#old songs were the best

[sixofstories]

Went to see the dev anand re-releases and my god.... Guide. waheeda rehman. Dev anand. Lata mangeshkar. Mohammed Rafi. Kishore kumar. S.D.Burman. Vijay Anand. I love all of you.

[starry-bi-sky]

Clone^2 Damian

If you really think about, Damian's situation in the clone^2 au is... kinda tragic? Especially in the early months of his arrival. Like,,, think about it. Damian has always known he was a clone of Damian Wayne, that he was a copy of the blood son. There was nothing 'original' about him, not even his name (of which at least Danny has that). He was just... a replacement. A disposable one, to boot.

And he knew that, to an extent, by the time he was six years old. he might not have been actively acknowledging it -- he's six years old -- but deep down he knew. And like, he's six years old. Every small child craves the love and affection of an adult, especially their parents, and even though he knew he was clone, I imagine he still considered - and still does consider, somewhat - Talia and Bruce as his mother and father. And I really doubt he was... getting it?

Now, I know Talia loves Damian, her son. At least in some interpretations she does, and in this au she does. But... a clone of her son? I'm not so certain if she would have the same affection for baby Dames as she would for Damian. I don't think she would treat him badly, but I don't think Talia would treat him warmly either. Kinda just, distant. Colder than she would have been with OG Damian.

And, I know I've mentioned Damian's arrival from Danny's point of view, and its kind of comical kind of insane from his perspective -- a little boy clone of Damian Wayne falls through a portal and immediately attacks him. That sounds like a bad joke.

But, if you think of this from Damian's point of view? It's like he just got dropped into a scary movie. Like, think about it. You're six years old, and suddenly a portal, as green and as swirling as your grandfather's pools, opens up beneath your feet and sucks you through.

After an intense bout of vertigo, you end up in a massive, urban city -- completely different from the rural mountain palace that you lived in for the last six years of your life, and in this city, you don't know any of the language. You don't know what anyone is saying, you can't read any of the signs - you are completely stranded, away from home.

And then, to make things worse, you're facing a figure with a terrifying mask and eyes as burning green as the portal you fell through. Of course Damian's first instinct, six years old, is to attack. He's terrified.

And this figure, he's not a good fighter, but he's fast, and he dodges you quickly. He grabs your sword with his hands, and tries to restrain you, saying something in a language you don't know. Naturally, Damian is just scared. He's six! He'd just be learning how to read if he was normal child going to school.

This figure halfway through the fight yanks off his mask -- he realizes you're scared -- and looking at you now, is a youthful version of your father. This is a clone of your dad, someone you have never met but, six years old, still wants to. Damian gets defensive. This is an imposter.

But this imposter eventually gets you home with him - and he's using his little box, his phone, to communicate with you through a mechanical voice speaking in arabic. and it's frustrating. The boy, the imposter, can say whatever to you just fine, but trying to talk back is a hassle and a half. He's six, he doesn't have that much patience.

He wants to go home.

And so he keeps trying to run away. He keeps trying to find out of this hellish concrete jungle, and he keeps getting lost. It's loud, and busy, and there are people talking to you and you don't understand them, and there are rules and signs you don't understand - Damian tries to cross the street and nearly gets hit by a car. He doesn't know how the road signs work, he was never taught. They didn't get to that.

And he gets lost. And it gets dark, and Damian is brave, but he is six, and this is the worst stress he's been under in all his six years of life. He wants, desperately more than anything, to go home. Why wouldn't he? The only stable... semi-stable environment he was in just got ripped out from under his feet, literally! He wants his mother.

And it's not happening.

But there's something good to be said, at least. The imposter that looks like his father always comes and finds him, no matter what. He could have left that morning, and he will find Damian at midnight, frazzled and worried, and carrying an extra jacket with him because it is cold in Amity Park and Damian is six years old.

And sometimes Damian attacks him - he's scared and stressed and he doesn't want to be here. And every time he catches the sword. Even though Damian can see it cut into his hand and pearls of blood well up and stains his fingers. Even though Damian can see him wince in pain and bite his lip, he still catches it.

But with that little box, he coaxes Damian to come back with him. It's cold, it's dark, Amity Park is unsafe at night. They can figure something out tomorrow, please. And every time, he agrees, reluctantly. And the imposter takes the extra jacket he brought with -- a flannel, a hoodie, a jacket -- and he wraps it around him. It's warm, Damian's clothes are not that thick, and even though he thinks he might hate this imposter, he still sticks close to his legs as he leads him down the street.

And sometimes the imposter carries him, because Damian's shoes are not that thick, and he cuts his foot on broken glass while they're walking home. The imposter sits in the bathroom with him and carefully cleans the cut out, and makes sure it doesn't get infected.

There's hope you know, he still has it. His mother will be looking for him. She'll be worried. He's important to them. Damian may not be the original, but he is still a blood son. He is still her son. She will come find him. This nightmare will end soon. He can go home.

And then weeks pass, and nothing. Then months, and nothing. His family is not coming for him, and it hurts. Hurts more than anything. And yet while that happens, the boy he's attacked, and hurt, teaches himself arabic in order to speak to him. He takes Damian out of the house one afternoon and buys him new clothes, or tries to. And then he keeps buying him new clothes. He gives him blankets and gives up his bed to him until they can get him one himself, and steadily he teaches Damian english.

This boy is kind. Kinder than Damian's ever experienced, and he doesn't know what to do with it. He's devastated by the fact that he is not as important to his family as his family is to him. What do you do when you're six years old and you learn something like that? When a random stranger who looks like your father is kinder to you, and cares more about you than your family did?

And then Damian tells him he's a clone. He's Damian Wayne's clone, and he tells him his purpose - that their grandfather made him to kill him. And the boy, the imposter, Damian thinks he probably already knows that he's a clone. But he doesn't say that. He just nods, and asks him if he wants to tell his original about him.

Damian says no. He doesn't want to. He's tired of living in the shadow of his original. He wants to keep this to himself. This is his. For once, all of this is his.

And to his surprise, the imposter doesn't try and convince him otherwise. He just nods, and says okay. And when Damian asks why, the imposter - his brother - looks at him and says.

"I don't care about Damian Wayne. I care about you." And in Damian's gobsmacked silence, his brother continues. He tells him that if Damian doesn't want to tell his original that he exists, then they don't need to. They don't need to worry about the LoA going after him, because clearly if his 'grandfather' needs to make a clone of Damian in order to take him out, then whatever it was that Damian Wayne was doing to keep himself safe, was working.

"Wayne already has people in his corner, he's got Gotham's army of vigilantes to keep himself safe." his brother says with his eyes as blue as moonlight. "You, however. Do not." And he continues, and says that if Damian Wayne has the same training as Damian does, then he will be fine. He doesn't need to be aware of his clone. Because if DW doesn't know about Damian, then the LoA doesn't either.

And here's the thing. Damian would not have survived in the LoA for long. Not as a clone. No matter what, he was going to die no matter what he did, and sooner rather than later. The sword of Damocles was always hanging above his head in the League of Assassins.

That portal, and meeting Danny, saved his life. There's no way around it. And to an extent Damian knows this even at six years old. He may not be aware that he would've died, but he knows that meeting Danny was the best thing to happen to him.

It's no wonder after that, that Damian is as clingy to Danny as he is. Danny is the first person he's met to offer him unconditional love, with no strings attached, only pure affection.

[lesbian-rook]

could you draw ragatha comforting an abstracting pomni? like ragatha calms her down enough to make the abstraction go away! thanks :3

🎶When darkness is all you see This is our Sweet Blasphemy🎵

[ratwithhands]

Hi, Viewer Discretion:

This AU is about a nonexistent fictional mental health condition. There is imagery of straitjackets and other restraints, as well as mention of discrimination based off of health conditions. If you are uncomfortable with this content then please feel free to click off and enjoy something else. Thank you.

Dressing Sketch

Uniform Sketches

League Party sketch

Sketch dump for Battle Addict! This art has been gathering dust for a few months 😭 only just remembered to post it here.

These sketches are from Ver. 3 of Battle Addict, aka Battle Addict Twins, where both of them get the HCCM diagnosis.

The base idea for Battle Addict is that while most people enjoy Pokémon battling, there comes a certain point where one's love/obsession for battle starts bleeding into the rest of their life and becoming detrimental to their everyday life. This is usually called Combative Mania (CM), which is present in a large part of the population (40%-60%) hence why battling is so popular and so many different forms of it are made to keep people satisfied. The extreme form is Hyper-Competitive Combative Mania (HCCM), wherein a person spends so much time and energy for battles that it starts to affect their physical/mental health as well as their social life, since they neglect them in favour of their obsession.

Often what divides CM patients from HCCM patients is what they're willing to give up for battling and the extent of their knowledge regarding battles. CM patients usually only have a casual interest in battling or just enjoy the thrill of battling, but operate normally and have other interests outside of battle. They have basic to intermediate knowledge of battling, and can often partake in research or battles.

HCCM patients will often forgo food, water, sleep, school, work, and relationships in favour of researching and competing in battles. It is the only thing they find interest in and they devote most of their time towards it. Patients often memorize entire charts of statistics and different strategies and counterstrategies for battle, with different patients often having a certain subject they specialize in. Most patients with HCCM are unaware that they have it, they either assume that they have CM or that they are completely normal and just enjoy Pokémon battles. They often go into fields that work directly with researching Pokémon or battles, such as professors, scientists, gym leaders, elite four members, league workers, battle facility operators, and so on.

Ingo and Emmet do not know they have HCCM. They engage with battle and researching battle in a way that they think is typical for a hobbyist. Ingo tends to read on academic papers, textbooks, and study guides regarding the statistics and capabilities of Pokémon, whereas Emmet takes a more hands-on approach in studying Pokémon anatomy and battle strategy. Ingo often charts and studies natures, EVs, IVs, stat spreads, abilities, moves, and their properties. Emmet sketches anatomical diagrams and studies of Pokémon, including skeletal structure, musculature, organ systems, and physical appearance, highlighting pressure points in the body for executing the most damage and for keeping his own Pokémon protected. He also tends to read into psychological studies as well as conducting his own long term tests to predict a person's strategy in different situations. The two feed into each other's interests, teaching the other of their own discoveries and celebrating breakthroughs together. As a result, their total knowledge of battling is immense, which led to them becoming Subway Bosses straight out of college.

The two lived and worked fairly normally; they were very passionate about their work and it provided a way to sate their need for fighting on a regular basis, as well as giving them the space to experiment with different fighting styles and analyze others' strategies. Of course they still continue their studying outside of work, which often leads to them trying different methods or revisiting recorded battles to see how they could improve. The twins still believe their hours long discussions, piles of notes, and stacks of study materials littered around their house are perfectly fine, only stopping to reconsider after a comment from a coworker highlights how they must be crazy or incredibly disciplined to have as huge of a win : loss ratio as they do.

They end up taking the issue to a psychiatrist after dwelling on the idea for a few days, which is where they get diagnosed after a few tests and a description of their lifestyle and interests. Their case is considered moderate but could easily escalate into severe if left unchecked, though the main concern is whether this would make them a threat to other people due to their work and prominence. Obviously they don't want to lose their jobs, but this kind of thing could get them removed from the League Council if it got out, so they have to consider whether they share this information with their employers or not. Ingo thinks it'd be best to keep it under wraps, but Emmet fears that this could be used as blackmail and argues that they need to release this information themselves before someone else ruins their lives with it. Eventually they do take the diagnosis to the League Council and it gets out to the public.

Emmet takes the fall for Ingo, claiming his case is severe whereas Ingo's is mild so that the League Council will be more distracted with him to bother Ingo. That ends up with Emmet getting a new restraining uniform because the League no longer trusts him to handle himself in public based off his diagnosis. Neither of them are particularly pleased about this, but Emmet tells Ingo to look on the bright side. Emmet actually starts to find the jacket to be more of a little challenge than a hindrance, as it adds an extra level of difficulty to battles that he's been looking for, but Ingo still thinks it would be better if he hadn't had to wear it at all. This unfortunately extends to League parties where he has to be restrained to even be allowed entry, which he is much less happy about.

This post is getting ungodly long as it is but there's also a branch off of this concept where Ingo and Emmet land in Hisui together and Emmet's uniform looks like this. He deconstructed the uniform he was given to modify his jacket since by that point he had a bit of a sentimental connection to it and didn't want to just swap it out.

(Bonus fun fact: Ingo and Emmet decided to pull the biggest gag on the Pearl Clan when they first land by pretending to be one person under the alias Eki. Ingo is the polite one in the dark coat by day, and Emmet is the energetic one in the white coat by night. "Day Eki" is more popular with other Wardens and older clan members, whereas "Night Eki" is more popular with the village children and insomniacs.

The whole Warden Eki concept is technically its own AU in the background but it did originate from Battle Addict. Also I already drew Emmet in the Pearl Strait I can't take that back)

Anyways uhhh there's more let me see if I can condense it:

The twins went to a University specifically focused on battle (Champion's University), where they ended up studying subjects in their specific interests. Emmet took psychology of battle and Pokémon anatomy to learn about the weak points in trainers and Pokémon, and Ingo took general statistics and study of moves which are exactly what they sound like

The twins use the Vs Recorder all the time, both to track their own progress and to observe how passengers fight. It's often stuck to the glass windows to catch the Pokémon in the middle of the car, though they have considered buying Rotom Drones expressly for this purpose

Emmet actually has a stack of different studies on weak points in the human body but he doesn't share that with anyone, not even Ingo

Emmet's study of trainer psych has led to him often predicting tactics before they happen and dodging/countering them with his Pokémon. He often challenges himself to predict a person's team, moveset, and strategy based on appearance, gait, and body language, sharing his guesses with Ingo in case he makes any useful observations

Ingo and Emmet are possibly the first instance of causing "learned HCCM" in their Pokémon because after the training that they do together, the Pokémon have developed their own independent bloodlust and have started memorizing the move strategies that the twins have them use

Sometimes to celebrate fully completing a study on a particular set of Pokémon, the twins will eat one. This is mostly as a treat and an inside joke, but they will research what's in season/allowed and go hunt for one. Ingo is usually the one to catch it, and Emmet is the one to cook it. There's some really goofy shitposts about them going after pseudo-legendaries overseas, or Palkia's leg in Hisui

The twins can perform full medical care on any Pokémon and can often grind for hours nonstop since they can heal their teams themselves. They also save a lot on healing items this way

After releasing their diagnosis, the perception of the twins have gone in wildly different directions. Some people treat them as subhuman or as monsters, some people don't care, some people call them psycho yandere boys on twitter. Emmet tends to get more of the negative connotations, Ingo tends to get the more "positive" ones. Emmet also tends to get a lot of stares due to his restraint and status as a crazed fighter, which he pretends doesn't get to him

I think that's everything, I'm going to go collapse. Hope you guys enjoy 👍

[dootznbootz]

Odypen definitely and equivalently adore each other BUT I weirdly can't see them as the type to actually say "I Love you".

They still definitely vocalize their love for each other but it's more so in "My Joy", and "Extraordinary Woman", "Strange Woman/Man", etc. And very cheesy lines (both say some cheesy shit in the Odyssey, and he definitely does in the Iliad as well. "Joy like a drowning sailor seeing land" bit???)

I could see "I adore you" but even then, that's probably during very specific moments but the actual "I love you"??? I just typed it just now for fic shit and... It weirdly just didn't feel right and I don't know why. 😅

Idk maybe it's kind of because I see them as over the top in ways, they love wordplay and riddles and I think they'd almost think "...That's not good enough >:( " about it??? I don't know???😂

[hella1975]

girls will say they’re tough shit until 7 by catfish and the bottlemen comes on

[rosalesbeausderholle]

At the end of the day, it just really sucks when you can't even enjoy a new release by your favorite artist because the greater internet has decided she's their acceptable outlet of misogyny and they have to comment or hate on her every move every single time.

[innytoes]

Help I can't stop thinking about the Dark Fantasy Fae AU.

There were a lot of things Ray could have never imagined when he married Rose. Moving out of their shabby little apartment into their house after a series of in hindsight rather telling instances of good luck. Their two amazing kids, who were so smart and talented and kind, who seemed to take all the things he loved in their mother and made it their own.

Losing her so young, he'd never imagined that.

And he really couldn't have predicted the four children that landed in their garage through a magical mushroom portal from a fairy realm.

Still, all things considered, Ray thought he was handling things rather well. He did have a very long phone call with Rose's very ancient grandmother, who told him she knew that when he took her name, he'd do the Molina family proud. Abuelita didn't know how much was myth and how much was family legend and how much was real, but the fact that the fae existed was pretty hard to question after the whole magic portal thing.

He stopped overwatering the plants overnight.

Now, the hardest part was helping the kids adjust to modern day life. Reggie was the easiest, considering he'd only lost about twenty-five years. He was a sweet boy, though a little jumpy at times. Alex was from the 1920s and while he still struggled a little with modern slang, he mostly seemed very grateful at the strides that had been made by the queer community, that allowed him to be who he was and love openly.

Luke was a bit trickier. He was distraught at losing his family, of course. He seemed to take to some aspects of modern times like a fish to water - the first time Julie showed him an electric guitar, Luke looked like he was having a religious experience. But Ray had had to pull him out of the road several times already to make sure he didn't get run over by a car, and then there had been the whole Tinfoil In The Microwave experience.

Willie was the trickiest. Ray had no idea how long he'd been in the fairy realm, given that he'd been switched out with a changeling at birth. But he had no real concept of how the human world worked, save for what he'd picked up from the other three boys. But some days, he seemed more fae than human, confused that Carlos couldn't just levitate to grab something off the top shelf, or that other people couldn't teleport short distances.

Which was what made this conversation so difficult.

"Fix, please," Willie had announced, before carefully settling a dead bird on the dining room table next to Ray's laptop.

The dad part of Ray's brain was already making a list of what needed to happen - get Willie to wash his hands, thoroughly clean the table- when the rest of his mind caught up with the request.

"She flew into a window," Willie said sadly, gently stroking the feathery head, and Ray felt a pang. This was going to be a very difficult conversation. One he remembers vividly having with Carlos when he was four (it had been a torn ladybug) and Julie when she was five (when Flynn's grandmother passed away).

"I- I'm afraid I can't do that," he said.

Willie's face twisted into a confused pout. "But I said please," he pointed out. They'd been working on... well, not so much manners as human mannerisms.

"Yes, and that was very polite," Ray said slowly, trying to figure out how to formulate this without being too harsh. "But I am unable to fix a dead robin."

"Please? I'll do all the cooking and the dishes for a whole..." Willie's face screwed up. Time was another thing they were working on. The entire concept of it seemed to upset him. "Year?"

"Willie," Ray said, gently herding him to sit down. "It's not that I don't want to help the bird. This isn't a deal you can trade for. There is nothing left for me to do to help the bird. Humans cannot fix death."

"Death?" Willie echoed, his voice small and uncertain. Ray nodded sympathetically.

"I'm sorry, there's no fixing the bird," he said slowly. "When something is dead, it cannot be brought back."

"No!" Willie wailed, distraught. "She just made a mistake! It's not fair!"

"Oh, mijo, I know it's not," Ray soothed, pulling him into a hug. "Death often doesn't seem fair." He let Willie cry, rocking him slightly. The sound summoned Alex, who took over, pulling Willie into a hug until they were sprawled on the floor, Willie curled up in his lap.

Ray tried not to focus on the dead bird on the table. He wanted to get it out of the house as soon as possible, but right now, Willie's feelings were more important.

"We can hold a funeral for her," he promised. "Bury her in the garden. That way, she can become one with the earth again, and help the plants grow." He thought that idea might make Willie feel a little better. The boy looked at him with big, not-entirely-human eyes, his lower lip trembling.

"It's the circle of life," Alex agreed. "Remember, like that song from the movie Julie and Flynn showed us."

"A funeral means burying her in the garden?" Willie asked, looking between them.

"A funeral is a ceremony to honour someone's life and say goodbye," Ray explained. Willie understood ceremonies, at least. "We can say a few words, and then bury her."

"Luke can sing a song," Alex said. "Birds like songs, right?"

Willie nodded, sniffling.

Ray squeezed his knee, and stood up. "I'll go get a nice box to bury her in." That seemed to upset Willie, and he shook his head fiercely.

"No dark rooms!" he insisted.

"How about some nice soft paper towels?" Alex suggested quickly. He also looked a bit nauseated at the thought of a dark room. Sometimes, Ray thought he'd never get to the end of the horrors those boys had gone through. He nodded, and went to get some gloves and a whole roll of paper towels.

Alex and Willie stayed on the floor, Alex gently rocking them back and forth while Willie ran his fingers through his long hair. "You're not allowed to be dead," Willie told Alex seriously. "I can't fix you."

"I'll do my best not to die," Alex promised. "I'm never going to leave you."

"If you do die, you have to come back as a ghost," Willie insisted. "No burying in the garden. We will be ghosts together. Like in Carlos' videos."

Alex smiled softly, and Ray tried not to tear up at the all-encompassing love and tenderness he saw in the boy's face, so young yet old and wise beyond his age. "Yeah, okay."

[ereborne]

Song of the Day: March 27

"Long Time Gone" by The Chicks

[werenotacoupleyesyouare]

Yeah, of course I know the CLASSICS ("I Ship It" — an Icona Pop parody by Not Literally Productions)

[tomatoluvr69]

Guys my best friend’s ex’s other ex released a honky tonk song about her (my best friend’s ex) 😭😭 genuinely what is going on in my life………it’s WILD

[goldheartedsky]

Andy/Booker + Spotify

Or, 7 songs I have constantly playing in my head whenever I think about these two

(insp)

[dont-open-dead-inside-25]

WAIT YOU LIKE FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST I DIDNT KNOW RHAT 😭

I LOVE FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST YOU HAVE NO IDEA

my children:

the love of my life

[heffrondriving]

soooo. that new big time rush album huh

[puppyeared]

uhh. uhhhhh

[girafferoyalty]

What if we kissed in the virtually simulated version of Twilight town?