#nenna writes

[nanenna]

Title: The Parent Trap Fandoms: Batman (DC Comics) and Danny Phantom Ships: None AUs: Demon Twins Warnings: Character injury, discussions of death.

Summary: It was just an ordinary night on patrol until...

“We need an evac,” Dick said, cutting the chatter off, “bird down.”

“Spoiler, you’re the closest to the cave. Nightwing, who’s with you?” Barb asked, “And how bad is the injury?”

“Robin,” Dick replied with some confusion before adding on with confidence, “a leg injury, we’re pretty sure it’s broken.”

“Robin?” Tim couldn’t help blurting out, looking over at Damian next to him, perched on his bike in full Robin costume. “But here’s right here, with me.”

---

Damian had been acting strange for the week or so. Rather, Robin had been acting strange for the last week. Not many people actually lived full time in the manor anymore, but everyone agreed that during the day he was his usual self. During patrols, however, he was simply a little… off. Like tonight for instance: Batman was away from Gotham on official Justice League business and Nightwing had agreed to cover his usual patrol route; normally Robin would tag along with Nightwing, giving the excuse that he needed to make sure Dick did the route correctly while everyone knew the demon brat really just wanted to spend more time with his favorite brother. But tonight…

“I will be joining you on your case, Drake.”

“You will?” Tim asked skeptically. Dick had already suited up and left, yet instead of scrambling to go catch up here Damian was, already all suited up, demanding to join Tim of all people.

“You are doing a stake out for street racers, correct? What will you do when they inevitably split to lose you?”

He sadly had a point, having someone else there would help. “Are you going to stab me?”

Robin didn't say anything, simply stood there and stared Tim down.

After standing there for a full minute, Tim sighed and headed for the vehicle bay, Robin hot on his heels. Without another word they donned helmets and slung legs over their bikes. Weird, but not unheard of, just another thing that was a little off. Not that Tim was entirely unhappy, he wanted a chance to observe Damian’s behavior. Even if he thought Dick was more likely to get Damian to open up.

…

And Tim was bored. The first half of patrol was quiet and uneventful, the street racers hadn’t shown up at their usual time/place yet, and Damian hadn’t said a damn thing the whole night. It’d just been the two of them riding around, not finding anything that needed their attention, and just being… normal. At least the usual chatter from the others was there to keep him company.

“We need an evac,” Dick said, cutting the chatter off, “bird down.”

There was a moment of silence.

“Spoiler, you’re the closest to the cave. Nightwing, who’s with you?” Barb asked, “And how bad is the injury?”

“Robin,” Dick replied with some confusion before adding on with confidence, “a leg injury, we’re pretty sure it’s broken.”

“Robin?” Tim couldn’t help blurting out, looking over at Damian next to him, perched on his bike in full Robin costume. “But here’s right here, with me.” The shadows around them grew deeper, seemed to sharpen.

“What? No, I’m looking right at him.”

“Well so am I!” 

“I’ve got your cams up and… well shit,” Barb murmured.

“Oracle,” Damian? Robin? Some imposter? said into the quiet comms, a hand up to his helmet, “send me Nightwing’s location.”

“Robin,” Oracle started, only to be interrupted.

“We’re in sector 36,” Damian? Robin? Some imposter? replied, going so far as to give longitude and latitude coordinates and a description of the building roof they’re on.

“Copy that,” Damian? Robin? Some imposter? said before revving his bike’s engine and taking off.

Tim would never admit to nearly losing him due to sheer shock. Too busy screaming “What the fuck” in his own head to remember he needed to follow, but follow he did. This… this might explain Damian’s strange behavior over the past couple weeks. If there was an imposter running around with them, but they would have surely noticed, right?

“We can’t have everyone abandoning their patrols!” Barb said in clear frustration. Heard clearly because the chatter was still gone, nothing but dead silence. You would think everyone would be demanding answers, peppering the Robins with non-stop questions. Hell, Tim wanted to, but he was too busy keeping his bike under him as he chased after his Robin.

“Red Robin and I are on motorcycles,” Damian? Robin? Some imposter? told Barb, “which means we have the small vehicle first aid kits, including analgesics, splints, and extra bandages.”

“We could use the splints,” Dick said faintly.

“And doing first aid before evac arrives means less time faffing about once Spoiler arrives.”

Tim nearly crashed, barely righting his bike. To hear Damian’s voice say “faffing about” was just… weird. Does that mean Tim’s Robin was the imposter?

“You all are faffing about right now,” Damian? Robin? Some imposter? grumbled before hissing.

“Stay still,” Dick chided.

Okay, so maybe “faffing” was a phrase Damian had recently learned from a classmate or something, Tim sure didn’t know. And oh thank god, they must have arrived. Damian? Robin? Some imposter? was parked on the sidewalk, helmet already off and just pulling the field kit from the bike’s storage. He didn’t even spare Tim a glance, simply looked up at the very tall building, looked down at his grapple, shrugged, put the grapple away, and then lifted off the ground and into the air.

“Shit,” Tim said softly but with feeling.

“What?” Barb asked, clearly very tense.

“I think my Robin was the imposter, he just flew up the building. Like Kryptonian flew.” Is this Jon? Were he and Damian pulling a Bruce and Clark? Except it couldn’t be, Jon had started packing on muscles while Damian was still in the lanky growing-taller-before-filling-out stage.

“Really, akhi?” Damian? Robin? Some imposter? asked in exasperation.

“Hey, the jig is well and truly up at this point,” Damian? Robin? Some imposter? replied.

Okay, that was really weird to hear in Damian’s voice. And oh wait, maybe Tim should get up there too.

“Oh shit, there really is two of them!” Dick said in shock. “Uh… hello there… other Robin?”

“Hello Nightwing, I brought the kit. I…” Damian paused, then sighed into the comm, “akhi, what did you do?”

Damian tsked, “Nothing for you to worry about.”

“Your leg is broken!” Damian yelled.

“Did you see that with your x-ray vision?” Damian asked.

“Contrary to popular belief, I’m not Kryptonian,” Damian replied. “I don’t have x-ray vision.”

“Sure sound Kryptonian,” Tim muttered under his breath. The Robin that flew had slipped into a faint Midwestern drawl that reminded him of Clark.

“Can you just give me the kit?” Dick asked both warily and wearily.

“Right, yes. Here.” 

Tim had made it onto the roof by that point, just in time to watch one of the Robins hand over the kit to Nightwing before kneeling next to the other Robin, who had his leg stretched out in front of him while he sat half propped up on his elbows. The laying down Robin (the real one? The one that hasn’t shown any meta powers yet, anyway. Is one of them the real Robin or were they both imposters?) let himself fall fully on his back and held a hand out. The meta(?) Robin kneeled next to him and took his hand. “You’re going to be okay.”

“I am more worried about you, you’re not used to this.”

“Yeah, normally I’m the only one getting hurt, and I usually don’t have bones when that happens.” Imposter Robin laughed at that.

“What the fuck?” Tim said under his breath, what does that mean?

“Focus,” Dick chided as Tim came to join him in tending to Damian’s(?) injury.

“Batcopter ETA five minutes,” Barb said. “Agent A has the medbay prepped.”

Imposter Robin flinched at that. Odd.

“Focus,” Dick hissed. “Save the mystery for after we get our downed bird home.”

Tim almost pointed out they couldn't be sure either Robin was even the real one, but a scathing look from Dick that burned even through the domino white outs had Tim snapping his mouth shut. Instead he nodded and set about helping Dick set and splint Robin's leg.

Steph arrived right on time, between Dick, imposter Robin, and Tim they got the real(?) Robin loaded onto the batcopter. Then the imposter pulled something from his costume and tossed it at Dick.

“Keys?” Dick asked.

“We gotta get Robin's bike back to the cave somehow.” He hopped into the batcopter and settled next to the injured Robin.

Dick held out the keys, “And as Robin shouldn’t-”

“No,” the imposter interrupted. “I’m not leaving him.”

Seems it was Tim’s turn to be the voice of reason. He put a hand on Dick’s shoulder, “Robin trusts him, we’ll meet them back at the cave in a minute.” If the injured Robin even was the real Damian, if the imposter didn’t use his unknown powers to escape, if any slew of unpredictable situations. Holy hell, Tim could see why Bruce was so paranoid about knowing everything about everyone. He’d be in the middle of three panic attacks and an existential crisis on top of a heart attack if he were here right now. But he wasn’t, thankfully. Instead Tim pulled Dick away from the batcopter so Steph could take back off and head to the cave.

Soon Dick and Tim were on their respective bikes, Nightwing looking ridiculous on Robin’s candy apple red paint job, and were zooming through the streets at a pace that was while fast still gave Tim time to actually think. He went back over everything the two Robins had said since Nightwing had called in for an evac. And then it hit him.

“Akhi.”

“What about it?” Dick asked.

“It’s what they called each other.”

“Brother,” Cass added in her soft voice.

“Right, in Arabic. They called each other brother. And recently Robin told us about his twin brother.”

“Are you telling us that Robin’s twin brother came back from the dead and decided to just… join us on patrol?” Dick asked in disbelief.

“He told us several weeks ago, and has been acting odd on patrol for nearly two weeks now. If when he told us was when he found out, or at least started planning this, then they had a few weeks for Robin to give his twin a crash course on us before pulling this stunt.”

There was muffled laughter in the comms, but Tim wasn’t sure who.

“But why?” Oracle asked.

“A prank?” Dick asked.

“A test of some kind,” Tim said in a monotone. There was a double tap on the comm, Cass’s form of nonverbal agreement.

“The batcopter has arrived back at the cave,” Oracle informed them. Everyone else grew quiet, waiting for whatever was about to happen to happen.

“... -nk went too far,” Damian (or his twin?) was saying into the comm.

“TT, it did not,” Damian replied.

“You couldn’t taste their emotions,” okay that was the twin, and what a weird way to phrase that, “they were really scared.”

“You like the taste of fear.”

Wow, Damian, really not helping with how creepy your long dead twin is being.

“Well yeah, obviously, it’s delicious. That doesn’t mean it’s okay to go around purposefully scaring your family.”

Fear is delicious?!

“What does it matter? As you said, ‘the jig is up’ and the prank is over. We will have to explain ourselves when the others arrive.”

“Others like me?” Steph asked cheerfully.

“Great, time for the great bat interrogation,” the twin said with exactly zero enthusiasm.

“Not until Master Damian has been seen to,” Alfred said. Tim could just see the raised eyebrow.

Tim tuned the rest out as those actually in the cave set about the logistics of getting Damian moved to the medbay.

“He can taste fear?” Tim asked incredulously.

“You know as much as the rest of us,” Dick said back.

“Does that make him an empath? He said he’s not Kryptonian, would that make his power suite closer to a Marian? Wait, neither Talia nor Bruce have the meta gene, how’d he even get powers?”

“Maybe he got them from the Lazarus Pits?”

There was a snort in the comms, “Then why didn’t I get powers?”

“Hood? What’re you doing on our comms?” Dick sounded far too delighted.

“I have an alert set up for whenever your chatter stops, it’s always a bad sign.”

“Fair enough, you heading to the cave to meet the demon brat’s long lost twin?”

There was a scoff from Jason, “Of course!”

“Everyone’s headed for the cave,” Oracle said with a tone of defeat.

“Stuck in ops?” Dick asked.

“Well someone has to keep an ear on things while the rest of you get to go have fun.”

“We’ll keep our comms on.”

“You don’t have a choice.”

Tim and Dick both laughed at that. Fortunately they arrived back at the cave at that point, quickly parking their bikes and all but running over to the medbay. Steph was standing just outside the door, clearly keeping an eye on things while Alfred and the twin fussed over Damian. Tim and Dick went to go join Steph at the door, none of them willing to risk Alfred’s wrath should they get in his way. Cass joined them shortly after, all four staring as Alfred finished up what he could do for Damian. The demon brat was laid out on a medical cot, his costume set to the side, down to just the thin layer worn under the armor, mask already removed.

“Leslie has been called, she’ll be here in the morning with the necessary supplies. I’m afraid you will have to remain here until then, Master Damian.”

Damian tsked, but otherwise said nothing.

“And now I do believe we are all owed an explanation.” Alfred turned ever so slightly as his attention turned to Damian’s twin.

Damian responded by struggling in his bed.

“What are you doing, akhi?” the twin asked, clearly exasperated.

“I will be sitting up for this,” Damian snarled.

Without a word Alfred handed Damian the bed’s controls, allowing him to slowly raise himself into a reclined sitting position. Alfred raised a brow as if to ask if that would do, Damian only glowered at the wall.

The twin started pulling his domino off. Damian tsked yet again and handed his twin a wipe to help pull the mask off. “Ancients,” the twin said, which Dick mouthed in confusion, “you lot sure do love your theming. And I thought the ghosts had it bad.”

“Ghosts?” Tim mouthed, exchanging quick, confused glances with Dick.

“So yeah, hi. I’m Danny, Damian’s long lost twin.” The twin, now known as Danny, said with a little wave after he got the domino off. And there was no denying that he was Damian’s twin, he had Damian’s face in every feature save his eyes. While Damian clearly had Talia’s eyes, Danny’s were all Bruce.

“Everyone, this is my brother, Danyal Al Ghul Wayne.”

“Legally not my name anymore.”

“Legally?” Tim asked.

“Yeah, I got adopted!” Danny grinned again, all sunshine and cheer that was so wrong when he had Damian’s face.

Tim snorted, Bruce’s kid had been adopted. Oh things just got complicated but the irony of Brucie being on the other end of a kid getting adopted was still a fun kind of irony. Or maybe Tim had gotten to the everything-is-hilarious stage of sleep depravation.

“So what is your legal name?” Dick asked.

“Um… I’m not sure I should tell you that.” Danny fidgeted nervously. “Not yet anyway. I mean, Bruce… uh… our father? Isn’t here and like… shouldn’t he be told? Too? Or first? Honestly I’d rather just be able to tell everyone at the same time rather than having to go over the whole thing every time someone new walks in the door.”

As if he had timed it to happen that way, Jason came roaring into the cave on his bike. There was a collective sigh as everyone crowding around the outside of the door knew they’d have to wait for Jason to get there before things could continue, even if he had been listening in along with Oracle on his way in.

Danny’s face lit up as Jason, still wearing his full Red Hood gear, came into view. He whooped and threw both hands in the air as he ran out the door, somehow not even touching any of the vigilantes crowded in the way.

Jason stopped dead, his own hands raised up halfway in front of him as if unsure what to do. Danny just slapped both of Jason’s with his own in a kind of low five, then bounced excitedly in place. “Undead solidarity, yeah!”

“Uh… what?” Jason’s modulated voice asked in its usual monotone.

“I’ve been dying to meet you!”

“Heh, have you? Were you dead set on meeting the best?”

Damian groaned, “Stop encouraging Danyal’s insipid sense of humor.”

“Yeah, you’re the best!” Danny continued as if Damian hadn’t said a thing, “My favorite new brother!”

Dick gasped and clutched his chest.

Jason pointed at him and laughed as he slung an arm over Danny’s shoulders. “I see you are a kid of taste. How do you feel about Jane Austen.”

Danny winced, “My dude, I’m a guy in high school.”

“And so was I once, but we can’t all have my impeccable taste.” He started walking Danny back over to the medbay. “Anyway, Bruce shouldn’t be back until tomorrow afternoon, we really going to wait that long for the whole story?”

Danny winced, then cursed quietly under his breath. “We’ll have to, something just came up.”

Everyone frowned at that, “What do you mean?” Damian asked.

“The real deal got into a fight and uh… they’re pretty strong. I think I’m gonna need to recombine.”

“What?” Jason said, it was hard to tell if the flatness was his own voice or the modulator.

“Oh uh… I’m a… what’s that word again… doppelganger! That’s it. The main body’s back home and,” he winced again, a bruise blooming across his cheek in real time. No, in double time, it was like watching a time lapse of a bruise blooming and slowly starting to heal. “Look, having my attention and powers split like this is normally fine, a good way to keep my powers in check for fighting normal humans actually. But uh… let’s see… I think I’m fighting Plasmius?”

“We don’t know who that is,” Damian said with a sigh. “He keeps saying names of people or things like I’ll know what it means.”

“It means I can’t afford to have my attention and powers split over two bodies, so I’m about to poof. Sorry. But I’ll be back tomorrow, summon me after school Dami?”

“Summon?” Everyone but the twins asked in confusion.

“Of course, Danyal. Good luck fighting your rogue.”

“I think the fruit loop counts as my arch nemesis, unfortunately. But I gotta sorta slide back, can’t have all of tonight’s memories and my half of the power hit me all at once. This might look a little freaky, but it’s normal and I’m fine I promise.”

Jason unslung his arm from Danny’s shoulder and took a step to the side. They all gawked as Danny closed his eyes and breathed out slowly, his breath frosting in what should be warm air. His face, the only part of him not covered by the Robin costume, started to go invisible at the same time his skin and hair started to gray. Then he was gone and the costume was left behind, slumping to the floor in a pile.

Everyone stood there for a moment, staring at the colorful pile of armor, then they all turned to look at Damian.

“TT, don’t ask me. I still don’t have a full list of everything he can do.”

---

Tim, along with everyone else, was at the manor the next afternoon. And he did mean everyone, even Kate, Harper, and Cullen were there. Hell, even Jason was there, on time no less. Damian had put “17:30 sharp” in the family (minus Bruce) chat and they knew he meant it. They were crowded into one of the larger sitting rooms, every chair filled save a chaise lounge that had been reserved for Damian. The boy of the hour arrived right on time, with five minutes leeway to set everything up.

“So tell me again who you want to introduce us to, chum?” Bruce asked as he followed behind Damian. Alfred brought up the rear, a plate of fresh cookies in hand.

“I haven't told you yet, Father. Have some patience, it will all make sense soon.” Damian settled on the lounge, setting his crutches to lean against it before pulling something out of his pocket. It was a small metal container, he popped it open and pulled out what appeared to be a bright green handkerchief. Very bright green, possible letting off light, neon toxic green. Duke made a soft surprised sound. Damian spread the cloth out on the coffee table in front of him and smoothed it out.

“Damian,” Bruce said carefully, “what is that?”

“A summoning circle, obviously.”

Wait, Danny was serious about being summoned?

“Can… can you even summon living people?” Dick leaned over from where he was perched on the couch’s arm to whisper to Cass, who was perched behind Tim on the couch’s back. Tim and Cass both shrugged.

“Damian, dealing with the occult is very dangerous.”

“It’s quite safe, Father.” Damian pointed down at the white markings on the handkerchief, “Since all the sigils are on here permanently there is no chance of making a mistake drawing them by hand. This group here is his name, this circle can summon one person and one person only. The rest of these are for protection. And this spot here,” Damian tapped on a small circle within the outer ring, “is to activate it. It does require a single drop of blood, it was the safest way to make the circle.”

“Blood?” Bruce asked flatly.

“It will make sense when I call him, do you trust me?”

“I’m not sure I trust whoever this “him” is,” Bruce grumbled.

“But do you trust me, Father?”

Bruce sighed, “You promise whoever this is means us no harm?”

“Of course, I promise.”

“I met the young man last night,” Alfred said as he placed the plate of cookies in the circle. “I found him to be polite and sincere.”

“So this is to do with whatever happened last night that I can’t get any of you to tell me about?”

“We want to explain it ourselves,” Damian said firmly. Then he pulled out a batarang and carefully poked a finger. “Blood of my blood, I call forth the spirit of my brother, Danyal.” He touched the drop of blood to the handkerchief, which lit up as the air around them shifted. 

A figure began floating up from the circle, glowing white hair that waved as if they were under water, ashen skin, glowing Lazarus green eyes, a wide smile filled with sharp fangs. This… this wasn’t Danny, was this? The figure seemed to be wearing some kind of black jumpsuit, white gloves picking up the plate of cookies as they passed through the plate. They had no legs, after the belt the body just continued in a long tapering tail that ended like whisps of smoke. They were glowing, they were slightly see through! What was going on?

This wasn’t the boy they’d met last night.

“Father, my brother. Danyal, our father.” Damian paused, then added on, “And the rest of our family.”

“Hi,” the figure chirped, then seemed to shrink into himself as he looked around. “I uh… prefer to be called Danny. The only people who full name me are usually trying to kill me. Or send me to detention.”

That was Damian’s, or rather Danny’s voice alright. Even still had the faint midwestern drawal.

“Why do you look so different?” Dick asked in shock.

“It’s… a long story. Which I’m supposed to tell everyone.” Danny shrunk further into himself, looking miserable. “Please stop being so scared.”

“They are simply adjusting to your unfamiliar form, they will get over it,” Damian said firmly, glaring at everyone in the room.

“It’s not just fear, Dami, they’re horrified.”

“Sit down, eat your cookies. Alfred worked hard on those.” Damian patted the empty space next to him on the chaise lounge. 

Danny turned and spun in place to sit down, looked down at where his tail was curled up under him, made a sour face, then the tail was suddenly replaced by a pair of legs tucked under him. He shoved a cookie into his mouth, now sporting normal teeth from what little Tim could see. “S’good,” Danny slurred, glancing over at Alfred who merely nodded his approval.

“Some time ago,” Damian started, as if that wasn’t the most vague way to start, “I summoned Danyal the first time. I am aware it was foolish, I will not hear about it.”

“I called him dumb already,” Danny added in. “I mean, I had to go find someone to explain how the circles work and what makes them safe or dangerous first, but yeah, I called him dumb. Then I had some friends help me make this,” Danny reached over and tapped the handkerchief, “then I went to three trusted uh… mentors? I guess I’d call them? And made sure with each of them this thing is legit before giving it to Dami.”

Bruce hadn’t moved, still standing in front of the coffee table, slack jawed, staring blankly down at Danny and Damian.

“Is he okay?” Danny stage whispered to Damian.

“Perhaps keeping it a surprise was not the optimal option.”

That seemed to snap Bruce out of it, “I think I need to sit down.”

Dick hopped up to guide Bruce to the nearest open seat, which happened to be the chaise lounge. Danny quickly flew up and moved to float cross legged in the air just on the other side of Damian, as if he were sitting in some invisible chair. He munched another cookie before offering the plate to Damian, who took a cookie for himself.

Once Bruce and Dick had settled back down, Damian decided to continue the story. “More recently I needed to do a covert investigation, but I couldn’t allow any of you know.”

“You what?” Bruce asked, clearly upset.

“I know, he still hasn’t even told me what it was. And I had to cover for him!” Danny sounded so offended.

“I had Danyal take my place in patrol while I was away.”

“When?” Bruce asked, voice dipping down as he leveled a steely glare at Damian.

“You never noticed, I think that speaks for itself. So as a test-”

Cass and Tim bumped fists.

“-Danyal has been joining us on patrols for the last twelve days.”

“Almost made it the full two weeks too,” Danny said airily. “That reminds me, you owe me fifty bucks.”

“What? No!” Damian shot back angrily. “They found out before the two weeks were up, clearly I won that bet and you owe me!”

“They didn’t figure it out, that part of the bet is a draw at best for you. No, the fifty is because you’re the reason they found out. It seems awfully suspicious you got into some kind of accident right before the deadline, how did you break your leg again?”

“I did not break my leg on purpose just to win a meaningless bet!”

“Okay, both of you need to calm down,” Bruce said, looking unsure if he needed to step between the two squabbling boys. “You… had a bet?”

“I bet fifty bucks I wouldn’t give myself away before the two weeks were up, Damian bet fifty bucks you’d figure me out before two weeks. And they didn’t figure it out.” Danny turned to glare at Damian as he said that last part.

“Fine,” Damian conceded with a pout. “I shall venmo you your winnings.”

The ghost floating in front of them has a venmo. The ghost floating in front of them has a use for US currency. What is going on? Is Tim hallucinating?

Damian’s pout deepened, “I am still disappointed in you all for not noticing a whole extra person joining our patrols.”

“In my defense, I don’t patrol with you guys,” Duke joked.

“In our defense, we were suspicious,” Tim added.

Bruce sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Damian, we had no way of even expecting you to switch places with your long lost dead twin.” Bruce paused, then looked over at Danny. “How did you pull that off? No offense Danny, but you are very easy to tell apart right now.”

“Oh, that’s because I can do this.” A bright flash of light washed over Danny, changing him back to the boy Tim had met the night before, only wearing baggy casual clothes instead of brightly colored armor.

Duke yelped and covered his eyes, “A little more warning next time? Damn, that was bright!”

“Oops, sorry.”

“Oh thank god, I was so worried,” Steph murmured from next to Tim.

“Well that was flashy,” Dick said.

Bruce seemed broken again, staring at the now living, black haired, blue eyed boy sitting cross legged in the air next to Damian.

“Okay, so what the fuck was all that?” Jason asked, motioning to Danny. “Are you dead or aren’t you? Because you don’t look dead right now.”

“Neither do you,” Danny snarked back.

“I’m not dead though.”

“You sure?”

“Not anymore,” Jason said stubbornly.

“No one ever comes all the way back, not anyone who was dead dead.”

“Please stop,” Bruce begged. Dick whimpered in agreement.

Danny ducked into his shoulders again, grinning sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“Since it would be inconvenient for Robin to be missing at the same time I have a broken leg,” Damian said as a clear subject change, “and we have a perfect stand in who’s already proven himself in the field, Danyal has kindly offered to cover for me for the next few nights.”

“I managed to soup Plasmius last night, so that gives me two, three days max of not having to worry about his schemes. My friends can cover for me during the night so long as I’m still back home during the day. Unless a rabid ancient show up, anyway.”

“What does any of that even mean?” Tim begged.

“We could use some context,” Dick added.

“Right, I guess this is when the life story portion starts,” Danny said with a sigh.

“Perhaps you would prefer to talk over dinner?” Alfred asked from the room’s doorway.

“Dinner sounds great!” Danny cheered as he hopped to his feet, now firmly on the floor. “I’m not sure talking about dying and coming back is the best dinner conversation though,” Danny said absently as he and Bruce helped Damian to his feet.

“Alfred usually has a strict no work talk at the dinner table rule,” Tim teased.

“I think he can make an exception for someone’s life story,” Duke laughed. There were several murmurs of agreement.

“Alright, well I guess we can start with the first time I died,” Danny said as the group slowly filed out of the sitting room and towards the dining room.

[alicenttully]

A Name for Nettles

Smallfolk often take their names from flowers/nature, like Rosey, Violet, Willow, etc.  Nettles is another example of this trend. However, its one that I haven't seen be used in real life, at least not as a first name.

 That got me thinking about what kind of name she would have, with Nettles sti being her nickname.  I’m aware that names like “Nettie” do exist, but “Netty” is a nickname for Nettles in the setting/used by fans, so that wasn’t an option.  When it came to choosing one that felt right to me, I was after certain criteria.  One, it starts with Net.  However, if I really loved it, I would be willing to overlook the absence of a t.  However, it was non-negotiable that it starts with the letters Ne.  I also wanted names whose meanings reminded me of Nettles.   Here are the ones that I liked, but ultimately didn’t choose.

Neeva (white snow)

Neeta (Friendly, to plant, and bear)

Nenna (daring)

Netha (pure, virginal)

Nesima (fresh air)

Netaniella (gift of god)

However, the name that made the most sense to me was… Netta.  Meaning- plant.  I didn’t choose this name because I actually liked it best personally, I chose it because to me it was the best and most obvious way to adapt Nettles’ name to a context outside Planteos, particularly modern.  It also fit what I was looking for in terms of meaning.  Finally, you can definitely see how Nettles might be a nickname,  given the same syllable (Net) and letters.

The only other name I was close to choosing was Netha.  One, I think it's really pretty.  I tend to think that of a lot of names that end in a.  Secondly, Nettles is a character that we see who as others like @richardsthirdnipple @bohemian-nights have discussed in their meta, isn't afforded the benefit of innocence by the text and people like Rhaenyra. However, as readers we should discern that Nettles is in fact one of the more innocent characters and what's more, she doesn't need to fulfill all the criteria in order to be considered such. Similar to how there is no perfect victim, no one is perfect innocence and Nettles demonstrates that imo. This is why Netha was so close to being chosen by me. However, I ultimately settled on Netta as explained above. It'll be what I use if/when I write Nettles in a modern setting.

[pascallatte]

hello!!

Who do i write for?

Currently: Pedro Pascal

Will write for in the future: Javier Pena, Joel Miller, more tba

REQUESTS: OPEN (SEND IN SUGGESTIONS FOR 2023)

what is today's agenda?

currently editing the next fic

currently doing:

Pedro Pascal x actress!reader series

what type of fics I write:

fluff (mostly)

what I don't write:

smut

angst (atm)

dark themes

I'll be using #nenna's asks if ever you guys type something there, with that it'll be easier for you and me to find things 🫶🏻🫶🏻

[c0zysoul]

Life, lately.

It is so dull yet I'm not complaining. rather, I want to stay away from people until I get a few things done (my courses,series and movies I want to watch etc.) I'm running away from things... catching up with friends , going out and engaging with people normally I would say it's anxiety but it really isn't I feel like I need self time . Because all schoolwork , waking up at 5 a.m and being at school by 8 and then going back home by 3 pm...

It was so draining both mentally and physically. Especially the first weeks for uni was... Oof I couldn't go to school for like a week because I lost my grandad and it was such a tragic experience, all of a sudden... Idk I miss him so much I've already wrote pages and pages about him. I don't want to fresh my memories tbh. Basically it was terrible and people were so like SO silent and uninterested and with that being said I needed to go back to normal after crying my eyes out for weeks... What kept me going was actually my grandpa said to my nenna that he was happy because I got into uni :') anyhow, I was all alone, just listening to the lectures and going back to home. For a week It was really bad but by the time I got used to it. I kept hanging out with someone I met on the first day of school and she was very kind and helpful to me! -we became deskmates after that -We still hangout together and I'm glad that I met her. Because my class was literally antisocial and it made me feel so disappointed I felt like everyone already knew everything and I didn't which is partially right...

I really loved my professors though! Got loads of compliments from them.

So my recent class is definitely so much better -in terms of sociality and contributing the lecture by speaking up and stuff -compared to my antisocial class. Lol. I have a few old classmates with me in my new class and the good news is my deskmate is my deskmate again and the bad news is I guess I developed a crush on someone I've never noticed before but was always there. Actually feeling kinda lazy to write about rest of my crush story because it's almost 4 am. To be continued?

[becaexists]

Volta Family Headcanons

Before I post the fic tomorrow (technically today but y'know), I would like to present my Volta family headcanons! Some of them are a bit silly, while others are what I'm using as canon in the universe of my fics (yes I'm going to write more than one), so enjoy!

First of all, names, ages (as of September 2022), birthdays and star signs: Raphael, 45, June 9th, Gemini Angelo, 42, September 1st, Virgo (this is canon info and what I'm basing everything else off of) Seraphina, 39, July 27th, Leo Evangeline, 32, May 8th, Taurus Michael, 28, November 7th, Scorpio

Heights: Raphael is 6'0, Angelo is 6'2, Seraphina is 5'10, Evangeline is 5'5, and Michael is 6'5 Here is a visual comparison of them all in age order

Nicknames for each other: Raphael - Raphe/Rafe; Angelo - Angel, Angel Major; Seraphina - Phin, Sera, Sienna (middle name), Nenna, Nenny; Evangeline - Eva, Angel Minor; Michael - Micha

Childhood: Angelo and Phin were close as teenagers and used to watch romcoms together before their father began to subject them both to worse and worse experiments; Raphe helped around when Eva was born, but by the time Micha was born, he was sick from experiments to the point he could barely move, so Phin had to take care of them both as well as comfort her older brothers as their mother was unable to function and their father was too focused on experimenting on the eldest two; When their father would force Angelo to attack Raphael, Seraphina would attempt to restrain him, screaming at him to stop; Raphael left home at 20, Angelo left 18 to study bioengineering, Phin left on her 17th birthday to become a model and later actress in the UK, changing her name to Sienna Voltaire, Eva and Micha left when they were 19 and 16 to go live with their sister before moving back to the states once they had recovered.

Recent events: Seraphina is the only one to marry and settle down, and Angelo was the only one of her siblings that attended her wedding; Seraphina has two kids, Lucia(7) and Cassius(6 months), and three dogs, Lady (Border terrier), Oliver (large terrier and greyhound mix), and Angel(blonde rescue collie); Evangeline followed in her sister's footsteps, becoming an actress and later a playwright after returning to the US; Michael works as a video game programmer and 3D animator, as well as teaching computer science for free online; Angelo and Phin have monthly calls where they check in on one another, Angelo is the only uncle actively in her kids' lives.

Podcast: Phin and Raphael listen to the podcast when they can, Eva listens to it but tries to skip over Angelo's parts, Micha does not know it exists but if he did, he would listen to it while he worked

That's all of them for now! Reminder this all my personal headcanon apart from what has been said in the show, if you have any differences in opinion on what the Volta siblings are like please share them with me, I love speculating (and talking about Angelo)

[zanreosauce]

8. movies or tv shows?

16. most comfortable position to sit in?

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?

21. obsession from childhood?

22. role model?

24. favorite crystal?

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?

55. favorite fairy tale?

76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)?

85. fairy tales or mythology?

86. cookies or cupcakes?

90. luckiest mistake?

91. boxes or bags?

94. favorite season?

95. favorite app on your phone?

96. desktop background?

98. favorite historical era?

Some of them are a little too personal... And probably shouldn't be shared. I stopped watching Markiplier a long time ago, but I feel a little sorry for the guy as people kept sending him mannequin photos when he said he found them creepy...

I'm Nenna by the way, changed username about..? 2 years ago?

whoa sorry for the Late As Hell answer, was gonna do this earlier but then I just got distracted from tumblr for weeks. Also some I don't really have an answer for because it's hard to decide... but great to see you again here! 8. Depends on the work, sometimes I wanna watch a story in one 1-2 hour sitting and sometimes I wanna watch more episodes of something? I do end up watching more movies though, because for shows I have to be in the mood for/have the time to watch several episodes in a row 16. Some kind of more casual chill pose usually. Leaned back and just relaxing, though on computer I'm usually leaning more forwards because my drawing tablet is in front of keyboard 20. For quick notes, usually just the notes app on my phone. For writing longer text, computer. Either way, I prefer writing digitally 21. Neopets and Pokemon! 24. Hmmm... one of those fancy multicolored gems probably? pretty 45. Out of these, probably sci-fi? Generally has a more appealing aesthetic than fantasy, while I'm not really into superhero stuff at all (with a few exceptions) 76. Probably fries and potato wedges 86. Cookies, both are good though 91. I'm assuming for storing stuff in? Boxes are more convenient sometimes but bags are much more readily available 94. Probably summer? Nice and warm (as long as it doesn't get too hot and clammy) and it's when the Big Cons happen. I also like winter because snow 95. Cosplanner, for cosplay stuff 96. On my new laptop, it's still just the default BG the computer came with because I haven't gotten around to finding a new one yet (though on my old one it's Yoshi). On my phone, a glitched city for the lockscreen and a "wallpaper not found" glitchy image for regular bg

[songsalive]

USA Songwriting Competition is pleased to announce a brand new book release: How to Write Better Songs: Songwriting Secrets from Award-Winning Songwriters, by Scott Ashley. People often ask: “How did our past winners of the USA Songwriting Competition do this: Scott Oatley, Jamie Alimorad, etc – songwriters from all over – wind up as Overall Grand Prize Winners?”

Award winning songwriters that have been featured in the book include: Ken Hirsch, Scott Oatley, Jamie Alimorad, Joe Hogue, Sean Petersen, Les Sampou, Meg Pfeiffer, Justin Ezzi, Sonny King, Jeff Roe, Steffani Bennett, Mary Beth Stone, Christie Lenée, Wilbur “B52” Levans, the family of the late Ari Gold, and the family of the late Ralph Murphy. This brand new book outlines the ways how award-winning songwriters do it. Also, shows quick way to writing songs, writing the hook, verse, chorus, bridge and more. Commentary from award winning songwriters and how to excel in Songwriting Competitions and more. “How to Write Better Songs” is a must-read for all songwriters and music artists.The book has just been released on Amazon (both Kindle eBook and Print versions). For more information about the book, visit here

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Scott Ashley is a songwriter and graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. He is a voting member of the Recording Academy (National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences). He is currently working as the Artist Relations director with the USA Songwriting Competition and IAMA (International Acoustic Music Awards).

ABOUT USA SONGWRITING COMPETITION USA Songwriting Competition has a long history of having winners getting recording and publishing contracts, have their songs placed on the charts as well as having their songs placed on film and television, and winning Grammy Awards.

USA Songwriting Competition first prize winner (2013 Competition) and finalist (2020 Competition) Joanie Leeds of New York, NY won a Grammy Award last year for Best Children’s Album.

Andrew Jannakos, Top Winner of 25th Annual USA Songwriting Competition (2020), was signed to Sony Music Nashville/RCA Nashville, hit #65 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts.

2018 Top Winner David Wilcox received radio airplay for his winning song “We Make the Away by Walking”.

2013 winner American Authors were signed to Island Records, and hit #1 on the Billboard Charts and went Triple Platinum, selling over 3 million copies. The top two winners of 2011: Nenna Yvonne and Alexander Cardinale were signed to Interscope Records after their win. The 2007 winner Ari Gold hit Top 10 on the Billboard charts with his winning song. The 2005 Winner of the Country category had his winning song cut by Country Superstar Faith Hill. The 2005 winner of the Pop category was signed by Interscope Records; she went on to hit Top 10 on the Billboard 200 Album charts. Our 2008 winner appeared on David Letterman TV show and was signed to a record label. For more information, visit: https://www.songwriting.net

PURCHASE BOOK HERE

[pleasureactivism]

An Annotated Playlist to Accompany Your Reading of Pleasure Activism

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2eoQwDJipqb2BpIZqCIscQ?si=bRg4s4uhSqOXw02Ai2Pc2Q

In Section Three: A Circle of Sex, there is an essay, a compilation of interviews, titled “The Highs, Lows, and Blows of Casual Sex.” Upon reading this title, I immediately thought of one of my favorite songs at the moment, “High Highs to Low Lows” by Lolo Zouaï. I put this song on while I read this essay, and while not directly about sex, the concept of peaks and valleys really resonated with the text. “High Highs and Low Lows” set the mood for me to engage with “The Highs, Lows, and Blows of Casual Sex,” not just because of the lyrics but also the multidimensional sound and authenticity and vulnerability of Zouaï’s voice. Singing in both English and French, she covers so many deeply human feelings, from sexy to vulnerable, cocky to depressed, sensual to silly. Intentionally pairing this song with this reading (instead of just putting a random playlist on shuffle) gave me the idea of creating a playlist- this book needs a soundtrack, which I have attempted to create below. 

A compilation of R&B, hip hop, pop, Latinx music and some 1970s Black feminist icons (namely, Nina Simone and Diana Ross), most of these songs are performed by people that identify as women of color, partly because that is in line with Pleasure Acitivism which “center[s] the experiences of Black women” and partly because that is what I often find myself listening to. However, as was true for adrienne maree brown and her book, this soundtrack “includes a few voices that are not Black or women-identified but that I trust in the human experience of finding pleasure beyond oppression” (brown 5). This playlist was inspired by and accompanied much of my reading of much of Pleasure Activism, shifting and growing as I read, enhancing the experience and adding meaning to both the text and the music. The songs in the soundtrack can be listened to while reading any section of the book, but there are some that deal directly with themes of the book, and for those I have identified a “pairing,” or specific essay or section that I recommend pairing with that song. The songs on the soundtrack are in the order of the recommended paired sections. It should be noted that given the time frame of this project and the fact that I am simultaneously finishing up my undergraduate senior thesis, I was only able to annotate a select few of the songs on the playlist, but in no way are the songs that are not described any less important, relevant, or magical. 

Oh My God by Sevdaliza 

Pairing: “The Legacy of ‘Uses of the Erotic,’ A Conversation with Cara Page” OR the Introduction to Section One, “Who Taught You to Feel Good?”

I originally added this song to the playlist because of its sound, described in one article as “a blend of trip-hop, avant pop, and electronica,” and its lyrics about self-discovery, realization, hope and dreams (Ingvaldsen 2020). Savdalize asks “Who should I be?” and notes that “I view myself from above/Roamin’ in the fields of hope/Will it make or break me/As my dreams are heavy, they outweigh me.” These comments about her exploration of self and the intensity of her dreams initially led to its inclusion on the playlist. However, after finding an interview with Sevdaliza, I realized just how crucial this song is for Pleasure Activism’s soundtrack. She is Iranian Dutch and a refugee who, according to the interview, “acnkowledg[es] the oppressive regimes and institutions of the world in an effort to reflect peace and solidarity through her aural artform” (Ingvaldsen 2020). In the interview, Sevdaliza says she “believe[s] in collective energy,” a concept not only explored in Pleasure Activism but also in our course throughout the semester. Additionally, she says that “heritage stands for a gift of profound insight, wisdom, and love. My heritage to me is like an inner-oracle. The one who knows. It is a mesmerizing voice, that becomes more clear as I am close to my authentic self. My heritage also connects me with deep feminine instincts; the wise woman within” (Ingvaldsen 2020). This connection to her heritage and ancestors reminded me of brown’s exploration of her own “personal pleasure lineage” and encouragement that her readers do the same (brown 21). Sevdaliza says, “our voices are meant to be heard, our stories meant to be shared,” a concept embodid by brown in Pleasure Activism. 

Feeling Good by Nina Simone 

Pairing: “The Sweetness of Salt, by Alexis Pauline Gumbs”

Video by India.Arie

Pairing: “Pussy Power, by Favianna Rodriguez”

Formation by Beyoncé

Pairing: “Wherein I Write about Sex” OR “The Pleasure of Living at the Same Time as Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter”

“High Highs to Low Lows” by Lolo Zouaï

Pairing: “The Highs, Lows, and Blows of Casual Sex”

How Deep Is Your Love (feat. Yebba) by PJ Morton 

Pairing: “Feelmore, A Conversation with Nenna Joiner”

Girls Need Love (with Drake)- Remix by Summer Walker

Pairing: “Liberating Your Fantasies” or “The Highs, Lows, and Blows of Casual Sex”

Girls Need Love is a seductive, passionate, and honest piece in which Walker creates a personal narrative about her desires for sex and love while also grappling with the double standard that “girls” can’t be sexually liberated. She pushes back against the societal norms that “girls can’t never say they want it/girls can’t never say how/girls can’t never say they need it/girls can’t even say now.” She also stresses that her desire for casual sex is okay, a topic which brown analyzes in Highs, Lows, and Blows of Casual Sex” (“I don’t need a reason baby/Please don’t get in your feelings”). Another soulful R&B track, this song has a simple production with a main focus on the vocals. 

BROWN SKIN GIRL (feat Blue Ivy Carter) by Beyoncé, Saint Jhn, Wizkid 

Pairing: “The Pleasure of Living at the Same Time as Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter” OR “Wherein I Write about Sex” OR “Black Woman Wildness by Junauda Petrus”

Q.U.E.E.N. (feat. Erykah Badu) by Janelle Monáe

Pairing: “Fly as Hell, A Conversation with Sonya Renee Taylor”

Multi-Love by Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Pairing: “On Nonmonogamy” 

Multi-Love is a song about polyamory, full of intimacy, vulnerability, and even discomfort and torment. Despite these intense feelings that are on display in Ruban Nielson’s (the lead singer’s) voice and in the lyrics, the instrumental aspect of the song is lighter and catchy, consisting of an upbeat keyboard tune and light, quick drum beats. These components come together to create a non-pretentious, spiritual, futuristic song that touches on many of the same topics as Pleasure Activism. For example, he talks about god, asking, “who is your god? Where is she?” Similarly, adrienne maree brown said that she “think[s] a lot about what god is, how god is, and where we are relating to and running from and surrendering to god” (brown 7). He sings about transitioning between single-love and multi-love (“We were one, then become three”), which reminded me of brown’s comments that “nonmonogamy tends to suit [her] best, even if [she is] occasionally focused on one lover” and her further analysis of multi-love in the subsection “On Nonmonogamy” (brown 8, 409). And finally, he talks about alludes to the non-binaryness of gender: “she doesn't want to be a man or a woman” (though the use of the pronoun “she” is somewhat troubling in this case). All in all, this song that is somehow at once crystal clear and mysteriously muffled belongs on the soundtrack because of its soulful, groovy nature, relevant lyricism and personal discovery about love, spirituality, vulnerability, and meaning. As a side note, I also felt like it fits well because Ruban Nielson’s delivery has been compared to that of Prince’s, who brown dedicates the book to. 

The Other Woman by Nina Simone

Pairing: “Being Second”

Golden by Jill Scott

I’m Coming Out by Diana Ross

Universe by Ambar Lucid

La Negra Tiene Tumbao by Celia Cruz

Pairing: “On Fear, Shame, Death, and Humor, A Conversation between the Rocca Family and Zizi” OR “On the Pleasures of Wardrobe, A Conversation with Maori Karmael Holmes”

Beyond being an absolute Afro-Cuban and Latin music icon, and the Queen of Salsa, Celia Cruz is known for her fashion style; she always had on colorful wigs, sequins, crazy high heels, and incredible makeup (for this reason her song is paired with “On the Pleasures of Wardrobe”). This song was chosen because of its multifaceted nature; it spans the genres of jazz, salsa, reggae, and hip hop. She talks about the style, attitude, swag and sexiness of a black woman (in Spanish). Igniting the spark of pride in Latinx and Black identities for many, “La Negra Tiene Tumbao” is a timeless anthem about being proud of who you are, embracing blackness, and never moving out of the way for anybody. 

Pelo Suelto by Gloria Trevi 

The Pleasure Principle by Janet Jackson

February 3rd by Jorja Smith

Satisfaction Guaranteed by Junglepussy

This song is lush and deep as it envelopes you into its mesmerizing tune. Junglepussy’s slow, intense words of confidence and encouragement to feel fully, both spiritually and physically, wash over the listener like a wave (“Yeah, I’m the brown hottie with the body, looking like Rum Spice… Relax, as the aura ease you/In the flesh, let the physical please you”). 

Soul Liberator by Kraak and Smaak feat. Sanguita

Feeling Myself by Nicki Minaj feat. Beyoncé

Cranes in the Sky by Solange 

Hurry by Teyana Taylor feat. Kanye 

Mujer Latina by Thalía

A Quién Le Importa by Thalía

I’m Every Woman by Whitney Houston 

                                                           Works Cited

Ingvaldsen, Torsten. “Sevdaliza Returns With New Protest Song ‘Oh My God.’” HYPEBEAST, HYPEBEAST, 30 Jan. 2020, hypebeast.com/2020/1/sevdaliza-oh-my-god-single-stream-premiere.

LS

[evermorebaby]

tagged by @mileystewart

rules : answer 17 qs & 17 people u wanna know better

nickname : jenny/ jenna/ nenna/jenny penny /jennifer lawrence (anniston, garner etc etc) jen, fario, fer n fer

zodiac sign : we an aqua baby

height : like 5”2

hogwarts house : hufflepuff

last thing i googled : “average amount of coffee put in a mug”

song stuck in my head : white mercedes by charli

following : 410

followers : 3513

amount of sleep i get : like 7 hrs ??

lucky numbers : 23 🤪

dream job : honestly dont know sjsjwj it could be writing it could be art 🤷‍♀️

wearing : my night things,, aka a t shirt

favourite songs : hnnggg vienna, afterglow, suburbia and s&c

instruments : i mean i used to play guitar

random facts : i once cut myself w safety scissors

aesthetics : being in love w fucking everything

tagging : @youfitinmyspookypoem @llikestarlight @re-pu-ta-ti-on @jumpthensfall @spoookyswift @spookybleachella @ghoulathome @rainbowdress @bees-blog @hugeselenatorswiftie @holygrcunds @shakeitoffline @speaknow @sparkisfly @loverdeluxe @poptartswift @dennys

[thasorns]

If you reaaaaaaaaaaally wanted to write that essay, you'd ignore tumblr and focus. But you love pain so... we'll give it to you~

Nenna, I swear to god 😂 STOP IT!

[nanenna]

Today I remembered that my favorite thing about having so many AUs is to pick up 2 AUs like Barbie dolls and clack their faces together while making smooching noises.

Behold my beloved DCxDP AU amalgamation monster: DeamonTwinAU and PhantomThiefAU (aka: Selina gives Danny a slutty slutty cat suit, good times)

The story vaguely goeth thusly: Danny is a halfa, the Balance, the Bridge Between Worlds, he is....... the Observants' glorified gofer. You see, there are a lot of cursed/enchanted/ghostly artefacts floating around loose in the living Realm and they need Danny to go retrieve them. Danny would rather not, but they just won't leave him alone about it. Can't a guy just live? At least let him poop in peace! Ancients! Fine, he'll do it if it'll get them to shut up. (Spoiler: it does, in fact, not get them to shut up.)

But you see, Danny has a secret: he was raised in an assassin ninja cult (at least for the early years) before getting adopted by the Fentons. Now the killing? Not a fan, no thanks, he's working on not increasing his kill count, thx. But the sneaking? He could use that. Sneaky ninjas are also good thieves, right? So he cobbles together a knock off League of Assassins outfit, buys a cheap portable lock picking set, and decides to make a game of how far can he get without using his powers (much. He's new at this okay?)

Batman is not having fun. There's some (possible?) League assassin running around stealing verified cursed/magical artefacts! Is Talia planning something? Is Ra's planning something? (Isn't he for real dead? Silly reader, no one is ever for real dead in DC.)

Robin is super frustrated. For all the same reasons Batman is but also because he just knows this new rogue is taunting him. Personally. Because he's Damian al Ghul Wayne and the whole world revolves around him, obviously. (And also because he once pointed at Robin and laughed before jumping out a window.)

Selina is intrigued. Who is this kid? How does he know what to go after? How does he keep evading the bats? Luckily she runs into him mid heist (fortunately they had different targets, she's intrigued but not enough to hand over her shinies to him) and oh he's adorable! She has to train him, it would drive Brucie up the wall. But then she sees his face and oh, she knows exactly who he is, even if he seems oblivious.

Because Danny? He's in Gotham for the ecto, for the Thomas Wayne full ride scholarship he managed to snag, and also because for some reason Gotham is full of so many cursed/ghost artefacts. (Lady Gotham is seething, she worked hard to collect all those curses! But this is her beloved dark knight's kid and she kinda wants him home. But she also doesn't want to give up her curses!) Back to the point: Danny doesn't care about ANY of the rich bougie people. The Waynes give out a lot of scholarships? Cool, that's nice and all. They probably also rub elbows with Vlad or Sam's parents. No thanks. Doesn't care. He's got better things to worry about.

Selina has got a plan though! She's gonna teach this boy how to thief properly, starting with better tools (including the slutty, slutty cat burglar outfit). She also knows that she can't let any of the Waynes (in or out of costume) meet Danny (out of costume). So does Lady Gotham. So does the universe apparently (or just Clockwork maybe), because all kinds of unlikely things keep happening to prevent it.

Danny is having so much fun though! He's learning new skills. Selina is giving him an allowance so he's not living off ramen and peanut butter sandwiches, he's doing well in school, he gets to stretch his ghost powers regularly to go above the smog cover and star gaze in peace. Everything's coming up Danny.

Selina decides it's time to flaunt her find in front of Brucie and makes Danny go to a gala as her date, she spends the entire time clinging to his arm and introducing him around to everyone. Including Bruce himself (who just so happens to have Damian in tow). Danny may not recognize Bruce, but he sure recognizes Damian, and Damian recognizes him if his utterly flabbergasted face is anything to go by. But Danny remembers what it was like living in the League. And so far as he knows Damian is still in it, he was the Demon Head's heir after all. Damian made sure of it.

Oh it. Is. ON! Now Danny is on a mission! A sibling rivalry mission! He is going to make Damian's/Robin's a living hell. Selina going on a heist that has no magical artefacts? Danny's there anyway, always have back up. That necklace in the museum has barely any powers and he wasn't even going to bother with it? Too bad, it's back on the list. He has no reason to be out at all but the bats are on patrol? Well so is Danny. Catch him if you can, suckers!

It's good for Danny, it's enrichment!

[inappropriatefangirlneeds]

Tag Game 

I was tagged by the wonderful @sunlitroom thank you ! =) 

I´m curious which one of the Greek plays has been your favorite? 

I´m doing the escapists diet version of this ;)

Are you a homebody? The world is a scary place and sometimes walls keep the scary out, sometimes it sneaks in through cracks and cables but ultimately inside is and always has been the safest place, or at least it feels like that  

What movies have you watched recently? Okay let me talk about the one recent Saturday where I turned on the TV snacking on some chocolate bunny just to look upon a mighty ship and some people in arrrrrrmazing clothes. Turns out they were airing “Crossbones“ (NBC) which is about pirates, the crown and tinkering around with clock smith tools. Or something like that I´m not quite sure which episode I turned in to but I watched around thee or four in a row. I couldn´t see the last two they aired but recorded them. I kind of really want to take the time to watch them, or try to find the english episodes online because it was  actually entertaining. It feels like they could have made a whole season out of two episodes, so it felt kind of rushed but maybe the german dub added to that feeling. 

It´s not Black Sails but while I´d really wanted to argue with some stuff (one of the) protagonist(s) said to her Kate Balfour is quite an interesting character in terms of writing a wife and at the same time a woman with agency (and it seems she´s not vilified for something other shows would treat her not well over, but there might be another icky trope playing into this, still need to watch more)  Nenna Ajanlekoko seems to be quite interesting as well. It seems one character has Agoraphobia, and while at first this causes some wounds ir seems there´s quite some understanding for her needs (but that´s about where I stopped watching), addiction to opiates is a topic (and they mirrored the internal struggle of yesORno to the relieve provided in an external yes and not that come from different protagonists for various reasons) 

> Also with the non pirate protagonist  Tom Lowe I kept thinking I knew the actor, but could just think of  Michael Sheen and it wasn´t him... turns out it was  Richard Coyle [or as I know him CAOS´ delightfully awful Faustus Blackwood]

> Oh and John Malkovich plays Edward Teach, aka "Blackbeard" in need of some hair dye.  

What are you doing for self care?  I, despite point one, actually for once was actually looking forward to something involving the outside and other people and I built it up in my head as something that would potentially build up my hurt self (esteem) back again and patch me somewhat up after some really not so great experience, so I had a moment of “woe is me” when  An event you were looking forward to that got cancelled Technically the event wasn´t cancelled just the particular Pen&PaperRPG I had applied and got a spot for but, despite thwarted selfcare attempt I was glad that I could play it safe and stay in without having to cancel myself. It was just about that time where nothing was locked but it increasingly looked like that´s what probably should be done. 

What music are you listening to? What´s been added to this and really got me sucked into a youtube hole the past weeks is Hank 3. That might have happened as a side effect of still not having seen "I saw the light" in which Tom Hiddleston plays Hiram "Hank" Williams. His grandson Shelton Hank Williams III  was not happy about that casting and I´m glad he complained cause I might not have started to listen to his music. Quite a delayed reaction but here we are finally. [Although I must certainly have known about Superjoint Ritual years ago, but I guess without being aware of Hank ...  buuuut my memory is crap] 

>> What I learned is more people should sing about Opossums. Hank doesn´t nearly sing as much about Possums as he should but there is at least:  Hank Williams III & Leroy Troy - “Possum In a Tree”  ~Possum in a tree looking at me, you know he´s living his life wild and free ~

>> Sometimes Shelton goes by (the horrible) SKELTON .. no not that  H3 "Country Heroes" that was Halloween ... that stuff with TPB Those Poor Bastards w/ Skelton - Black Dog Yodel the theatrics are just so I don´t know if I should say campy or extra but I love it ;D and I really like his voice in those Black Dog Yodel-Poor Bastards with HW III

>> That one is just really working for me  "Ghost to a Ghost"

>> And just a really neat Bop, I vaguely remember that one was the one where I really got into that YTHole  Hank III & Assjack "Tennessee Driver"

What are you reading? Hopefully more fanfiction when  I get around to but the next slot of likely uninterrupted time miiiight be reserved for finally watching the gotham finale .. I feel like I might be read for that now ^^ 

Apart from the recently mentioned GothamFics I had the chance to read the start of another and brand new compelling Daryl Dixon / Beth Greene mystery here: PYROLYSIS by Audriss  [What´s the other compelling mystery you ask, well of course: BY ANY OTHER NAME]

[system-architect]

CHARACTER ROLL CALL: Plex (ART BY SASHA which is, by the way, my phone background and has been so for months)

a sort of pathetic inquest underling who works IT and spends his days alternating between menial tasks and having to fix genuinely horrifying contraptions, plex is highly irritable, cowardly, impudent, has a bark bigger than his bite, panics at the drop of the hat, and is stubborn unless you threaten him in which case he might cry. he is mostly what it says on the tin. however, despite all this, plex has a particular history that is deeper than most know, and deeper than he even knows... connected by strings of fate and tragedy to some of the darker and deep mechanisms of asuran society, throughout the narrative he is introduced as a minor villain but ends up being taken on a wilder journey than he really ever wanted to be taken on. underneath it all, he’s actually a good person who is simply the victim of terrible anxiety and unfortunate circumstances out of his control. also, he sucks at videogames and is really mad about it.

B A S I C S

full name: unlike my other OCs who like going by nicknames, it’s just Plex!

Age: in realtime, he turned 22 a few days prior to me writing this

Height: probably about 3′0″

Build: skinny, to an unhealthy extent. his health issues cause him to have trouble with putting on weight

gender: trans man (non-transitioning as far as hrt/etc goes-- due to my particular HCs about asura biology, he already has an appearance and voice that most would attribute to masculine gender expression, so he feels no need to adjust himself physically)

sexuality: gay and desperate but simultaneously afraid of emotional vulnerability and physical contact

pronouns: he/him

O T H E R S

family: he’s the only child of his parents irk (dad) and nenna (mother); they got a divorce when plex was a teenager and irk has been mysteriously missing for awhile despite loving his son a lot. he’s a bit estranged from his mother because plex knows she hates the inquest and doesn’t want her to find out he is one

birthplace: somewhere near soren draa

job: works IT/tech ops/cybersecurity/engineering/what have you/Anything Computers for the inquest, and also, fetching coffee! he’s talented at what he does, but low ranking

phobias: loneliness, loss of things important to him, his secrets not staying secret, humiliation or being ridiculed and mocked/unnaccepted

guilty pleasures: he really likes cute things, like wearing different hairclips..... he sort of ashamedly likes putting clips w/ bows on them in his hair sometimes too but refuses to wear those in front of other people. he also has an old rat plushie who he’s really attached to and it’s a comfort object for him but again he will Never admit that to anyone

M O R A L S

morality alignment?: a mess that dips between true neutral, chaotic neutral, chaotic good, and neutral good.......

sins - lust/greed/gluttony/sloth/pride/envy/wrath

virtues - chastity/charity/diligence/humility/kindness/patience/justice

T H I S - O R - T H A T

introvert/extrovert: extroverted, surprisingly-- he acts hostile and withdrawn, but he’s just bad at socialization and has never really had good friends. he needs people for his health...

organized/disorganized: a mixture; he’s really good at organizing when he puts his mind to it and really understands how Systems Work but bc of bad self care and habits, his apartment and desk are total messes

close minded/open-minded: he’s a bit apprehensive about new things, experiences, and people

calm/anxious: anxious to an extremely. he has generalized anxiety disorder real bad

disagreeable/agreeable: disagreeable, he’s a very submissive person but he’ll still complain about things and initially be fickle/dissenting/hesitant until pressed. also he’s just plain kind of a dick

cautious/reckless: extremely cautious, but gets bursts of recklessness

patient/impatient: this is split-- he’s overall an impatient person but he can be very patient and tolerant when it comes to putting up with certain things or chasing certain longterm goals

outspoken/reserved: reserved, he’s a bit afraid to speak up

leader/follower: follower

empathetic/unemphatic: surprisingly empathetic, but doesn’t get to show it often

optimistic/pessimistic: a bit of a pessimist, sadly. he wants to be optimistic, but life hasn’t been particularly kind to him

traditional/modern: very modern, he’s onboard with everything shiny and new

hard-working/lazy: generally hard-working, but can definitely get lazy when a project doesn’t really Engage him

R E L A T I O N S H I P S

partner(s): none <:( he’s single and wanting to mingle but havin trouble with that

what they’re like as a friend/how they make friends/what their friend circle is like: he’s both hard and easy to befriend-- he’s used to ‘friends’ being nasty to him so it’s going to take a lot to get him to understand you’re a genuine friend who cares about him and doesn’t want to hurt him. once you have a strong bond with him and he trusts you, he’s surprisingly gentle and empathetic and a good listener. he’s still overall shy and pretty cowardly and can get snarky, but if he really cares about you you’ll be surprised at how often he might force himself to be braver in order to stand up for you

most unique or surprising personal relationship (whether friendship, family, etc..): he has a really bizarre dynamic with @the-arcane-eye‘s character inka. potential future frenemies, sort of?

mortal enemy/enemies: he’s got a lot of these, most of which he’s not aware of yet. he’s simultaneously afraid of the inquest while also working for them and misguidedly supporting them. anyone in a position of power over him terrifies him, really

[napuleh]

Drink Me

Leave a “Drink Me” in my ask, and I will write a drabble about my character taking shots with yours.

@seekesotsibteadmist

It wouldn’t be a good time without somebody gagging, thinks the overly ambitious redhead as he downs this first shot. And gag he does, squeezing his eyes shut tight enough that he can feel the glue from his lash extensions pinch between his lids.

“Porca,” he moans, “porca miseria, is that just pure ethanol?”

When he looks towards Saima to see if they’ve had the same reaction, Vin feels his skin blush red with embarrassment (or maybe it’s the alcohol) and then pale because of the alcohol (or maybe it’s the embarrassment). Whatever it is, be it the drink or his sudden humility, something is burning through him and he’s kind of like, dying, maybe. Definitely dying. For five seconds.

“It is actually fifty percent ABV,” S responds, empty shot glass in hand as they recall what they read off the bottle. Both glasses are filled then, but Vin blinked and can’t tell whether they actually moved the bottle or not, but now he’s motivated by spite to get S drunk as fuck for not flinching. Or letting him see them flinch.

Vin snatches the glass!

“I can take it,” says his attitude adjustment. No, begs his body.

“Right, right. ” It’s going to be one hell of a night, S thinks, laughing in earnest when Vincenzo’s toothy grin is eaten away by his second shot, laughter overtaken by the sound of his fist pounding on the bar counter. “From the looks of it, the drink might be taking you.”

"Oh, shut up. That one was supposed to be easier! Another one!”

And another one.

Vincenzo insisted upon dancing for some reason. ‘For some reason’. Not the round of shots, obviously.

It’s growing increasingly cold outside, and any other two beings would have succumbed to the temperature hours ago. But Vin wants to dance, and he’s looped S into it, like he does with most of his dumb, dangerous impulses, with a convincing smile, a firm hand, and also just, uh, not taking no for an answer.

“Nooo, nonna nonna,” insert hiccup here, as well as a very heavy handed swing of their arms together on Vin’s behalf. There’s no music, and as such, a lullaby will do!

“A nenna-” hic “nenna mie,” and he’s making S spin him around with both arms, “l'angele l'addormaaa,” until the human disaster finds his arms all locked up.

(He could just let go of their hands but he doesn’t realize this yet).

“Aaahh, fuck.”

“Are you alright?” It’s only the fiftieth time they’ve asked. From here, Vin can see that there’s actual frost on their eyelashes, a fact that is very amusing to him; he can only giggle and reach up to boop their nose.

“Boop.”

“Right, then. In we go,” S says, like they aren’t also drunk and have complete control of their faculties. Them walking together, arms woven together in the most awkward way, like a badly designed train, is a sight to see.

“I just want to dance,” he whines, to which S solemnly nods their head.

“We can dance inside.”

“It’s hot insideee,” sob sob sob.

“You can take off your coat inside.”

“You take it off. No, you,” and Vin’s prodded at their chest. Or he tried to. He missed and got their bony shoulder.

Their awkward penguin waddling got them inside before he could notice at least.

“Fine, fine.”

S takes off their coat. Not Vincenzo’s. Somehow they’re both pleased. Between crying and laughing, Vin manages to form an actual sentence: “You’re dancing like an awkward snake! I love you.”

When he feels S’s physical form recoil into their self he scoffs lightly, and quickly adds on, “I’m drunk, shut up.”

“I’m sorry, it wasn’t mean to-”

“Idiot. My friend.”

“Friend.”

“Friend,” and Vin’s giving S a big old hug. They pat his hair, not quite sure if it works for this situation, but they’re already doing it. It feels nice. “Haha, you just got fucking friend-zoned.”

[kkintle]

Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman ; Quotes

I liked how our minds seemed to travel in parallel, how we instantly inferred what words the other was toying with but at the last moment held back.

You could never stare long enough but needed to keep staring to find out why you couldn’t.

So this is who he also is, I said to myself after seeing how he’d flipped from ice to sunshine. I might as well have asked: Do I flip back and forth in just the same way?  P.S. We are not written for one instrument alone; I am not, neither are you.

What I forgot to earmark in that promise was that ice and apathy have ways of instantly repealing all truces and resolutions signed in sunnier moments.

I stammered all manner of things so as to speak my mind. That was the extent of my code. So long as I had breath to put words in my mouth, I could more or less carry it off. Otherwise, the silence between us would probably give me away - which was why anything, even the most spluttered nonsense, was preferable to silence. Silence would expose me. But what was certain to expose me even more was my struggle to overcome it in front of others. 

Perhaps the very least I wanted was for him to tell me that there was nothing wrong with me, that I was no less human than any other young man my age. I would have been satisfied and asked for nothing else than if he’d bent down and picked up the dignity I could so effortlessly have thrown at his feet.

No, she would say, this one is too young still, youth has no shame, shame comes with age.

What I didn’t realise was that wanting to test desire is nothing more than a ruse to get what we want, without admitting that we want it.

It never occurred to me that if one word from him could make me so happy, another could just as easily crush me, that if I didn’t want to be unhappy, I should learn to beware of such small joys as well.

“If not later, when?” It echoed Rabbi Hillel’s famous injunction, “If not now, when?”

Try again later meant, I haven't the courage now. Things weren’t ready just yet. Where I’d find the will and the courage to try again later I didn’t know. But resolving to do something rather than sit passively made me feel that I was already doing something, like reaping a profit on money I hadn’t invested, much less earned yet.  But I also knew that I was circling wagons around my life with try again laters, and that months, seasons, entire years, a lifetime could go by with nothing but Saint Try-again-later stamped on every day. Try again later worked for people like Oliver. If not later, when? was my shibboleth. 

Better break down now, I thought, than live another day juggling all of my implausible resolutions to try again later. No, better he should never know. I could live with that. I could always, always live with that. It didn’t even surprise me to see how easy it was to accept. And yet, out of the blue, a tender moment would erupt so suddenly between us that the words I longed to tell him would almost slip out of my mouth.

If youth must canter, then who’ll do the galloping?

Did I want to be like him? Did I want to be him? Or did I just want to have him? Or are “being” and “having” thoroughly inaccurate verbs in the twisted skein of desire,  where having someone’s body to touch and being that someone we’re longing to touch are one and the same, just opposite banks on a river that passes from us to them, back to us and over to them again in this perpetual circuit where the chambers of the heart, like the trapdoors of desire, and the wormholes of time, and the false-bottomed drawer we call identity share a beguiling logic according to which the shortest distance between real life and the lift unloved, between who we are and what we want, is a twisted staircase designed with the impish cruelty of M.C. Escher. 

Zwischen Immer und Nie. Zwischen Immer und Nie. Between always and never. Celan.

I was treading water, trying neither to drown nor to swim to safety, just staying in place, because here was the truth - even if I couldn’t speak the truth, or even hint at it, yet I could swear it lay around us, the way we say of a necklace we’ve just lost while swimming: I know it’s down there somewhere. If he knew, if he only knew that I was giving him every change to put two and two together and come up with a number bigger than infinity.

“Do you like being alone?” he asked. “No. No one likes being alone. But I’ve learned how to live with it.”

Usually, I’d cast a glance and then look away - look away because I didn’t want to swim in the lonely, clear pool of his eyes unless I’d been invited to - and I never waited long enough to know whether I was even wanted there; look away because I was too scared to stare anyone back; look away because I didn’t want to give anything away; look away because I couldn’t acknowledge how much he mattered.

I was not unhappy. I wanted to be with someone. But it didn’t trouble me that I was alone.

“(...) Everyone goes through a period of traviamento - when we take, say, a different turn in life, the other via. Dante himself did. Some recover, some pretend to recover, some never come back, some chicken out before even starting, and some, for fear of taking any turns, find themselves leading the wrong life all life long.”

It might have brought us closer, if only to remind us how far apart we need to be now. Perhaps in looking the other way, and knowing we had looked the other way to avoid “speeches”, we might have found a reason to smile at each other, for I’m sure he knew I knew he knew I was avoiding all mention of Monet’s berm, and that this avoidance, which gave every indication of drawing us apart, was instead, a perfectly synchronised moment of intimacy which neither of us wished to dispel.

If I could have him like this in my dreams every night of my life, I’d stake my entire life on dreams and be done with the rest.

But sitting here I knew I was experiencing the mitigated bliss of those who are too superstitious to claim they may get all they’ve ever dreamed of but are far too grateful not to know it could be easily be taken away.

Perhaps we were friends first and lovers second. But then perhaps this is what lovers are.

We had talked about meeting in the States, and we had talked of writing and speaking by phone - but the whole things has a mysteriously surreal quality kept intentionally opaque by both of us - not because we wanted to allow events to catch us unprepared so that we might blame circumstances and not ourselves, but because by not planning to keep things alive, we were avoiding the prospect that they might ever die.

You travel to a place because you have this picture of it and you want to would with the whole country.

From the mouth where flowers once blossomed only worms emerge. Farewell, window, for my Nenna can no longer look out again.

Be warned. I had rehearsed losing him not just to ward off suffering by taking it in small doses beforehand, but, as all superstitious people do, to see if my willingness to accept the very worse might not induce fate to soften its blow. Like soldiers trained to fight by night, I lived in the dark so as not to be blinded when darkness came. Rehearse the pain to dull the pain. Homoeopathically.

“(...) In your place, if there is pain, nurse it, and if there is a flame, don’t snuff it out, don’t be brutal with it. Withdrawal can be a terrible thing when it keeps us awake at night, and watching others forget us sooner than we’d want to be forgotten is no better. We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster than we should that we go bankrupt by the age of thirty and have less to offer each time we start with someone new. But to feel nothing so as not to feel anything - what a waste!”

“But remember, our hearts and our bodies are given to us only once. Most of us can’t help but live as though we’ve got two lives to live, one is the mockup, the other the finished version, and then there are all those versions in between. But there’s only one, and before you know it, your heart is won out, and as for your body, there comes a point when no one looks at it, much less wants to come near it. Right now there is sorrow. I don’t envy the pain. But I envy you the pain.”

Time makes us sentimental. Perhaps, in the end, it is because of time that we suffer.

“The truth is I’m not sure I can feel nothing. And if I am to meet your family, I would prefer not to feel anything.” Followed by a dramatic silence. “Perhaps it never went away.”

“What does it say about the life you’ve lived, then?” “Part of it - just part of it - was a coma, but I prefer to call it a parallel life. It sounds better. Problem is that most of us have - live, that is - more than two parallel lives.”

[swseats]

ECLECTICLE 6/13

There is a saying from George Addair that “Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear”. If I had a buck for every time I crossed over my fear to get to the other side, my back yard wouldn't look as bad as it does and my house would have a fresh coat of paint. There is always another hurdle. Another challenge to meet.

Lately it’s been feeling as if each time I cross over, the new landscape is littered with more hurdles and barriers. This last week has brought that into stark relief. Unexpected car repairs, old stuff from a past business that I thought -- hoped -- was resolved, long term care-giving responsibilities. My resilience is not what I’d like it to be.

To be clear, this is not me feeling sorry for myself -- maybe it is -- but given who I am and who I come from, there's not a lot of time for wallowing. S*** needs doing. Gotta get my *self care* game on. Got my Egyptian Musk incense going -- I’m old school like that. It smells good and actually makes me feel a little happy(er). Or at least not as grumpy. That’s a start. I’ve given myself permission to sleep more and stay hydrated. It’s been too hot to do anything anyway.

I know that after allowing myself a day or two of internal me-bashing, I can, piece by piece put the parts of my dented and creaking mental armor back in place and prepare to battle yet another dragon or two. Make a new budget, hunt for the next career, balance the vicissitudes of familial and care-giving responsibilities. Dramatic perhaps? Maybe. I know that everyone has personal crap going on in their lives. But this is my drama and I'm sticking to it. And because I’ve been here before, I know what this looks like and that the fatigue and frustration will not last forever. At least this time it all smells pretty good.

                                                       +++

The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.

-Joseph  Campbell

                                                      +++

If you’re new here, ECLECTICLE Is my “Eclectic Listicle” of the recent things that have been happening in my world. The plan is to make it a regularly occurring place to toss out items of interest and information. My hope is that you will enjoy it and find something useful here. So, let’s get going.

                                                     +++

Once I fix my sleep schedule, start eating healthy, get physically fit, beat depression, stop procrastinating, learn how to do taxes, get mentally strong enough to make phone calls, then it’s over for you bitches.

-Seth Overman

                                                    +++   

What I’m eating:

I’m sure all of us have their favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. I have about three. Don’t @ me. Bon Appetit’s Chocolate chip cookie is my current obsession and it’s dead simple to make.

It really is all that. Try this cookie. You will not regret it. Or you can watch it here.

What I’m reading:

Rachel Levin pens this lovely article about my favorite kind of place to discover and frequent, while George McCalman adds his artistic touch to bring it to life. Give it a read! At Tekka, they found owners who offered an old-school haven in a changing city

Leena Trivedi-Grenier writes about how a young farmer, looking for ties to his Asian family traditions and culture is growing sustainable Chinese vegetables in the North Bay. Check it out! The novice farmer whose search for his roots led to an organic farm in West Marin

Azucena Rasilla pens this Bold Italic article about one of the hardest working folks in Oakland. Nenna Joiner gives us a look Inside Oakland’s Only Black-Owned Sex Shop.

I was really fascinated by this article from PRI’s The World about home delivery meal services versus their carbon footprint. The results may just surprise you and hopefully give you some food for thought. Want to help the planet? Ditch your grocery cart for a meal kit.

What I’m Listening to:

Podcast: Code Switch

Topic: E Ola Ka ‘Olelo Hawai’i

I found this episode super interesting. It made me think of Native American languages suffering the same fate. According to Code Switch “Every two weeks a language dies with its last speaker. That was the fate of Hawaiian, until a group of second-language learners put up a fight and declared, "E Ola Ka 'Olelo Hawai'i" (The Hawaiian Language Shall Live!!!). Definitely check it out.

What I’m watching:

Minori (Short Film)

This short film by Cyprien -- A french YouTuber -- is all the things my geeky heart loves. A light hearted mashup of Japanese, French, Manga. Be prepared, there are subtitles. Just so you know. Take a look!