#how did this get so long????

[overdevelopedglasses]

Tojoctober Day 22 - Stamina

(So step on up to the plate)

Alt title is from “Time to Make History”, P4G's Battle Theme

A question is posed to the group: Who has the best stamina??? 

(No spoilers!)

—-------------------------------

“Alright then!” Majima stands up from his seat, slamming his drink onto the bar, drawing the attention of all of the occupants in the room. New Serena was a lot more packed than normal, and a cheery atmosphere was in the air.

“We’re really doing this, Majima-san?” Majima looks down at Kiryu, who was seated next to him at the bar. If anyone else was looking at the dragon, they’d think he’d be worried, but Majima knows the man better than most.

“We’re doing this, Kiryu-chan. Oi, you four!” Majima shouts, drawing the eyes of Saejima, Akiyama, and two others who Majima thinks he remembers the names of… Tanimura’s the one in the blue jacket, and Shinada is the scruffy guy… right?

“Who in here has the most stamina?”

“Well, it’s obviously me, brother.” Saejima laughs and takes a swig of his drink. “Have you seen me?” Saejima takes a moment to subtly flex, drawing a chuckle from his sworn brother.

“What about me?” Shinada pipes in, “I was a baseball player, you know. And I’ve kept up with my training all this time.”

“Well, it’s definitely not me!” Akiyama jokes, and everyone laughs.

“Why don’t we have a friendly competition?” Tanimura suggests. Everyone else nods in agreement. “But how do we test stamina?” Kiryu asks? “There are multiple uses for the skill, so how do we figure out rules for a competition?”

“I’d suggest a brothel, but I don’t think everyone here would be alright with that,” Akiyama says, with a bit of mischief coating his expression. “Besides, that’s a backwards use for stamina with this group.”

“Awww, c’mon!” Majima fake-whines, earning a jab in the ribs from Kiryu.

“Why don’t we do a footrace?” Saejima suggests. “We can use South Senryo Avenue, it’s pretty clear at this time of day.”

“But isn’t that a test of speed?” Kiryu inquires.

“Well, it could be, but what if we did the most amount of back and forth laps?” Tanimura answers, brow creased in though. “Whoever lasts the longest wins!”

“But that’s only one test of stamina. We've implied there are multiple uses for the shit.” Majima interjects. This was a harder question to answer than he initially thought. 

“What about the batting cages?” Shinada says, “Whoever lasts the longest in those wins?”

“Not a terrible idea, Shinada-san.” Akiyama replies, “Although I do feel like you have an advantage there…” “We’ll do the batting cages second then.” Kiryu says. 

“Alright. To Senryo Avenue?” Tanimura asks.

5 different pitches of agreement sound off, and all of the men rush out of the bar.

“Well, there’s already a problem.” Kiryu says, as they arrive at the entrance to the street, the Kamurocho sun providing some light, but not doing a lot to puncture the winter chill that had settled upon the group.

“Haw? What problem, Kiryu-chan?” Majima asks, giving the space a once over. The street’s pretty clear, as his brother had said. The ground is pretty smooth, too.

“The street isn’t wide enough, Majima-san” Akiyama saunters to Majima’s other side. “We can’t all go at once. We’ll have to race in 2 groups of 3. So… everyone partner up?”

The group splits apart, and pairs are quickly made. Majima decides to change it up from who he instinctually thinks of as a partner, and picks Tanimura. Saejima pairs up with Kiryu, which leaves Akiyama and Shinada together. The detective does make Majima a bit antsy, however he trusts in what Kiryu had told him earlier, that the detective wouldn’t sell out him or his brother.

“Alright, so… Kiryu, Shinada, and Tanimura, get ready. The rest of us, count how many single laps that your partner completes. When everyone’s done, we’ll swap and do the same thing.” Akiyama instructs.

Majima pulls his phone out, remembering it had a simple counter feature. He brings it up, and resets it to zero.

“Alright, gentlemen.” Majima walks out in front of all 3 of them. “Remember, yer racin for stamina, not speed. Get to the edge of Taihei Boulevard,” Majima points to the end of the road, “and then get yer asses back here, and on and on until ya can’t anymore. When ya think yer done…” Majima pauses, thinking for a second, “wave your arms in the air frantically until yer partner signals at you, and then get outta the way of the others.” Somehow, everyone agrees with what Majima is saying.

“Allllright then! On yer marks…”

The three men who are ready to race assume starting positions.

“Get set……”

Majima wishes he had some sort of starting gun with him. He’d shoot it at Kiryu to make him jump. As a prank… as you do.

“GOOOOOOOOOOO!”

With Majima’s shout, the three men were off. Majima has to jump out of the way quickly, as Kiryu almost barrels into him.

Majima takes his place between Akiyama and Saejima, phone with the counter in hand, as he watches Tanimura sprint to the end of the road, Kiryu and Shinada not far behind.

“Tanimura-san does realize he’s running for stamina, right?” Akiyama asks, as Tanimura is already running back towards them.

“I’m not sure. He’s really hoofin’ it though.” Saejima replies, as Majima inputs another tick on the counter.

Akiyama’s prediction was right, as Tanimura comes up to Majima shortly after, waving his arms in the air frantically. 

“Alright, alright, I get it, detective boy. Go take a breather.”

Tanimura pats him on the shoulder, then slumps against the building. “I… feel like… I did that wrong.” he puffs out, taking off his jacket to assist with oxygen intake. Majima almost opens his mouth to say that it won’t help, but shuts it when Tanimura immediately shivers and puts it back on.

“How are the others doing?” he asks, hands now crossed in front of his chest.

“Kiryu-san is on lap 5. Still going strong from the looks of things,” Saejima says. 

“That’s Kiryu-chan for you,” Majima says, smirking.

“Shinada-san is at lap 7,” Akiyama pipes in. “Can’t tell his condition from here though.” Majima sees the baseball player at the end of the street, who quickly turns to run back to the group. 

“How many laps did I get, Majima-san?” Tanimura asks, finally having regained his breath.

Majima looks down at his phone, “8. Not bad, but…”

“Fuck.” Tanimura breaths out, back slumping against the wall. The others laugh in response.

“Could do good at the batting cages though, Tanimura.” Saejima says, in an attempt at comfort.

“Yeah, if I’m this winded? I'll be surprised if I even hit a ball.”

"Don't have such a pessimistic attitude, Tanimura-san!" Akiyama replies. 

"I'm being realistic, Akiyama-san." Tanimura shoots back, standing upright.

"That borders on pessimism." Majima counters, and the two men bicker for a bit until Majima sees Kiryu begin to wave his arms in the air.

"Kiryu's done." Saejima said, showing the others his counter, which reads 16.

"16???" Tanimura exclaims. "Well, shit."

"That's our Kiryu-chan." Majima says with pride, as he rejoins the others.

"Phew… that takes a lot out of you." Kiryu says, hands on his knees, breathing heavily. 

"Ya need some water?" Majima asks with a touch of concern. He pulls a water bottle out of his coat, which Kiryu accepts happily.

"You didn't ask me if I needed water!?" Tanimura shouts.

"Yer a detective, I figured ya had some!" Majima counters.

Saejima laughs, "He also relentlessly dotes on Kiryu-san, so don't be surprised."

"HEY!" Majima shouts, smacking his brother in the shoulder, causing him to laugh even harder. Kiryu joins in the laughter.

"I always appreciate it, Majima-san," Kiryu says, "Tanimura, do you want some of my water?"

"Fuck you." Tanimura replies, sitting back down on the ground.

"Don't take it out on him!" Majima shouts, trying desperately to mask his anger.

"See what I mean?" Saejima says, laughing.

Shinada finally arrives, tapping out. Akiyama inputs his final lap.

"20! Nice work, Shinada."

Shinada crouches next to Tanimura, who gapes at the baseball star. “I guess you’re just built differently.”

“I mean, is anyone else here a former athlete?”

“I don’t think so. Nice job, Shinada-san.” Saejima says. “But, I guess it’s our turn.”

The pairs swap roles, with Akiyama, Saejima, and Majima all lined up at the start. Kiryu stands in front of them.

“Alright. Same deal as with us. You know how to get yourself tagged out of the laps. Just do the best you can.”

All 3 men nod.

“Ready…”

Saejima and Akiyama take their stances. Majima tosses his sheathed tanto to the side, causing Tanimura to jump slightly.

“Set…”

Majima takes his starting stance.

“GO!!!!!!”

The three men blast off from the starting line, and begin running up and down the street. Majima becomes keenly aware of the burning in his legs, but continues to push on. He does notice Akiyama tag out after 6 laps. Lightweight. Majima thinks.

“How ya doin', brother?” Majima shouts as he passes by Saejima on his 9th lap.

“Doin' alright. What about you?” Saejima responds as they pass each other again in the next lap.

“I can easily keep goin'!” Majima shouts on Lap 11.

“Don’t push yerself!” Saejima pushes Majima in the shoulder lightly, and then watches Saejima tag himself out. It’s just him.

Majima takes stock of his physical condition. His lungs now burn as well, and while Saejima just said he shouldn’t push himself, he’s on lap 14 now, and if he can get over 20 laps, he wins this section.

Well, at least him running all over Kamurocho a bunch since 2005 was now paying its dividends. 

He counts the laps in his head, and while he thinks he's at 20, he doesn’t want to run more laps to make it certain. He jogs back on what he thinks is Lap 22. 

“What’s my count, Tanimura? I’m pooped.” Majima slumps against a building, accepting the offered water bottle from Kiryu.

“24! Majima wins this round.”

“Fuck yeah.” Majima says, weakly putting a fist into the air.

The batting cage round essentially goes the same. Tanimura did predict his performance, as he taps out very quickly. Almost everyone also predicted Shinada winning the baseball round, but Majima came in a close second.

“Well, now we have an issue. Who has more stamina, Majima or Shinada?”

“Well, we needa third round, then.” Majima says. “We can’t pick it, though.” he gestures to Shinada and himself.

“I have an idea…” Kiryu says, and Majima sees a rare sight: Kiryu’s face is the one creased with mischief.

That’s because of course, he drags everyone to Karaokekan, pays for a room, and they all now sit around the screen, with Shinada and Majima holding two mics.

“So, who's up first?” Kiryu asks, Majima noticing the excitement beginning to glimmer in his eyes.

“I’ll go.” Majima stands up, and picks Get to The Top, singing in his own crazy way. While he visualizes a multitude of dance moves, he just focuses on the vocalization. The room cheers once he’s finished.

“Alright, Shinada-san. What do you have?” Akiyama pipes in as Majima takes a seat.

Shinada stands up, and belts out a pretty great rendition of Machine Gun Kiss, sitting down to another round of cheering.

“Alright, from here on, it’s a judge of quality as well. If we think you can’t do it, you’re out. We’ll be as impartial and fair as we can.” Kiryu instructs, and the other 4 men agree. “So, Majima, you’re up next.”

The quality judge is a harsh one. He can’t just pick random songs and scream anymore.

That means…

Majima scrolls over to the 80s hits, and picks the one he knows.

“Wait, Majima-san, you know that song!?” Tanimura asks with wonder in his voice.

“What’s that suppose ta mean?” Majima snaps, but not as harshly as he has before. Tanimura doesn't snap back, the song starts, and Majima almost slips into his 80s mindset with the song, but he resists. He finishes with a flourish, to uproarious applause.

“I think that passes, right everyone?” Tanimura shouts.

3 voices of agreement, and Majima sits with a smile.

“Shinada, you’re up.” Kiryu gives Shinada the mic that works. Shinada, not to be outdone, pulls up a song the gentlemen are pretty familiar with. Shinada also does a couple idol poses, giving the boys a good laugh. He passes the quality check, and Majima is up again.

“Ya have another one in ya, brother?”

“Course I do!” Majima says with a bit of an exasperated huff, and scrolls over to Pride From Despair.

“You sure you know this one, Majima-san?” Kiryu asks with a bit of concern.

“Ya don’t know all of my tricks, Kiryu-chan.”

Turns out, Majima had also learned the actual lyrics to the song, in the time since he and Kiryu had done this together. Kiryu watches in awe, as the other men, minus Shinada, shouted along. Majima ended, passed, and sat back down.

“Well, Shinada-san? You have one in you?” Akiyama asks.

Shinada sits for a second, and ponders for a bit, finally letting out a huge breath of defeat.

“Nah… Majima wins.”

[juha-art]

THE NEXT WORLD MURAL

text is from this post by @even-disco-baby <3

mural is inspired by 'the kiss' by hayez

[floccinaucinihilipilificationa]

[egophiliac]

bring your son to work day

[artkaninchenbau]

People keep on asking for more Baby Robin and Papadile so here is more Baby Robin and Papadile. Now never ask anything from me ever again

[giantkillerjack]

Today my therapist introduced me to a concept surrounding disability that she called "hLep".

Which is when you - in this case, you are a disabled person - ask someone for help ("I can't drink almond milk so can you get me some whole milk?", or "Please call Donna and ask her to pick up the car for me."), and they say yes, and then they do something that is not what you asked for but is what they think you should have asked for ("I know you said you wanted whole, but I got you skim milk because it's better for you!", "I didn't want to ruin Donna's day by asking her that, so I spent your money on an expensive towing service!") And then if you get annoyed at them for ignoring what you actually asked for - and often it has already happened repeatedly - they get angry because they "were just helping you! You should be grateful!!"

And my therapist pointed out that this is not "help", it's "hLep".

Sure, it looks like help; it kind of sounds like help too; and if it was adjusted just a little bit, it could be help. But it's not help. It's hLep.

At its best, it is patronizing and makes a person feel unvalued and un-listened-to. Always, it reinforces the false idea that disabled people can't be trusted with our own care. And at its worst, it results in disabled people losing our freedom and control over our lives, and also being unable to actually access what we need to survive.

So please, when a disabled person asks you for help on something, don't be a hLeper, be a helper! In other words: they know better than you what they need, and the best way you can honor the trust they've put in you is to believe that!

Also, I want to be very clear that the "getting angry at a disabled person's attempts to point out harmful behavior" part of this makes the whole thing WAY worse. Like it'd be one thing if my roommate bought me some passive-aggressive skim milk, but then they heard what I had to say, and they apologized and did better in the future - our relationship could bounce back from that. But it is very much another thing to have a crying shouting match with someone who is furious at you for saying something they did was ableist. Like, Christ, Jessica, remind me to never ask for your support ever again! You make me feel like if I asked you to call 911, you'd order a pizza because you know I'll feel better once I eat something!!

Edit: crediting my therapist by name with her permission - this term was coined by Nahime Aguirre Mtanous!

Edit again: I made an optional follow-up to this post after seeing the responses. Might help somebody. CW for me frankly talking about how dangerous hLep really is.

[astearisms]

fionna and cake drawings before and after watching the episodes so far. it’s nostalgic and somehow cathartic and poignant and relatable and—it just started

[hailsatanacab]

Family Dinners - dpxdc

"Holy shit, you're Bruce Wayne!" Danny gaped, jabbing a finger at the man sitting at the head of the table.

The bustling dining room goes silent as everyone turns to look at him.

"Danny, who did you think was going to be here?" Tim asks, disbelief plain in his voice and Danny feels his face flush red.

"Sorry, I, uh, I guess I just never put it together. Tim Drake-Wayne. Wayne Manor. It, uh, makes sense now." He laughs sheepishly and scrubs at his neck before slumping back down into his chair.

"Well," Tim says with an indulgent sigh, "at least I know you're not just friends with me for my connections."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry, I just never thought about it, I guess."

Danny sinks lower as everyone around him laughs. Come to dinner, he said, the food is the best, he said, ignore the family, he said. Danny really wishes he'd listened to Tim and just ignored them—almost as much as he's regretting accepting the offer in the first place—but... he's having dinner with Batman.

Ancients, that's so weird!

The last time he saw Batman was in the future and, suffice it to say, it was not going well. There hadn't really been time for family dinners there.

Wait. Family dinners?

He peers around the table, openly gawking at everyone as it all clicks into place.

"Everything alright, Danny? Now realising who everyone else is?" Tim asks with a roll of his eyes.

"Uh... something like that..." Danny mumbles as everyone laughs again.

From further down the table, the smallest Wayne scoffs and clicks his tongue.

"I thought you said he was smart, Drake?"

"So, you all do it, too, then?" he asks, ignoring the jibe. Danny's only a little bit jealous as he thinks of how much easier they must have it, how much easier it'd be if his family had been on his side, too. "You all work together?"

"Nah," Dick says from across the table with a brilliant grin. "Tim's the only one that works with Bruce, we all have different jobs. I'm a police officer in Bludhaven."

"Disgusting." Danny blurts out without thinking—because seriously, what kind of self-respecting vigilante would also be a police officer?—before clapping a hand over his mouth. "Sorry."

The whole table laughs again, the loudest being the blonde girl a few spaces down from Dick. Look, Danny wasn't really paying attention to names when they were all paraded in front of him. Dick only gets remembered because his name is a joke.

Come on, Danny, recover!

"That's, uh, not what I meant, though."

"Oh?" Dick asks, cocking his head slightly to the side. Is it Danny's imagination or does his smile tense slightly?

"Yeah, I mean like, you know, in costume. It must make it so much easier to have everyone together like this."

"Costume? What do you mean?"

Yeah, Danny's not imagining it, everyone tenses up at that. It's really only now that he's realising that this probably isn't how he should bring up that he knows about their... night time activities. In fact, he probably shouldn't be bringing it up at all.

"Uuhhh..." Danny looks wildly around the table as he continues making his stupid noise. Think, think, think! There must be a way out of this!

"Danny?" Tim asks, looking concerned.

"Oh, Ancients, this isn't how I wanted it to go at all," he mutters, slipping even further into his chair. He's almost on the floor now and he so, so wishes it could just swallow him up.

His real first meeting with Batman was meant to be cool! He had planned to be Phantom, maybe save them from a tight spot, prove his worth as a mysterious and powerful ally as thanks for the help Batman gave him in the future.

"Danny, what are you talking about?" Tim starts tugging on his sleeve in an attempt to pull him back up from his pit of despair.

Eventually, Danny relents and sits up straighter, hiding his face in his hands and whining all the while.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't expect him to be here and it threw me off so now I look stupid and it's so embarrassing!" he wails, flailing his arms wide. "Why wouldn't you warn me that Batman was your adopted dad, Tim? Couldn't you have let me know?"

"I'm sorry, what? Danny are you alright? There's no way Bruce can be Batman, look at him!"

"Yeah," the blonde girl laughs from the bottom of the table, "look at him! That's a wet noodle of a man! Batman can actually do things, B is incapable of pretty much everything."

"Thank you, Stephanie," Bruce sighs, massaging his forehead.

It's... Those are the first words Danny's heard Batman say since everything went down and it's enough to knock him out of his embarrassment.

It's really good to hear his voice again. Especially now, when it's strong and healthy and full of personality—even if that personality is little more than a tired father right now—far better than how it had been, at the end.

Danny sits up, back straight, and grins. He's got this. He remembers it perfectly. Some people count sheep to fall asleep, Danny repeats his mantra to be certain that he'll never forget it.

"Gamma alpha upsilon tau iota mu epsilon, 42, 63, 28, 1 colon 65 dash 9."

Once again, the whole table falls into silence.

"Holy shit..." breathes the other D name (Duke? Danny's pretty sure he's Signal) from opposite Stephanie. "Isn't that...?"

"The time travelling code." The littlest Wayne says stiffly. "We have met in the future?"

"That's not just the time travelling code, Dami." Dick says, looking between Danny and Bruce. "That's the family time travelling code."

Danny's grin freezes in place.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"1 colon 65 dash 9." Dick explains, still flicking between him and Bruce. "It means you've been adopted into the family and we should all treat you as such, no questions asked."

"Tell you what, I'm about to ask a question." Danny says, dumbstruck. "You just told me it was a code to identify time travellers, not anything about being adopted! What the hell, B?"

Bruce looks about as shellshocked as Danny feels.

"We must have been close," he says finally, after opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water a few times.

"No! Not that close!" Danny reels back, taking a deep breath ready to refute it all, but... "Well, I mean, you found me when I first got stuck, and you helped me get better despite being... And then we fought together against the, uh, bad guy, before he, um, he... before you couldn't."

An uncomfortable beat passes while they all pick up on what Danny tried so hard not to say.

"So, you're not from the future, then, you travelled there and came back?" Tim asks, breaking the tension and leaning forward with a glint in his eye.

"Yeah, it was a whole end of the world thing, but don't worry about it," Danny says with a hand wave, "It's all kosher now, won't ever happen."

"What did happen?"

"Seriously, don't worry about it, we cool."

"How long in the future was it?"

"About ten years? You were pretty spry for an old man, B," Danny laughs, wishing they'd get off the topic of what happened and get back to the adoption bit.

Everyone shares degrees of a cautious smile as they relax out of the shock, and Dick—whose grin is the biggest—says, "No wonder you got the family code, you're already riffing on him like one of us. How long were you there for?"

"A week, before I managed to get back to my present and stop him then."

"A week? Jeez, B, that has to set some kind of record, seriously."

"Oh!" Danny says, sitting bolt upright and blinking in surprise before pointing at Dick and bouncing in his seat. "You're Nightwing!"

"What?"

"That's exactly what Nightwing said when Batman told me the code! Makes so much more sense now."

Dick laughs and claps his hands, delighted.

"You were not formally adopted?" The grumpy small one—Dami?—asks, his face pinched.

"I didn't even know I was informally adopted."

"And your parents? Are they alive or dead?"

"Damian, stop—"

"They were dead in the future, but they're alive now." Danny says, looking down. He fiddles with the tablecloth, twisting the fabric around his fingers as he fights down the pang of sadness that he always feels when he thinks of them now. He forces a bright smile on his face and hopes it doesn’t look too strained. "I just, uh, can't talk to them much, anymore."

"Damian," Dick warns, "1 colon 65 dash 9. Treat them as family, no questions asked."

"This is Damian treating him as family, the little turd has no manners." Tim scoffs, rolling his eyes, but he gently bumps shoulders with Danny to knock him out of his funk. Danny can't help but send him a watery smile.

"I have the most exemplary manners, Drake, unlike some people." Damian spits, crossing his arms with a pout. "I was merely ascertaining his status to see how he could possibly fit into the family."

"I know this is all a bit sudden, Danny," Bruce smiles, ignoring Damian and reaching out to lay a warm hand on his arm, "for all of us. But if I felt strongly enough to give you that code after spending a week with you in the future, then you are more than welcome in this family, if you so choose it. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we'd like to get to know you a bit more."

"I know a threat when I hear it, Bruce." Danny snorts. "But, yeah, I get it. I'm sorry this is all so weird, it really wasn't how I wanted to find you again, but... I'm glad I did."

"So are we, Danny." Dick says, with a warm smile. "And formally or not, 1 colon 65 dash 9 means you're family. Welcome to the fun house! No take backs or refunds, sorry. You're stuck with us."

[hinamie]

i don't normally participate in these redraw challenges but it's megumi so i'll make an exception

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

I know those eyes.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[gascreates]

a new star

[winkle-pickers]

Covenant

[tesseractingrey]

i think one of the coolest things about dan howell is the example he sets of how your life isn’t over at 25, and one person won’t fix your life but you still can. dan met his actual soulmate at 18 and is only now, in his 30s, finding true and genuine happiness and fulfillment. meeting phil didn’t automatically solve all his problems, although he was clearly a significant part of the motivation to bother doing the work at all. but dan still put in the work himself for YEARS to improve himself and his life and it WORKED. your life isn’t over if you aren’t completely happy and fulfilled and the person you wish you could be in your 20s. putting in the work takes time but it is WORTH IT.

[bunnieswithknives]

AU based off Nature except I kept thinking about it too hard. Dales not a good dad, but its such an easy problem for him to throw money at, and what do you do when a part is damaged? Well, you replace it.

Basically an AU where Dev gets to experience medical trauma and realizes much sooner how much his dad doesn't love him

[zoe-oneesama]

Some "Special" Girls! And the late girls.

Ko-fi | Patreon

[letsplaythermalnuclearwar]

Homer!Odysseus and Epic!Odysseus would try to kill each other if they ever met