#i should use this power for writing...

[corkinavoid]

DPxDC Ignorantia Neminem Excusat

(Ignorance excuses no one, lat.)

"Commissioner."

Jim Gordon doesn't jump. They are years and years into this rodeo, he's stopped actually jumping at Batman's silent approach a long time ago. Yet, Bruce still notices the way his shoulders twitch just the tiniest bit, and his hand makes an aborted motion to his gun holster. Still got it.

The man turns around. Bruce can see the 'must you always do that?' in his slightly narrowed eyes. He presses his lips tightly together in order to not smirk: Batman doesn't do that, even if it's admittedly funny to see the seasoned Commissioner get spooked every time.

"There's a kid that wants to speak with you."

Bruce frowns. A kid that warranted a BatSignal? Not that he minds, but this is highly unusual for several reasons; however, Jim is not the kind of man that would fall for puppy eyes of any level, so it must be something more important than an autograph session or a victim of any of the recent cases.

Besides, the way Commissioner worded it implies that the kid, whoever they are, requested Batman specifically.

"He is a hacker," Jim puts both his hands in the pockets of his coat — he is either cold or uncomfortable, and Bruce highly suspects it's both. What's more, he starts to understand why. "I'm sure you're aware we were trying to track the person responsible for the few recent cyber attacks on GCPD servers," Jim glances at him, and Bruce nods. He is aware, yes, but the case was low-priority — it wasn't even an attack, really, someone just accessed the system foregoing the passwords and clearance levels, went through a few files, seemingly at random, and did a fairly decent job of hiding their traces. Bruce would have even thought it was Tim, if this happened a few years ago, when the boy was just learning the ropes.

Commissioner sighs and looks away, "But when we brought him in, the boy said he will only speak to you, and none of us have been able to make him say a word since." He pauses, a grim kind of expression on his face, "This was six hours ago."

Bruce is grateful for the way his cowl hides how his eyebrows raise. There are hundreds of scripts officers, detectives, and social workers can use to establish contact. Quite a lot of them could be attempted in the span of six hours.

Whatever the kid wants to tell him, Bruce decides it's worth a try. If not anything else, he can at least admire the sheer stubbornness.

—×—×—×—

The kid sitting in the interrogation room looks... younger than Bruce expected. Fifteen, maybe sixteen. He is dressed like any other homeless kid in Gotham — a hoodie and a jacket over it, jeans that look a size too big on him, sneakers with mismatched shoelaces — but he clearly hasn't been out in the streets for that long. His hair is braided into cornrows, and it looks professional, even if the roots have grown out so now it's just messy. What's more, he is missing that telltale wariness in his posture that Bruce has seen in every other street kid that has been brought into a police station. They always slouch and curl into themselves.

This boy is sitting with his back straight. Yet, there's a tension in his body that Bruce can only associate with a battle stance — give him the slightest reason, and the kid will lunge.

He steps into the room.

The boy — he hadn't given a name, and there wasn't a single ID on him — zeroes on him instantly. His eyes are a very pale, almost translucent green: a rather strange feature for a black-skinned person, genetically speaking, but Bruce doesn't dwell on it. Yet.

But then, the face recognition program comes up empty.

As in, 'there's not a trace of this person's prior existence' empty. Not a single camera footage, no records or reports of missing, no pictures, no social media, nothing. Bruce frowns.

"Hi," the kid says, his voice raspy, "My name is Tucker Foley. According to the government, I don't exist, so if your recognition program doesn't find anything on me, that's why."

Bruce doesn't say anything. Tucker wanted to speak with him, and previously, he was only merely intrigued by that request. However, as of right now, he wants to hear everything the kid has to say before asking any follow-up questions.

Because that always present, cautious and bordering on paranoid voice in the back of his mind tells him he is about to get into something way more serious than he expected.

Tucker moves — he kept both his hands on the table, palms open and visible, but now he closes one into a fist. Although, before Bruce can react to it, he opens it again. A small, the size of a flash-drive, dimly glowing green object rests inside.

"Do you know what this is?" The boy asks. He hasn't looked away from Batman's face once; Bruce is not even sure he blinked at all since he entered the room. Come to think of it, even with his tense, rigid posture, Tucker is too still, almost unnervingly so.

Bruce glances down to the boy's hand.

"Yes," he answers curtly, and there it is, the smallest shift in Tucker's face: he clenches his jaw like he's trying to hold the words inside his mouth. Bruce doesn't like it.

"What is it?" Comes the next question, but it's not curiosity that prompts it. It's a test of some sort. Bruce likes that even less.

"A power source," he decides on a neutral answer, not entirely certain what the boy is expecting to hear.

It seems to be a wrong answer because for the first time, Tucker's emotions slip from under his mask, and he takes a sharp breath in, looking like Bruce had just slapped him across the face. It lasts only a moment — Tucker closes his eyes for a moment, slowly exhales, and speaks again, calm and focused once more.

"And what exactly powers it?"

It's an important question, judging by the desperate, searching look in Tucker's eyes. His hands are not shaking, and there are no visible signs of distress, but for some reason, Bruce just knows that the boy's whole life seems to depend on the answer.

But.

"It's classified." Bruce doesn't take his eyes off the boy, but he still fails to see when he gets to his feet; the movement is quicker than the blink of an eye. All he knows is the aftermath of it, the screech of the chair legs on the floor and the loud slam of Tucker's palms on the table.

"Fuck the classified!" The boy yells, his face twisting in an awful mix of anger, hurt and a broken, terrified sort of hopelessness that almost breaks Bruce from the inside. "I need to know what they've told you, I have to- Tell me you think it's just a battery! Tell me you've never broke one to see what's inside, tell me you believe in science! They've showed you the research, didn't they?" Tucker's voice, so agonizingly different from the composed way he was talking before, breaks into a sobbing, almost hysterical laugh. His pale eyes are wide open and almost panicked, searching Batman's face for something he is not sure he can find.

"Tell me you've never seen one being made," this time, the boy doesn't yell, he whispers, his breath hitching and his knuckles white. "Please," he adds a moment later, and Bruce knows this kind of plea.

It's the plea of someone who is begging for the world to have mercy on them. A plea of a boy standing on their parents' grave, a plea of a man kneeled in front of his son's corpse.

Bruce swallows the bitter taste on the back of his tongue and takes a step closer. He sees the boy in front of him lean back and bend his knees, like bracing for impact, but he answers before any more misunderstandings can occur.

"I have seen the research. It provided enough information that I've never investigated further," he offers, and Tucker's shoulders slump like months and months of living in a constant state of fight-or-flight leaving his body all at once. Then, the boy's hands start trembling just slightly.

"Really?" He quietly asks, his eyes still glued to Batman, and there it is, the hesitant, uncertain hint of hope in his voice.

Bruce suddenly feels like not only this talk will be much, much worse than he ever feared, but also like in the end this will be another one of the things he will be blaming himself for. Things he could have prevented if he just tried a little harder.

"Really," he nods, taking a seat opposite from Tucker. "So explain what I've missed."

The boy keeps looking at him for a few more seconds, like trying to x-ray his thoughts for any sign of a lie. But then he blinks — for the first time, maybe — and rubs his face with his palm before all but dropping back in his own seat.

"Okay," he breathes out, evidently trying to collect himself and go back to the strong, focused self, "Okay."

[ part 2 -> ]

[queen-mabs-revenge]

i'm sorry but what are we doing what are we doing what are we doing??? 500 people in a hospital just slaughtered - pure act of genocide and what are we doing??? like, yes, just the fact that the numbers out on the streets are what they are is testament to unprecedented failure in the western propaganda murder machine, but at the same time what the fuck are we doing???

because this can't be another blm - record numbers of people out on the streets and what? what happened? what result but deepened reaction and further entrenched state violence? this is an acute genocide that is happening right now we're just gonna do the same shit we've been doing for a decade that we know does worse than doesn't work??

signs at protests shouldn't be begging biden to call for a ceasefire, they should be calling for unions to stand up and collectively refuse to handle genocidal war goods. unions representing newsroom crews and newspaper workers should collectively refuse to produce propaganda of genocide. the fucking politicians aren't gonna fucking stop this shit, it's only gonna be labor shutting it down that's gonna stop it. fuck letters to the senator we gotta stop the fucking death machine and labor is the ones with our hands on the levers.

[captainskells]

The day Mythal died, Elvhenan itself bled. That is what was written, how many scholars interpret it.

[crow-caller]

rewatching your nightbane review and getting genuinely mad about how much the concept of a magically-bound divine right of kings (and how the populace can’t overthrow their rulers without all dying) fucking rules and how alex aster WASTED it. begging another fantasy author to please write this idea but like. good

(also your proclamation in that video that grim has “ice-cold yaoi hands” has haunted me since it came out. why did you speak that into the world social media user crow caller. why)

1. was there when the yaoi hands reigned. I know the signs and know them well. never call me a social media user ever again.

2. The divine right of kings thing Aster backward stumbles into IS very cool conceptually, you're right!! I nearly brought this up in my Skyshade review, but then realized it'd be the weirdest pull: Fallen London has an extremely good version of the same concept. I'm so so so sorry FL for referring to you as anything similar to Lightlark, but if you're interested in how 'magically bound divine right of kings which keeps a populace under control, treated as innate to the world but secretly artificial' can be done well.... well. let me tell you about The Chain.

The Great Chain of Being is a concept that the world is divided into a strict hierarchy, with some above others. In FL, the beings at the top are Judgements- cosmic gods who burn as bright as suns (okay, they are suns). They sit at the top of The Chain with the understanding This Is The Way The World is- they are often referred to as 'Kings', because they are analogous to them in many ways. Why do the Kings rule over us? Because the Chain is a facet of the universe, the Chain is true and says they are better than us. Why does the Chain say this? Because it is true.

.......Except, of course, it isn't. The Judgements created the chain, as kings created the Divine Right of Kings- to excuse their excess of power and abuse of it, they create the lie there is a divine truth to the world which just so happens to put them at the top. The universe doesn't make some people better than others, but some people will say it does in order to get away with heinous acts*. In FL, the Judgements abuse their power in far wilder cosmic horrors ways, able to enforce this division with their ability to rewrite reality with burning words. This power is again not necessarily something innate to them because they are sooo special- it is something they have because The Chain they've created to control reality says so.

This is key worldbuilding to fallen london, and is Sick As Hell- though quite Deep Lore, not apparent or relevant when you first begin playing.

(*The Great Chain is a real concept originating from medieval Christianity, which very much places all the world into a strict hierarchy with God at the top- followed by man, descending through various animals, and even including plants and minerals. A key aspect of the Chain was that this 'Absolute Hierarchy' was real, innate, holy, and... of course, an excuse for all kinds of racism. Sure, maybe they did think it mattered to decide lichen was closer to god than mushrooms, but ultimately an obvious reason the philosophy took root was to justify why certain humans mattered more than others.)

[princessofghosts-posts]

Another day another morning where I hyperfixate on Nico and his powers. Today we are going to have another episode of: "Riordan trying to not make the audience realize how much Nico is OP by writing off something and never talking about it again". (There are a lot of those moments unfortunately).

We are going to talk about a specific moment in SoN. This from XIV Percy PoVs (pag 105-106):

“You mean the Doors of Death,” Reyna said, ignoring Octavian. “They are mentioned in the Prophecy of Seven,which sent the first expedition to Alaska—”

Cato the ghost snorted. “We all know how that turned out! We Lares remember!” The other ghosts grumbled in agreement. Nico put his finger to his lips. Suddenly all the Lares went silent. Some looked alarmed, like their mouths had been glued together. Percy wished he had that power over certain living people…like Octavian,for instance.

This also isn't the first time Nico showed to have control over them,since during the dinner in a couple of chapters before he did the same thing.

For understanding the real picture of this,we need to actually talk about what Lares are in mythology.

Lares were guardian deities in Ancient Rome. They were believed to: observe,protect,and influence everything that happens within the boundaries of their location or function. The statues of domestic Lares were placed at the table during family meals because their presence,cult,and blessing were required in important family events.

Romans writers sometimes identify or conflate them with ancestor-deities,and because of this,Lares are sometimes categorised as household gods,but some had much broader domains: roadways,seaways,agriculture,livestock,towns,cities (like New Rome at CJ),the state,and its military (the cohorts) were all under the protection of their particular Lar or Lares.

Compared to Rome's major deities,Lares had limited scope and potency,but archaeological and literary evidence attests to their central role in Roman identity and religious life.

So,while in Camp Jupiter they are treated a bit like trash,together with their fauns,in Ancient Rome they were extremely important. They were like minor gods that protected you,your family,your whole city and military force. And that's something big especially for the Roman Empire because they were literally everywhere during their golden years.

Nico has the ability to literally controll minor romans deities (that works as protective domestic gods) with just one of his fingers. And they listen to him because he has the power to do so.

Of course Lares in HoO have a totally different role from the one in roman mythology. But they are ghosts right? So it doesn't matter what status they have,they will always be under Nico control no matter what,because they are portrayed as ghosts even with their larger role. Because Nico is the Ghost King and every ghost is under him.

Crazy right?

Well,HoH kinda fucked that up with the fact that the roman skeletons/ghosts weren't attacking under his command and Frank had to step up as a leader role.

I'm going to be honest here,I don't like how Riordan gave the children of Mars and Ares control over the dead soldiers that were killed/died in wars/conflicts. It's too much and it doesn't really rappresent their nature. I liked how Frank finally grow up in his own role and he got rid of his insecurities,but the fact that it happened in that way wasn't really something I appreciated. I liked more when he had to cleanse Venice from all the monsters to have Nico and Hazel back (even tho I didn't like his attitude towards Nico during that mission).

Nico showed he could have control over the dead from the Roman Pantheon part,since in SoN he made every ghost shut up with just a movement of his hand and they were hopeless to him. They couldn't go against his order. And now in HoH,in the place where he and Hazel should be the strongest of the group (even with the fact he is half dying already),you are telling me that the deads won't listen to him because he isn't roman? Where is the logic at??

When they were trapped in the palace of the God Notus he was literally training with the scepter,to make sure it was in tune with his powers,for when they reached his dad's temple. That's something both him and Jason talked about before Nico got angry at him (valid),and he even said he got a good hand of it. So yes,he already used it once and the dead responded to his summoning without a problem. The scepter itself should act as a sort of amplifier to strengthen Nico's powers.

And then you want me to believe that the dead took one look at Nico and decided he was too greek for them? When a couple of chapters before they responded to his command and at the start of the serie Nico literally made roman dieties shut up?

Riordan need to stop adding powers to Nico if he realized they are too much for him to write,or because he don't want someone esle to overshadow his favorite MC. He put himself in deep trenches when he stated that Percy was the most powerful demigod of this century,when there are characters that are his equals (all the Big 3 kids) by just their parentage. And of course,there are also character more powerful than him too,be it demigods,gods,monsters,primordials,titans and the list goes on.

And if he want to add more powers,then he don't have the right take them away with stupid reasoning,or just completely forgot about them after 2 lines (like Nico's sword). A side character can still be stronger than the MC without overshadowing him,you just need to balance them well. Which it's something he never did because Nico is clearly nerfed in everything.

This is not how it work.

[mermaidsirennikita]

Interesting convo about the suitability of Ancient Rome as a setting for historical romance led to the question of "If Ancient Rome not okay for historical romance setting, why Regency okay" (a good convo to have, imo), which then led to "Regency okay because we can say this duke was good to his servants which is an acceptable handwave; no acceptable handwave for Ancient Rome".

With the implication being that because the everyday exploitation is VISIBLE in Ancient Rome, whereas it's Off Elsewhere for the dukes (who benefited, let us be clear, from an empire based on slavery, indentured servitude, and colonialism, whether or not they WANTED TO), the dukes can get a handwave

And I find that. Pretty bad tbh.

[amaltheas-garden]

people still shocked that in the year of our lord 2024 some of us don't want to see Dany get her 'happy ending' by becoming the white savior who was promised

[purpleshadow-star]

Imagine if Nico could learn to control when he turns into shadows.

Like, in The Blood of Olympus Nico would start fading after shadow traveling too much, and sometimes Reyna and Coach Hedge wouldn't be able to touch him, and one time he even accidentally walked through a tree. Imagine if he learned to control that intangibility.

Imagine if he could just turn parts of his body into shadows. Imagine if, in a fight, someone swings at him, and he knows he can't dodge in time, so he turns into shadows for a second so the weapon goes right through him, and while his enemy is confused he uses the distraction to land the final blow.

Imagine if he could just walk/reach through walls and doors and stuff.

I just think that, for someone with the title of ghost king (and as a child of the Underworld), he deserves more ghost-like powers.

[lovely-hikari-cosplay]

🌐⚡️Eva, Fairy of Glitch⚡️🌐

•

Perhaps the character I’m most excited about their development over time. Eva literally spawned of me wanting to draw an off color Tecna figurine that had lavender hair rather than pink, and as time went on they became something totally separate 🩵 Granted, Tecna is still a significant part of her backstory, but Eva is feeling less and less like a Tecna stand-in as I develop them. She almost has potential to be the central character, but I kinda get stuck on how I want them to proceed in terms of getting their closure, without saying too much 🤫

[sillygoofyqueer]

Deity Jester Wei Wuxian AU because I really like it I don't CARE if you guys have no taste (/silly). What a shit ending to that last one was though, I was obviously some form of deluded with that ending. Jesus CHRIST. When Wei Ying returns to Master, he is furious. He wants to kill him, to rip him apart slowly and remind him that although he may hold the key to controlling him, Wei Ying can still fight back. He already has, once. It was a minimal, small struggle, one that had seemed to tear him apart inside, but it was enough. A sign that he does not need to resign himself to being forced to complete Master's every whim and want. It's what fuels him to pulling the poor wood that hides a room off its metal bindings as he enters Master's space, feeling that familiar tug in his chest that usually signals a transformation, but he still can't free himself of this cage of flesh and blood so he can only growl in frustration. Master is lounging in that pathetic chair of his, obviously having been waiting for him to enter, lips pressed against that damn instrument and already playing the tune that leaves him feeling separate from his own body.

At first, he can ignore it, clinging to his body - it's so heavy to move it, so heavy in a way it hasn't been since the deaths of his mama and papa - and dragging himself forwards towards the man himself. But, there's something about this melody that feels different. It seems to echo, reverberating around the room and thudding into his mind every time it bounces off a surface; it hurts, every thud another rip in his control, until he can no longer keep himself in control. He doesn't even hear the orders that Master gives him, but can only watch and vaguely feel himself moving somewhere, doing something, but then it all goes dark. He can't think, can't move, can't open his eyes. He just. Exists. It feels almost similar to how he existed after being chased out of his home when his parents had died, hidden beneath a tree and clinging to his mama's cloak as it rotted in his hands. He wonders if this is what death is like.

Wei Ying's master, known to most as Wen Haoran, moves in to take the throne after he is sure that all other competition is gone. The monster took care of all of them, but the way it had refused to attack the children had him worried. However, they were dealt with, it was dealt with, and now he can easily take over command of the country. The commoners cannot do anything, and it is easy to pit the old court loyal to the previous crown against one another with carefully placed pieces of 'incriminating evidence' that ties all of them to him in some way or another. Rumours and whispers, letters and bribes, all linked back to him in some way or another, falsified to suit his purposes. The infighting weeds out the weak ones who come begging for his support a few weeks in, the strong ones who end up swarmed as more 'evidence' piles up against them, and the smart ones. The ones who merely pretend to bend to his will. They are dealt with swiftly, leaving his control of the throne secure.

History unfolds from that moment, time passing as Wen Haoran's rule marks the start of Wen control of the country, rules doling out to become more and more oppressive as time goes on. Nobody can explain how he gained the throne, can only speculate while he tucks away the ancient, mould-ridden text that holds a short, vague passage on the monster with the melody that summons it. While he doesn't want anyone else to learn about his methods for his takeover, he wishes to ensure that future generations of the Wen also have the knowledge in case they need to summon the monster. It's stupid enough, it won't even recognise them considering it didn't even know his name, so it can be utilised again as long as the melody is played by them. So, he creates an inner library, hidden within his chambers (the chambers of the ruler), that holds all of the secrets his family should need to know to keep control of this country, one that is finally taking shape to be a truly great place. It is a secret that is passed down from ruler to ruler at first, but one that fades with time, until eighty years have passed and Wen Haoran is long dead, with Wen Ruohan on the throne.

Wen Ruohan is unlike his ancestor in that he is outwardly cruel. He is power hungry, a maniac that cares not for appearances - the Wen have been on the throne for this long, their power is practically absolute, and everyone has grown complacent with the treatment doled out to everyone within the country. Whatever the Wen ask, you do, or you face certain death. Rumours flit around that they are using dark magic but honestly, none of the rulers are even aware of the secret room within their chambers and, even if they were, would not think to find any sort of magic present in their ancestor's work. Wen Ruohan is just evil alone, he does not need any cursed magic or object to taint his mind. A clear indicator of his cruelty is when he asks the prestigious families to send a son into the palace so they can learn their roles; they can do nothing but send them over despite their fear and mistrust of this tyrannical ruler with his equally fucked up sons.

It's not long before these boys from prominent families have different tasks doled out to them that seem to mock the individual family's greatest pride - Nie Mingjue is placed as a Duizhu (captain of a company), meaning he is working with woefully less soldiers than he usually would, an insult to his expertise of battle. Jiang Cheng is now a fisherman for the Wen, supplying them with the best fish - an insult to the family revered for their trade and control of the waterways. Jin Zixuan? A retainer for Wen Chao, who delights in ordering around a member of the family that poses the most threat with their almost natural talents of politicking and charming all those that cross them (well, until you talk to Jin Guangshan, of course). And Lan Wangji, the one to willingly go to the palace so that his brother could still be the heir of the Lan family, a scholar dedicated to documenting the illustrious history of the Wens and whatever strikes their fancy, spitting on the Lans' own well-documented, impressive history and their unparalleled scholarly arts.

Lan Wangji despises his place in the palace, forced to sit in the library every day and read through pages and pages of the Wens' lies, writing down everything that could be deemed even remotely important to the Wens so that he doesn't have to go back and read through them if he misses something. This task is not straightforward even with his length, because every time one of the royals ask him to research something else, he must stop his documentations of the Wen to learn everything about the subject asked until he has enough information written down to appease those that have asked for it. It's long and tedious enough already, and every time he has to pause, it adds more time to what he has to do. It gets worse when he realises that there is vagueness around the beginning of the rule of the Wen - something that Wen Ruohan will not tolerate if he is presented with it, forcing Lan Wangji to ask for more resources on that part of history.

Coincidentally, a servant stumbles across the secret library while cleaning the room, having done the impossible and accidentally knocked a statue resting against the untouched books in the study. They look inside, assuming this is just another part to the library of the study, and dust off all of the books - they notice two books in particular - small, handbound. 'The beginning of the Wens' and an unnamed, mould-covered book. They don't think much of it, just remembering that that blasted Lan was asking for more resources on the former subject and so grabbing that without much thought to go give it to the Lan, then grabbing the mould-covered book just because it will surely be a pain in the ass for the Lan to decipher. They leave the hidden library, being sure to reset everything after they're gone, and go to give the books to the Lan. They honestly assume that the other inner servants know about it, so they don't mention anything as they deliver the book to Lan Wangji, who practically glares down at it as he opens it for more bullshit to be delivered.

[kiyomitakada]

did you guys know that death note is good and i like it

[dykedvonte]

I keep seeing fanarts of ppl's OC's being on the ship, so do you think that if there was 6st crewmember (specifically, another woman) Anya would've been more safe? Like, someone to actually call Jimmy's begaviour out, someone Anya might wanna trust? Is there a possibility something might have changed (even if a little) or it would not have mattered at all?

-💀

I feel like the game would make it part of the commentary on where she would believe and help Anya but still be sort of dismissive? Like the whole “don’t waste time crying and being scared keep going and move on, don’t let him win”. It’s supposed to be positive and reinforcing but sometimes it does more damage in those times of mourning and grief, it feels patronizing, like you don’t understand what you’re going through but they do. Even if they did call out his behavior it’s still on Curly to act and while another voice would help, it’s still 4 against 2 on guys that don’t get it until they have to vs women who always have to.

I don’t mind mouthwashing OCs but I do get a bit bored as they tend to be borderline saviors or like Jimmy aligned. They are either more complicit than Curly or just Jimmy haters for no reason, outside of what the creators know about what he did to Anya. I am never irked by OCs but in a story like mouthwashing you really need to think about what your character adds to the commentary, especially if they are there during the crash. It’s nice to have like characters on Anya’s side more whole heartedly and interesting to see characters who placate Jimmy but sometimes it’s one note.

I can’t and don’t want to police peoples OCs it’s never my intention when I comment on trends I notice, but I do feel like the way people make their OCs interact with these two characters and especially Curly, really show a grave misunderstanding of the narrative and these characters as people vs roles in the story. Still, I know people just make up characters for fun and that’s fine. Great even, but I guys I’m focusing more on OCs that are supposed to have those serious dynamics. My favs tend to be pretty-Tulpar or post-Tulpar au OCs.

The inevitably of the crash is on Jimmy. He did that not because he wasn’t stopped but because all his means to kill Anya were taken. The gun, the axe. Even if Curly did strip him of his co-pilot privileges and try to keep him contained there’s only so many people. An extra body helps but they have jobs they have to do, he’s the only one steering the whole ship and Jimmy would likely have an out: food, bathroom, etc. He’s not new and if he couldn’t crash the ship directly, who’s to say he wouldn’t sabotage something else? A clunker like the Tulpar wouldn’t take much. An extra person helps but it’s just another thing that prolongs what a person like Jimmy is willing to do to shirk responsibility.

It’s more than just needing someone to stand up to him and think that’s what is missing when it comes to inserting a character into the mouthwashing setting.

[ancha-aus]

RealAgeAU Drabble - Training

I am back with this AU :D @spotaus

This drabble is a lot earlier than the last few drabbles. shortly after Nightmare's first birthday, and kidnapping.

The gang decides they should really start to learn more about their new powers :3

First Drabble Prev Drabble Next Drabble

*------------------------*

Cross nods as he crosses his arms “You guys ready?”

Dust looks very unhappy to be up already, Horror is next to him trying to get him to stand up. Killer just grins and salutes “Yes sir!” and he throws in a wink.

Cross ignores the obvious flirt as he tells his own body to cool it. Not the time nor place.

Cross takes a deep breath and continues on with what he was saying “Good! It is time we do something which we should have done long ago.”

Killer raises a hand “Make out more?”

Dust just keeps laying in the dirt. Not making a single move to get up “We already do that now.”

Killer nods “We should still do it more.”

Cross sputters and glares “Training! We need to train!” They had tugged Nightmare in for a nap in a nice warm little nest in a sunny spot nearby them. He is still sound asleep and hopefully he will sleep right through this all.

Cross has high hopes for that as Nightmare seemed to hardly wake up whenever they made noise.

Cross glares at the two on the ground “I am serious!”

Horror chuckles and stands by his side “Calm Cookie.” And he rubs his shoulder and Cross feels part of him melt as Horror smiles at him. God what did he do to deserve them all?

Cross feels reassured and turns back to Killer and Dust his two more unmotivated mates, oooh he is still not over the fact he can call them his mates now! “I am serious! We need to practise our new powers!” especially with Nightmare suddenly getting new powers as well. They need to be prepared.

If… if anything like that kidnapping happens again… Cross had been so lucky his powers just… worked with him instead of doing the normal uncontrollable flickering in and out of view. They need to practise this and work on it! They need to be ready!

Killer sighs as he leans on his hand “How do we plan to do that exactly? I don’t have something that we can just work with without going around town and telling lies and hoping it doesn’t backfire. And Dusty still shocks us when he gets overcharged.”

Dust just points at Killer as if to say ‘what he said.’

Horror hums “May be hard… but we need to practise and learn. Having the powers and magic won’t be useful until we can control them and know their limits.”

Cross nods “We can’t count on powers we can’t control. Even if we can’t control it we need to at least understand our limits a bit better.”

Killer pouts “You guys are my limit.” Then he grins and winks as he finger guns at them “And my weakness.”

Dust groans from the ground as he just covers his face with his arm “Can’t believe I agreed to this madness.”

Killer grins and pokes his cheek “You did! And now you are stuck with me!” Killr sounds very happy about it.

Cross glares “Guys I am serious! What is Nightmare gets taken again and we can’t do anything because we don’t understand our powers!?”

Killer’s face grows dark as he crosses his arms “Won’t happen again.”

Cross glares “We don’t know that. That is why we need to practise and learn.” He checks his mates. Killer sighs but gives in with a pout and a nod. Dust may not have moved but he is still here which counts. Horror had been down for this idea from the start.

Cross nods “Good!”

Dust speaks from the ground “How exactly?”

Cross frowns as he thinks “well… we need to figure out what triggers the powers… So try some stuff…” He stands up taller “I will go first!” It is easy! He did this before. He knows how to train and practise new skills or ideas for moves. He just needs to get in the right mindset.

Horror nods and joins Killer and Dust, forcing Dust to sit up right as well.

Cross takes a few deep breaths. Something about his magic makes him able to be invisible. Lets try that first.

He thinks about hiding. About staying out of sight. About following people quietly.

Cross opens a socket but sees this three boyfriends still watching him. Okay. He is still visible.

Mmh.

Cross closes his sockets and thinks. Hiding. Being invisible. Not being noticed.

No exclaim that it worked.

Cross stops as he taps his chin in thought. He is doing something wrong with this. He doesn’t even feel his magic react to his request.

Killer leans on a hand as he watches “No luck?”

Cross shakes his skull “Not yet… It doesn’t react to me thinking and wanting to hide or anything like it… I figured that would be a trigger at least.”

Horror frowns “Nothing?”

Cross sighs as he rubs his neck “Nothing.”

Dust yawns as he watches “Maybe it wasn’t hiding. You weren’t exactly hiding when you went after those assholes who took Nightmare.”

Cross frowns and shakes his skull “I was thinking about following them and not being noticed.” Neither worked.

Dust yawns “I would say you were doing a bit more than just being not noticed or following them but sure. It is a start.”

Killer shoots Dsut a look “I mean. We always notice him anyway.”

Dust snorts and nods “Very true.”

Horror looks at both of them disapproving but shoots him an apologetic smile.

Cross however knows he has a frown on his face. Thinking back to when his powers tended to activate… Generally it was when he wanted to hide or not be seen. But when he thought about more context to when he wanted that. Then it only happened when he was already nervous about something. Normally in some way related to them being discovered and found. Or more specifically, Nightmare being found.

But when it reacted? When it actually did what he wanted and needed? It was when he was focused on hunting down the pieces of filth that took their babybones…

Cross takes another deep breath and focuses. He thinks back to that mad dash. That rushed feeling. The need to get his baby back to his side right that second.

That is when this power had answered. That is when he had had most control. Without even needing to think. It had moved and done what he wanted without having to focus.

It isn’t about focus.

It isn’t about control.

It is about trust.

Cross forces his shoulders to relax. Focusses on the trust he feels in his mates. The trust in himself to do what he can. That he is able.

“Cross you are doing it!”

Cross opens a socket and watches as patches of him are hidden and others aren’t. It doesn’t feel like being gone or being unnoticed… It feels like parts of him are covered in a thin blanket. Cross mentally grabs it and just imagines wrapping himself with it.

And he is gone from view.

“Cross you did it!” Killer cheers “Way to go Crossy!”

Cross however has no control. It is like how he trusts his body to catch him when he jumps off something. How he trusts his body to run and catch him. How he trusts his movement.

It isn’t just a power he can lead or learn to control. It is different. It is like his body.

Cross takes a few steps around. Noticing that he is completely silent as well. huh. Strange. Still Cross speaks just to test “Seems like it isn’t only sight. My steps are much more silent than I am used to.”

Dust tilts his skull confused “Well.. .when you speak we can hear you just fine…”

Horror hums “Like when you want to speak you are obvious. But otherwise hidden.”

Cross shakes his skull and his mates blink confused at him. Cross glances down and sees his is visible again. Huh. As soon as he wanted-no, tried to communicate nonverbal he became visible again.

It isn’t focus. It isn’t thought.

Cross looks up at them “It is instinct.”

Horror, Killer and Dust all share confused looks before looking at Cross.

Cross shakes his skull as he tries to put his thoughts into words “It is instincts. These powers? It is more than just power or magic or movements. It is more than skill. It is about…” he can’t find the words. It is so strange. He is used to having to practise and work and try again and again. Failing over and over until you finally get the basics and then you work from there.

The powers are still finicky. Unpredictable. But they are there. Ready to work at just the right… need? Want? Wish? Hope? Anything for them to work.

Killer hums thoughtful “huh… maybe that is why my stuff just… acts the whole time? Because when I tell white lies I want people to believe it? So it just does the thing…” He frowns “especially with the woman in fur and mud… explains why she hasn’t tried to sue us yet.”

Dust glares at him “Don’t tempt faith…” but he leans on his leg “Doesn’t explain my stuff… the static just grows a lot… and if I don’t use magic we get another thunder storm situation.”

Horror shakes his skull “it does make sense. You want to protect Nightmare. Be ready. Your magic and body and power work together to have everything it needs to act right away.”

Dust frowns before huffing as he looks to the side “Whatever.”

Cross feels his soul give a little flutter. Can you blame him?! Dust looks so embarrassed wit his tiny blush!

Killer grins as Horror “Your turn H!”

Cross nods and quickly changes places with Horror.

Horror seems to think as he stands there. Considering the ground for a moment before making a pulling motion.

The ground shudders and a tiny piece of ground seems to slowly move over while other ground moves to fill in the space left behind.

Killer sighs as he leans against his knee as he stares “Looking good!”

Cross can’t help but agree. Horror has somehow figured his stuff out just passively. By careful and gentle nudging and feeling the powers out. He hadn’t been able to explain just muttered about moving what felt natural.

Killer had sighed wishfully that he wished he could do that stuff.

Cross for one is happy Killer doesn’t have this power. He would either try to dig a very deep hole or just make a very large tower. Cross isn’t sure which option would be worse.

Horror shrugs as he moves back to the group. He joins them and Dust leans against his side. Staring hard at the ground that moved so effortlessly for Horror.

Cross smiles at Horror “amazing.”

Horror shrugs as he mutters “It is physical. I don’t create or destroy stuff. It is about moving stuff one way and pushing other stuff to fill what is left…” he shrugs.

Dust chuckles as he just leans against Horror “That is amazing…” he stares at his own hand and frowns.

Horror just pulls him closer as Killer leans happily against Dust with a large grin “Your lightning is real cool~” Killer lowers his voice in a purr as he keeps staring at Dust. Cross isn’t sure if Killer is trying to flirt right now, or force Dust to believe what he says even if Killer knows his power doesn’t work against them. Killer just continues to talk when he sees Dust roll his eyes. Killer purrs and just lays on Dust as he purrs at him. Dust looks away from him with a tiny blush.

Killer grins and purrs “So much power. Just at the tips of your fingers. Only thing keeping it from exploding and destroying everything is your control and stubbornness to keep it tempered down~ Yet not once did you ever zap Nighty with it.” Killer grins wider as Dust starts to blush and look embarrassed.

Yeah. Cross gets it. Killer can get intense with his affection… Cross also still gets overwhelmed with it.

Cross is happy they know how to help Dust. It sometimes stings a little that those three had already been so close long before Cross joined them. He notices it with moments like these. When he is lost in what to do or how to act or help and-

Oh no Kiler is watching him.

Killer looks at him critically before grinning and pulling him closer until he is right up against Dust and Killer expends to cover both their laps.

Killer grins at Cross with a clearly mischievous look in his eyes “Great idea Cross! And you figured your stuff out so quickly! You just needed a moment to learn and study your skill and boom! You understand it! and thanks to that we could better understand ours! Fucking brilliant and fucking talented. Skilled beyond believe and you know yourself and your magic so well which just makes this so much more impressive!”

Cross knows he is blushing. He tugs his little bandana up to try and cover part of his face. His bandana had been a gift from the others… because he mentioned how he used to have his own bandana much like blue used to have. And they just got him a new one. It is a nice grey one with purple stripes. It is soft and fuck now he is just more embarrassed as he tries to hide from Killer’s compliments with the very gift his mates gave him!

Horror doesn’t stop it. Instead he just smiles at them with that handsome little smile as Dust and him just have to suffer through the storm of compliments.

Killer grins as he looks so happy as he just stares up at them from his spot of honour “And then you guys just look fucking amazing when we have some time to ourselves as well.”

Cross glares as he feels like his skull will explode and he hisses “Killer. Not with Nightmare so close.”

Killer laughs and winks at them “It is fine. He is asleep anyway-”

A small yawn “Are we cuddling?”

They turn around and spot Nightmare standing next to them. One hand rubbing his sockets while he other is holding unto one of the blankets from his other nest.

Dust is quick to focus on their baby “We are taking a break from practise. You slept well?”

Nightmare yawns again and climbs over Killer to get to the spot where Cross and Dust sit against one another. Nightmare gets to his spot which makes him able to snuggle into both their sides. A happy little hum as he closes his sockets.

Cross carefully takes the little blanket and tugs it around their little child. All cozy and comfortable.

Killer’s purring has only grown in volume as he watches them. Perfectly comfortable to lay across their laps with Nightmare snuggled in against all three of their sides.

Horror pulls them closer and sighs happily “A break sounds perfect.”

Cross laughs and nods. Sure they hadn’t practised much yet but they already got their goal completed. Which was to better understand their powers.

Now? He just wants to enjoy this moment. How comfortable and loved he feels between his mates with their son.

*------------------------*

First Drabble Prev Drabble Next Drabble

[rileys-battlecats]

girl help I started writing down oc thoughts and have started contemplating the logistics of how a city carved into the walls of a ravine would have access to fresh water

[beanghostprincess]

Usopp obtaining Conqueror's haki makes so much sense to me and I genuinely think he deserves it on Elbaf please please please

[lucyshypemaster]

you will NEVER see anyone writing paragraphs after paragraphs hating on keefe like they do with sophie.