cartoon written by Marv Wolfman, this one co-starring Wonder Woman (to Lois' frustration).

Another Patreon perk is getting to read Don Sparrow's section early, because he usually finishes his side of these posts long before I do (he ALREADY finished the next one, for instance). But now this one can be posted in public! Take it away, Don:

Art-Watch (by @donsparrow​):

We begin with the cover, and it’s a good one— an ultra tight close up for Cat Grant firing a .38 calibre gun, with the titular Superman soaring in, perhaps too late.  An interesting thing to notice in this issue (and especially on the cover) is that the paper stock that DC used for their comics changed, so slightly more realistic shading was possible.  While it’s nowhere near the sophistication or gloss of the Image Comics stock of the time, there is an attempt at more realistic, airbrushy type shading in the colour.  It works well in places, like the muzzle flash, on on Cat Grant’s cheeks and knuckles, but less so in her hair, where the shadow looks a browny green on my copy.

The interior pages open with a pretty good bit of near-silent storytelling.  We are deftly shown, and not told the story—there are condolence cards and headlines, and the looming presence of a liquor bottle, until we are shown on the next page splash the real heart of the story, a revolver held aloft by Catherine Grant, bereaved mother, with her targeting in her mind the grim visage of the Toyman.

While their first few issues together meshed pretty well, it’s around  this issue that the pencil/inks team of Jurgens and Rubinstein starts to look a little rushed in places.  A few inkers who worked with Jurgens that I’ve spoken to have hinted that his pencils can vary in their level of detail, from very finished  to pretty loose, and in the latter case, it’s up to the inker to embellish where there’s a lack of detail.  Some inkers, like Brett Breeding, really lay down a heavier hand, where there’s quite a bit of actual drawing work in addition to adding value and weight to the lines.  I suspect some of the looseness in the figures, as well as empty  backgrounds reveals that these pencils were less detailed than we often  see from Jurgens.

There’s some weird body language in the tense exchange between Superman and Cat as she angrily confronts him about his lack of progress in capturing her son’s killer—Superman  looks a little too dynamic and pleased with himself for someone ostensibly apologizing. Superman taking flight to hunt down Toyman is classic Jurgens, though.

Another example of art weirdness comes on page 7, where Superman gets filled in on the progress of the Adam Morgan investigation.  Apparently Suicide Slum has some San Francisco-like hills, as that is one very steep sidewalk separating Superman and Turpin from some central-casting looking punks.

The  sequence of Superman concentrating his sight and hearing on the  waterfront area is well-drawn, and it’s always nice to see novel uses of his powers.  Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman does a similar trick quite often on the excellent first season of Superman & Lois.  The full-bleed splash of Superman breaking through the wall to capture Toyman is definitely panel-of-the-week material, as we really feel Superman’s rage and desperation to catch this child-killer.

Pretty much all the pages with Cat Grant confronting Winslow Schott are  well-done and tensely paced.  While sometimes I think the pupil-less  flare of the eye-glasses is a cop-out, it does lend an opaqueness and mystery to what Toyman is thinking.  Speaking of cop-outs, the gag gun twist ending really didn’t work for me.  I was glad that Cat didn’t lower herself to Schott’s level and become a killer, even for revenge, but the prank gun just felt too silly of a tonal shift for a storyline with this much gravitas.  The breakneck denouement that Cat is now depending only on herself didn’t get quite enough breathing room either.

While I appreciated that the ending of this issue avoided an overly simplistic, Death Wish style of justice, this issue extends this troubling but brief era of Superman comics. The casual chalk outlines of  yet two more dead children continues the high body count of the  previous handful of issues, and the tone remains jarring to me.  The issue is also self-aware enough to point out, again, that Schott is  generally an ally of children, and not someone who historically wishes  them harm, but that doesn’t stop the story from going there, in the most  violent of terms. In addition to being a radical change to the Toyman  character, it’s handled in a fashion more glib than we’re used to seeing  in these pages.  The mental health cliché of a matriarchal obsession, a la Norman Bates doesn’t elevate it either.  So, another rare misstep  from Jurgens the writer, in my opinion.   STRAY OBSERVATIONS:

I  had thought for sure that Romanove Vodka was a sly reference to a certain Russian Spy turned Marvel superhero, but it turns out there  actually is a Russian Vodka called that, minus the “E”, produced not in Russia, as one might think from the Czarist name, but rather, India.

While it made for an awkward exchange, I was glad that Cat pointed out how  her tragedy more or less sat on the shelf while Superman dealt with the "Spilled Blood" storyline.  A lesser book might not have acknowledged any  time had passed. Though I did find it odd for Superman to opine that he  wanted to find her son’s murderer even more than she wanted him to.  Huh?  How so?

I love the detail that Toyman hears the noise of Superman soaring to capture him, likening it to a train coming.

I  quibble, but there’s so much I don’t understand about the “new” Toyman.  If he’s truly regressing mentally, to an infant-like state, why does he wear this phantom of the opera style long cloak while he sits in his baby crib?  Why not go all the way, and wear footie pajamas, like the lost souls on TLC specials about “adult babies”?

I get that Cat Grant is in steely determination mode, but it seemed a little out of place that she had almost no reaction to the taunting she faced from her child’s killer.  She doesn’t shed a single tear in the entire issue, and no matter how focused she is on vengeance, that doesn’t seem realistic to me. [Max: That's because this is not just retribution, Don. It's dark retribution. We’ve been over this!]

[multifandom-world8]

SECRET OBSESSION-CHAPTER 5

We had a few more days in London before we fly to San Diego for the comic con.

Henry texted me that he wants to take me to breakfast and that whenever I’m ready he’s waiting at the lobby.

I put on a wintry outfit since and it was a bit chilly outside and left my room.

“Good morning love” Henry smiled when he saw me “good morning” I smile and kiss his cheek.

He took me to a restaurant called

‘Victory garden cafe’, it was style like an old Greek place, vintage.

“Good morning and welcome Mr.cavill and Ms.heard follow me”

The hostess said as she gestured us to follow her causing me to frown

“I’m a regular here” Henry shrugged

and I chuckled.

After we both ordered our food we shared some experiences from past movies we filmed.

That is until my dog sitter called

“Oh I've gif to take that one in sorry” I quickly apologized to Henry Henry before I picked up

“Lea, is everything alright?” I asked her

“She has stomach aches y/n what do I do?” Lea asked me in a panicked tone

“Okay give her the special dog food and rub her belly until it passes, she’s joining me soon tell her that she’ll calm down” I instructed her “okay I’ll keep you updated on her condition” Lea said before she hung up.

“You have a dog?” Henry asked me

“Yes, a Siberian husky, her name is Isabel but I call her Izzy all the time” I smile as I show him a picture of me and her that’s also my Lock Screen.

“She’s so beautiful, almost as big as my dog” Henry chuckled

“Yeah Kal is HUGE” I chuckled too

“He’s coming to San Diego too, maybe they’ll keep each other company” henry suggested

“Sounds good but can your dog sitter handle both of them? Because I won’t have mine” I chuckled

“Yeah that’s no problem” Henry shrugged.

We both enjoyed an amazing breakfast before we went to have a little tour. Henry was here before so he took me to all of the beautiful and time-worthy places.

Back at the hotel, I thanked him for the amazing tour and we had dinner together too before going to sleep.

The next few days we spent by interviewing local news and signing autographs before we finally headed to San Diego for the comic con.

I was beyond excited to fly to San Diego, not only because it’s my first time there, but also because it’s my first comic con.

When we landed at the airport I saw Lea with Isabel, my dog,

And immediately ran to her, not caring than I just abandoned Henry with my suitcase.

“Oh I missed you so much” I hugged Isabel tight While she licked my face “did she behave?”

I asked lea

“She was amazing as usual. But she got a stomach ache again on the way here so I stopped giving her her sweets for a while” Lea said as she handed me Isabel’s bag

“Thank you so much, Lea, enjoy your vacation” I hugged her and when we broke she ran to her gate to catch her flight.

“She’s so cute” Henry said once he catches up to us

“Omg hen I’m so sorry I abandoned you with my stuff” I apologize

“It’s alright I would’ve done the same for Kal” Henry chuckled

“Well then you’d have to kiss your suitcase goodbye because not all of us have crazy muscles as you do”

Isabel licked my face again before she ran and started jumping on Henry, trying to get to his face

“Traitor” I muttered and Henry chuckled “she’s so cute” he said as let go of the suitcases and bent down to pet her.

Seeing Henry so sweet and caring with Isabel made my heart swell with happiness.

I no longer saw him as Henry that was had a dark side, but Henry the giant softy.

This time henry and I decided to share a room at the hotel with princess and Kal.

Kal was waiting for us at the lobby with Henry’s dog sitter and surprisingly, Isabel liked him immediately too.

The two just jumped around each other excitedly.

“They are so adorable!” Gal said as she joined Henry and I

“Just like their owners” Jason smirked

“Oh shush you” I blushed deeply.

Jason, gal and Henry kept talking about something while I noticed Ben glaring at me from the reception area.

“Hen I’ll be right back, keep an eye on her for me?” “Is everything okay?” He asked me “yeah yeah just need to talk to Ben for a second” I reassured him before I handed him Isabel’s leash.

“Okay, what’s with the glares? You’ve been giving me the stinky eye ever since we left London” I asked Ben

“Is everything a game to you?” He spat

“What are you talking about?” I frowned

“Did you use me to get a reaction from him? Huh? I thought you said he was mean to you and had a thing with amy” Ben growled

“Woah take a chill pill man. I was not using you, we went out for a drink, I thought it was a friendly hangout. And he wasn’t mean on purpose amy was blackmailing him” I explained even though I didn’t think I had to justify my actions to him.

“You’re lying. Amy may be crazy but she would never do such a thing” Ben scoffed

“she’s a class a psycho ben, You know what if you don’t believe me ask Henry I’m fed up with all of these accusations” I told him angrily before I stormed off back to henry.

“Hey what’s wrong?” Henry asked me once he noticed my angry expression

“I’m not in the mood to talk about it” I said as I felt tears threatening to fall.

I took my room key and went up to the room with Isabel and hugged her as I cried.

I guess I cried so hard because I didn’t hear Henry walk in until I felt Kal licking my cheek.

“Y/n please tell me what’s wrong”

Henry said as he sat next to me on the floor

“I’m so fed up with all the criticism” I sobbed

“What did Ben tell you?” Henry asked, a hit of anger in his tone

“He thought I was using him to provoke you, that I’m a liar” I whimpered.

Henry pulled me into a hug and brushed my hair with hands softly

“I’ll talk to him later, you’re amazing y/n, you saved me from Amy, I don’t know what I would do without you” he muttered and I felt myself smiling as I lean into him more.

“Thank you hen, I needed it”

“No problem love” he kissed my head.

We stayed like this a little more until it was time to get ready for an interview we had with all of the cast(except for Amy thank goodness).

I was seated between Henry and Jason, making me feel like a complete short ass next to these two giants.

“Guys welcome! So nice to see you all together. Are you feeling like a proper family?” Jamie, the interviewer asked us

“It’s like a family reunion every time you know” Ray chuckled

“So, like if you were a family, who’s got the worst habit?” Jamie asked

“I think Ezra” I said “I chew my nails a lot, and it’s apparently bad for your nails in a long term, is it really bad or is y/n just messing with me again?” Ezra asked

“I don’t think” Gal shook her head

“Jason has a habit of taking our clothes off all the time” Ben said and Jason raised his hand proudly while saying guilty making us all laugh

“Henry in this film has a habit of being dead so you’re gonna see him” ray shrugged “yeah I’m the dead uncle” “that’s right ” ray chuckled

“It’s nice to see the ghostly figure. Spotting some nice facial fluff” Jamie said, referring to Henry’s mustache

“He had it before” I said “really?”

“Yeah” Henry chuckled

“Well I wanted to talk to you about something and it’s beardy Batman” Jamie said as he looked at Ben

“Beardy Batman, yes. At the beginning of the movie you get to see bearded Batman which we haven’t done on screen before and uh I thought it was kind of cool and just so you know they added in the white streaks in the beard, those were not present before” Ben explained

“Well obviously with all of you in together you get to see your very cool costumes, was there any costume envy?” Jamie asked

“I was jealous of Gal’s costume because Unlike mine hers is not tight” I said causing her to laugh

“I could barely breath in it”

“Yeah I was kind of envious of ray because he didn’t have a costume” Ben said “I had an onesie, I was calm cool and collected. I did have a muscle suit that I wore sometimes with like the hoodie and sweatpants and I got the feel of what it's like to be them on a certain level. But I envy their costume because they actually exist you know?” Ray smiled

“What’s the costume like at the end of the day?” Jamie asked

“Sweaty” Ben and I said at the same time

“Smells like a foot” Ezra added

“Yeah even mine” ray chuckled

“Costume people on this movie earned their money” Ben said

“Re you guys ready for the world of the dc family? A few of us have done a few of these films now. They’re absolutely obsessed aren’t they?” Jamie asked

“Passionate for sure, I wouldn’t say obsessive but we all are we love our characters” I said and everyone nodded in agreement

“You’re doing these movies knowing there’s going to be expectations from the fans, they’re going to pay a lot of attention to the details and everything that comes out to the internet,even the minor nonsense turns into a big story” Ben explained

“Gal you tweeted yesterday and already have 46,000 likes “ Jamie said

“How much?” She gasped with a smile

“46,000 likes” Jamie said again

“look at her- how many likes?” I asked as I intimated Gal’s voice

Causing everyone to laugh

“I think that the fact that people care so much about these characters is pretty amazing because I think that there is this amazing device of universe that we can tell stories with and so many people are interested in hearing what we have to say. It’s an amazing thing and it’s not to be taken for granted and this is the reason why we keep on making these movies...because people care so much” Gal told Jamie

“Okay thank you guys so much for coming, it was fun” Jamie said and the interview was over.

Henry and I returned to the hotel to have dinner together before we headed to bed.

“You were quiet today during the interview” I told Henry “well most of the questions were not directed to me so but I did talk” Henry shrugged

“It was fun to be with all of the crew” I smiled

“I’m glad you had fun love, now rest up, we had a long day” Henry kissed my head before he turned off the light and we fell asleep.

A/n-I’m opening a tag list for my stories, comment if you’re interested to be in it!💕

[shannonhutchins]

sending our boys josh nd toby back at u pls ! also sam if u would like to

Okay so uh these got long! Because of that I'm going to split the characters up into different posts--naturally I started with Josh because of course I did.

There are references to self harm so please be aware!

The first year at Harvard is Hard for Josh. Like he’s not in danger of like failing out or anything but one of his poli sci professors does take him aside after a month in and tells him he needs to pull it together. The professor is like “this is the big leagues kid and the connections and impressions here matter almost more than your actual grades” and the talk makes Josh so anxious. School has never been easy for him because of his dyslexia—he’s always had to try harder than most to get the same amount of work done. Josh has always been self-conscious about his learning disability and to this day only his mom, Donna, Toby, Sam, and Abbey know because he’s too embarrassed to tell anyone else or ask for help. But anyways, back to the Harvard idea after that talk Josh throws himself into school with such a one-track mind and signs up for as many study groups as he can. He’s really fucking proud of the fact that he made the Dean’s List all but one semester (and he will never talk to anyone about That Semester).

Josh is gay. He dates a lot of women growing up because that’s what he thought he was supposed to be doing but he always stared at certain men for a few beats longer than what could be deemed like *okay* but he doesn’t come out until midway through the Bartlet presidency. The first person in DC he told was Matt Skinner who just smirked at Josh like he always knew, and he promises to keep his secret until he’d ready to like to come out for real. Matt was so helpful in helping Josh navigate the whole coming out process and Josh is incredibly grateful to have him in his corner. The first person he truly tells is his mom when she visits one holiday and Ruth is a trooper just telling him that he’ll always be *her son* and nothing can ever change that. Josh is so relieved at how well his mom takes the whole thing because part of the reason he stayed in the closet for so long is because he worried his mom would be disappointed and he was a bit short of family members so he felt like he couldn’t take that chance? But telling her and being instantly accepted makes Josh cry.

Josh has a history of self-harm. He usually leaves marks in places most people won’t be able to see—like his hip bones and upper legs for example—and only when he was younger did, he cut around his wrists and more visible places. Leo found out when Josh was at Harvard and Ruth and Noah called him asking if he could look in on Josh because he wasn’t returning their calls. Leo never in a million years thought he’d walk in on Josh *like that* he figured Josh was just frazzled with end of semester things which was why he wasn’t getting back to his parents. Leo will take to his grave the image of Josh with a knife in one hand and red crimson dripping down his leg—Josh makes Leo swear he won’t tell his parents and tells him he only does this when it just gets too loud in his head. Leo makes Josh swear back that he’ll call when things get that bad again and Josh true to his word does and no matter what time it is Leo will pick up the phone and drone on to Josh about what stupid things Democrats are doing on the hill. No one else from senior staff know about the self-harm until Rosslyn—they all see the scars while Josh is in the hospital. Josh is self-conscious about the ones on his wrist so much that the minute he can stand it he asks Toby to help him into a long-sleeved shirt because he just can’t take the staring anymore.

Okay so this is a HC based on my Gaza AU arc that I SWEAR I will finish and post. Ya know one day. As a result of the explosion Josh loses partial mobility in one of his legs so he has to use a cane. Like the day his physical therapists told Josh he was devastated, and he locked himself in his room and wouldn’t even come out for Toby because like it’s a lot to get used to? He never expected to not 100% recover—even after Rosslyn he recovered with minimal physical setbacks so he just assumed this would be the same with just more work? Josh glares at the cane for a week straight whenever he’s reminded that he *needs* to use it. Toby gives Josh a week to mope and get his head around this new reality before he sits him down and tells him he needs to get over himself, tells him the cane doesn’t make his any less of anything, and that Toby didn’t wait through 2 surgeries that lasted 14+ hours only for Josh to resent living even if his life wasn’t the same as it was before. The day Josh steps back into the White House cane and all Josh is nervous—he hates the idea of walking into the white house so visibly off kilter, but Abbey greets him at the gate and welcomes him as if she was her son and brings him to see Jed first thing and Jed jokes that they should get matching canes and Josh laughs. He never 100% accepts needing to use the cane but his outlook on it drastically improves the longer he uses it and sees that people don’t treat him any differently.

Josh likes to wear dresses and skirts! I don’t make the rules the boy just DOES okay. He usually only wears them inside his apartment and he’s more likely to wear them when he’s stressed—he loves the different fabrics and styles and how they feel against his skin. It just feels nice and when Donna and CJ find out they always make it a point to pick up stuff that they think Josh will like when they are out shopping together. The first Monday Josh finds a box of clothes in his office and he opens it up to see what it is he *melts* because he realizes how lucky he is to have these people in his life. These people who accept him unconditionally. The first time Toby sees Josh is a short skirt he feels like he could faint—in a good way he rushes to tell Josh.

[urbancripple]

I’ve updated my gear page and added more of my recent recommendations. I also fixed the shitty image formatting so stuff isn’t cut off :D

Each purchase made through those links helps support my site. So many of your have done that recently and it’s been a great help with keeping things running around here. I deeply appreciate it.

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Urban Cripple’s Wheelchair Gear and Accessories

If you want suggestions on what kind of gear you should get for your wheelchair, check out this list.

Wheelchair Tools

Every Day Carry (EDC)

In the Kitchen

Around the House

Bags and Carrying Cases

Food and Fuel

Wheelchair Tools

I don’t carry a ton of gear with me when I go out, but what I do have is super critical to staying safe and mobile while rolling through god‐knows‐what in the streets. Most of this stuff falls in the “Oh shit!” category. You won’t need it every day, but you’ll be glad you have it when you do.

Tekton Long Arm Ball End Hex Key Wrench Set

Most wheelchair components are held together with either with some kind of hex screw. If something goes wrong, you’re going to need a set of wrenches to fix it.

I like this particular set because it comes with both metric and standard wrenches and folds so it can lay flat in your bag or tool wrap.

Pedro’s Tire Levers

Don’t let their size fool you: these are great tire levers. What I love most about these things is the fact that they come in pairs and are designed to wrap around a spoke so you can keep one in place while using the other to remove the tire.

When not in use, they snap together and can easily be tossed in a bag or stashed under your chair.

PRO Bike CO2 Inflator

If you realize your tires are dangerously low after leaving the house or you pop a tube and need to reinflate the replacement, you’ll need a C02 inflator.

Make sure you always keep a couple of spare cartridges on you and remember to never store a fresh C02 cartridge in the inflator: it’ll just be flat by the time you need it.

Black And Decker ASI300 Air Station Inflator

For regular tire maintenance, I really love this air compressor. It’s powerful enough to fill a standard wheelchair tire but small enough to travel in a vehicle. It can even be powered by your car’s DC outlet.

Every Day Carry

This is the stuff I keep with me and use every day.

Foldable Phone Stand That Fits In Your Wallet

It’s a ridiculous piece of plastic and aluminum, but it fits in your wallet and actually works really well to hold your phone up. I use it when doing video calls with coworkers so I don’t have to move my laptop, open it up and plug in my wired headphones.

Harbinger Pro Non‐Wristwrap Weightlifting Gloves

By far, gloves are the most important piece of gear for your chair. City streets are super gross and full of hazards that can stain, cut, or bruise your hands. A good pair of gloves should offer you plenty of protection from hazards while allowing you to maintain your grip, dexterity, and the ability to use touch‐sensitive devices like a smartphone.

That’s why I love these weightlifting gloves from Harbinger. They have enough padding in the palms to protect from dirt, grime, and heat (gripping your tires while going down hill can burn your hands) while the fingerless design lets you keep your dexterity and use a smartphone.

Tactical Flashlight

I know we all usually use our phones when we need a flashlight, but I find a dedicated flashlight to be a lot more effective ( and a lot less expensive if you drop it.)

These flashlights are small, light, and crazy bright. They also come with various modes including strobe and S.O.S.

Contigo Extreme Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Travel Mug with Handle

The only way you can safely carry a hot beverage while pushing a wheelchair is by keeping it in an airtight container. I really like this mug because it’s insulated and has a clip. The clip is great because you can easily attach it to your bag or to the back of your chair (I use the backrest release bar). Because it seals so well, you don’t have to worry about it spilling.

Snap Lock Folding Pocket Knife

I like this knife because it’s small, sharp, and easy to carry. Just don’t accidentally leave it in your jeans for the TSA to find (true story).

AmazonBasics Lightning Cable

Fun fact: lightning cables are super cheap if you get them from anywhere except Apple.

Cocoon Grid‐IT Organizer

These things are great for taking all the small stuff that usually ends up rolling around in your bag and keeping it in one place.

Portable Charger Power Bank 22400mAh

Having your phone die is terrifying. This thing will charge your phone and tablet several times over. However, it does take a long time to charge the battery itself.

Slim Portable Charger Power Bank 10000mah

It won’t charge your device as fast or as many times, but it won’t take up nearly as much room in your bag as the other battery.

In the Kitchen

Cooking while everything that is boiling or on fire is at face‐level can be a bit daunting. Here’s some stuff that’ll make it safer and easier.

Meal Prep Containers: 3 Compartment with Lids, Food Containers

These meal prep containers are microwave/dishwasher safe and they stack. It’s a great way to prep meals and save yourself some time and energy.

Extra‐Large Silicone Freezing Tray with Lid

These trays are great for freezing stews and sauces and such. I do a lot of large batch cooking and these are waaay easier than trying to portion stuff out into ziplock bags. The lids make it easy to move it around one handed (what wheelchair user hasn’t gotten wet trying to refill an ice cube tray?)

Silicone Baking Mat

These things are a life saver in the kitchen. Basically, if you use them, you’ll never have to clean a baking sheet/pan ever again.

16 inch Kitchen Tongs

When sitting in a wheelchair and using the stove top, it can be really tough to reach both the temperature dials and anything sitting on the back burner. These super long tongs let you easily reach and turn the knobs on your stove and anything that might be sizzling away on your back burners.

Ove Glove

These things are machine washable and can withstand up to 540 degrees of temperature. They grip well and make it easy to get stuff in and out of the oven. In a pinch, they’ll even double as a makeshift pot holder.

OXO Steel Press & Pour Insulated Cocktail Shaker

If you’re looking for a cocktail shaker that doesn’t freeze your hands off, won’t burst open, and can be operated with one hand, you should get this one. I make a lot of cocktails at home and I really hate cocktail shakers. Your standard Boston style shaker has a tendency to break open on you if you don’t seal it right (and that means your chair gets covered in booze) and it’s a pain to open if you seal it too tightly. This cocktail shaker has a really straight‐forward design. The top is screw-on, it has a simple push button in the lid for pouring and sealing, and it can pour from any direction. I highly recommend it for folks who wanna mix drinks at home but don’t wanna risk wearing their beverage.

Around the House

This is the stuff I keep around specifically because it makes daily life easier for me when I’m at home.

Microfiber Cleaning Cloth

For folks trying to keep their place clean while avoiding using up too many cleaning wipes or paper towels, I’ve found that having a stack of cheap microfiber cloths on hand plus a mix of water and vinegar in a spray bottle really helps keep things sparkly while cutting down on waste.

Multi‐Position Heavy Duty Folding Hand Truck and Dolly

This dolly is great if you need to move something that’s too big or too heavy to carry on your lap. It can be configured in multiple ways and folds up easily for storage.

Retractable Dog Leash

Walking your dog with a standard leash can be tough if you’re in a wheelchair. I use a retractable dog leash with my dog so that I can easily adjust the amount of slack I need to keep her under control while not getting the leash tangled in my chair. In addition, the size of the handle lets me easily loop it through the buckle of my Grab‐It Pack, which means I can securely hold onto the dog while pushing my chair with both hands.

Bags and Carrying Cases

All of the various bags and slings I use to carry stuff when I’m out of the house.

13.3 Inch Sling Bag Riding Hiking Bag Single Shoulder Backpack

13.3 Inch Sling Bag Riding Hiking Bag Single Shoulder Backpack

This bag is small and doesn’t have a ton of storage, but I wanted something that I could wear constantly and had just enough room to hold my backup charging cables and small tools so that I could go out without having to have as much physically strapped to me. If you need something with more storage, they have a bunch of different sizes that are meant to hold more stuff.

This isn’t the exact bag I use day‐to‐day but it is the correct style. I really like the sling style bags: they’re light enough to not restrict my movement and the single strap means it won’t shift around as I push my chair.

Food and Fuel

This is the stuff I carry with me in case I’m too busy to pack a proper meal.

ThinkThin High Protein Bars

It’s always a good idea to keep some kind of portable snack in your bag if you think you’re going to be out and about for an extended period of time. I like to keep a couple of these ThinkThin bars in my bag just in case I’m stuck between meal times. They don’t taste like death or cardboard and they’re not just a glorified candy bar.