#ph drake

[overlordches]

overload

[wakkoroni]

Batfam Incorrect Quotes/Scripts: pt 16

Bruce: Although in schools they say that the pH of battery acid is the same as Stomach acid, battery acid is actually more acidic than stomach acid

Tim: so if I eat enough batteries, I can replace my stomach acid with battery acid

Bruce: what no- that's not how it works. That's not even remotely what I said-

Tim: I'd literally have the stomach of steel

Bruce: You'd die

Tim: *picking up a battery* Hm. Am I worthy of this power

Bruce: Tim. Put down the battery and go to sleep

[pencil-on-the-moon]

It's fine. I'm a nearly 26 y/o with a theatre degree who just learned I've been pronouncing fucking Shakespeare of all things wrong this entire time but like,,, nah that's chill that Noone has corrected me and I'm fine with it lmao. Lol. Lmfao. Teehee. Haha.

[possession]

NICO GREETHAM Drake Hackney ph. for Offline Magazine (2023)

[earthyaries]

How you flirt based on your 5H

The 5th house is ruled by the sun & the sign of Leo; it rules over pleasure, our relationship to children (& “baby-making”), self-expression, creativity, the arts, what we consider fun, & romantic flings. The 5H represents how we express ourselves-romantically + creatively. Using the 5H, we are able to see how we & others flirt.

Aries 5H: You make the first move. You’re direct. You aren’t afraid to ask for their number or tell them how good they look. You don’t hint. You’ll be the one to break the ice, & others find your confidence attractive.

~ Figures w an Aries 5H: Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian, Adriana Lima, Jhene Aiko, + Hailey Bieber

Taurus 5H: You make them swoon over you. You use your looks + material possessions to gain your crush’s attention. You cater yourself to their aesthetic a bit; you might dress in a way you know they will like. You are extra thoughtful of them, you may even buy them gifts.

~ Figures w a Taurus 5H: Kylie Jenner, FKA Twigs, Christy Turlington, Jude Law, + Rebecca Ferguson

Gemini 5H: You pique their interest. You keep them guessing & never let them become bored. You ask them questions about themselves & notice the little things about them that others don’t; ppl love your charisma + good nature.

~ Figures w a Gemini 5H: Ariana Grande, Megan Fox, Mac Miller, David Bowie, + Aaliyah

Cancer 5H: You offer them solace; they feel safe w you. You often find yourself being a place of comfort for those whom you care for. More subtle in nature, your affection comes across as warm & tender.

~ Figures w a Cancer 5H: Michael Jackson, Zayn Malik, Audrey Hepburn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, + Alicia Keys

Leo 5H: You attract them. Having the sign of Leo in its own house, you don’t have to do much to catch your crush’s attention- however, you might introduce them to your world of music, fashion, etc. if you really like them. You’re vibrant & inviting; your smile is enough to make them melt.

~ Figures w a Leo 5H: Rihanna, Heath Ledger, Gigi Hadid, Penélope Cruz, + Kendall Jenner

Virgo 5H: You do favors for them; you remember the things they like & dislike. You observe them & make them feel seen. You may offer them advice. Others appreciate your attention to detail.

~ Figures w a Virgo 5H: Miley Cyrus, Amy Winehouse, Pete Davidson, Kristen Stewart, + Pamela Anderson

Libra 5H: You charm them. You’re surprisingly forward & you use your people skills to your advantage. You know how to make someone blush. Your mannerisms are naturally flirtatious, & when you like someone you play that up.

~ Figures w a Libra 5H: Cher, Lindsey Lohan, Drew Barrymore, Jack Harlow, + Charli XCX

Scorpio 5H: You seduce them. Your eyes are very sultry, & you know how to use them; you make direct eye contact. You may run a hand thru your hair or draw attention to your lips when you know they’re looking. Others associate you w having a naturally sexy presence.

~ Figures w a Scorpio 5H: Angelina Jolie, Kanye West, Lisa Bonet, Sharon Tate, + Abel Tesfaye

Sagittarius 5H: You have fun w it. You like to tease them; joke around a bit & make them nervous. Unpredictability is key, which means you’re good at surprises. You love to keep them on their toes & wanting more. Ppl admire your lust for life + spontaneity.

~ Figures w a Sagittarius 5H: Alexa Demie, Drake, Selena Gomez, Brittany Murphy, + Audrey Plaza

Capricorn 5H: You make an effort. More traditional, you’ll put in the work to show them you like them. You’ll ask them out. Direct, but not pushy. When you like someone, you don’t mind paying the tab. Your “old fashioned” dating style is a breath of fresh air for many.

~ Figures w a Capricorn 5H: Timothée Chalamet, Bella Hadid, Keanu Reeves, Kurt Cobain, + Christina Ricci

Aquarius 5H: You make yourself accessible to them. Not usually the one to initiate, you try to make it easier for them to make a move. You will add them on all your socials, respond to their texts; you might like to talk to them over the phone a lot. They’ll catch the hint.

~ Figures w a Aquarius 5H: Beyoncé, Leonardo DiCaprio, Denzel Washington, Gia Carangi, + Idris Elba

Pisces 5H: You romanticize them. You take them as they are & see them thru caring eyes. You are gentle w them; you point out all the things you like about them & compliment them often. Ppl cherish your softness.

~ Figures w a Pisces 5H: Lana Del Rey, Frank Ocean, River Phoenix, Doja Cat, + Natalie Portman

[acadjonne]

so hear me out

tim drake and danny fenton are twins

jack drake really did have a brother named eddie, once upon a time. eddie drake also had a wife, and she was expecting twins, but of course gotham is gotham. right before the twins would be born, eddie died, but his wife was brought to the hospital and lived long enough for the twins to be born.

jack and janet drake adopt the older twin, tim, because people knew that eddie and his wife were going to have a baby, and they had been considering having a kid themselves. but no one knew the drakes were expecting twins, and jack and janet don’t want two babies, so they arrange for the younger twin to be anonymously given up.

well, through some insane miscommunication, the other twin ends up in illinois, where he’s adopted a few months later by jack and maddie fenton. of course, because danny was given up anonymously, there’s no information whatsoever about his birth family

tim finds out he’s got a twin when he’s eleven or twelve by finding his birth certificate and an ultrasound print in his father’s safe. he starts looking for his twin, but doesn’t find a whole lot on his own.

(even when tim becomes robin, he never thinks of mentioning his twin to bruce.)

when they’re 14, tim meets sam manson at a gala in gotham. she’s originally from gotham as well, but moved to amity park as a kid, so this was her first time back in a long time. danny had just recently found out he was adopted, so of course when sam sees tim and he looks exactly like danny, she puts two and two together and approaches tim.

once sam gets back to amity, she puts danny and tim in contact. they agree that it sounds super unlikely on paper since danny was found in a hospital in chicago, while tim was born in gotham, and danny’s birthday is a couple days off from tim’s because no one knew exactly what day he was actually born, but they also look way too much alike for it to be coincidence.

of course, before they can get a dna test done, danny’s portal accident happens, and he gets super squirley about it after that whenever tim mentions it. plus they’re both minors and the drakes are never around to actually consent to it so it would be kinda weird for tim to insist on a dna test at that point.

but they stay in touch for the next few years, both expertly dodging any mention of their hero activities, and even manage to meet up for their sixteenth birthday. they hang out for a weekend in cleveland because it’s neutral ground, pretty much right smack in the middle between amity park and gotham. then, a few weeks after the events of d-stabilized, shit hits the fan.

valerie knows vlad is also plasmius, and after giving (dani) ellie a good head start, she starts going after him, outing him to the whole town in the process. of course, vlad assumes danny is the one who told valerie, so he outs danny as phantom as well. vlad manages to shake valerie, the fentons, and the giw, but danny isn’t so lucky, and gets captured by the giw.

of course, once they find out he’s been captured, sam, tucker, and jazz start planning to break him out and get him somewhere safe. obviously they can’t take danny to either the manson or foley houses, the giw would check there first, and they can’t take him to jazz’s college dorm either. gotham has a lot of ambient ectoplasm though, and the giw (probably) wouldn’t go anywhere near batman’s territory even with the anti-ecto acts, so sam calls tim and asks if they can take danny to him once they rescue him.

of course, tim had no idea about anything going on in amity park, not that team phantom knew that. turns out the giw have been covering things up forever, and the extremely high ectoplasm leaking from the fentons’ portal doesn’t help either. but of course sam assumes he knows because most of amity park is actively protesting against the giw and demanding danny’s release and it’s about to start getting violent any second now, and if it’s such big news in amity then of course tim knows danny is phantom by now, right?

but tim’s able to keep hold of himself long enough to let sam know that yes, danny can come to gotham, all of team phantom can come to gotham once they’ve rescued him, and once he’s let her go he immediately goes to the other bats and sounds the alarms

so queue the justice league showing up in amity park to deal with the giw, and inquiries about the legality of the anti-ecto acts and how they overlap with meta protection laws get raised, and danny gets rescued, and team phantom is evacuated to gotham.

once things have calmed down, tim tells danny about being red robin and they bond over hero stuff. danny fixes jason’s pit-induced anger problems because holy shit dude your ectoplasm is rancid. bruce of course takes on look at danny and decides to adopt him.

anyway, thanks for coming to my ted talk.

[saphirafoxgirlspost1]

Drake sighed " I Quit and I found a James bond movie I can star as James bond

ph coool :3

[urbanxdivinityart]

Drake arriving in NYC ; Ph. UrbanXDivinity (source)

[evandarya]

Ghosts Dont go to High School

Chapter 10

<Read on Ao3>

D.F. 👻:

Still want to know about ghosts?

Danny sent the message halfway through patrol while Tim was in the middle of breaking up an attempted burglary. He sent back a quick message while blocking a punch with his staff.

Red Robin:

Yes

A quick sweep of his staff landed the last of the thugs on his back.

Red Robin:

Did you talk to Phantom?

While waiting for a reply he zip-tied the thugs together for the GCPD to find and made his way to the nearest rooftop

D.F. 👻:

He agreed to meet you at Old Gotham Cemetery tomorrow at midnight.

Tim frowned at the time and place. Talk about cliche.

Red Robin:

I can be there.

Tim landed on the roof of a building across from Gotham Cemetery at 11:30 pm Sunday. His comm crackled in his ear.

“Are you sure you don’t want any backup?” Nightwing asked.

“I’m sure. Phantom is flighty. If a pack of vigilantes shows up it will scare him off. There’s no telling when or if he’d agree to meet again.” Tim said. Gotham Cemetery stood empty, the large iron gates were chained shut. It didn’t look like Phantom was there yet. Good.

“If Drake allows the ghost to get away again, someone else should be in charge of this case,” Damian said. Tim could almost see the sneer on the demon brat’s face.

“Codenames,” Batman said over the comms. “Red Robin is the only one who has been able to get close to Phantom. We need information on ghosts to be prepared if anything happens, but Phantom is not our enemy.” There was a pause as Batman allowed those words to seep in. “That being said, I can be there in three minutes.”

“It will be fine.” Tim stood to get a better view of the cemetery.

“Isn’t it a bit on-the-nose for a ghost to hang out in a graveyard?” Nightwing asked.

“It’s a cemetery, actually,” Tim said, switching from the regular vision in his mask to infrared. If Phantom had ice powers, maybe he could see him as a cold spot.

“What’s the difference?”

“Graveyards are attached to churches,” Tim responded, “Cemeteries aren't.” There wasn’t anything on thermal vision.

“Did Phantom tell you that?” Damian asked, his derisive tone clear even over the comm.

“No, actually. Da- uh… someone else did.”

“It was your physics partner, wasn't it?” Damian asked.

“Your boyfriend knows the difference between graveyards and cemeteries?" Dick asked. "That’s kinda creepy.”

“He’s not my boyfriend.” Tim shot back.

“Not yet,” Dick sing-songed.

“Chatter on comms,” Batman warned.

“Oh, come on, B. You have to admit, he’s the son of ghost hunters, is in regular contact with ghosts, and hangs out in cemeteries. That’s creepy. All he needs is fangs and he could be a full-on vampire.”

Tim felt his face flush as he was reminded of the sharper-than-human teeth he knew Danny sometimes had. “He’s not a vampire.”

“You wouldn’t be talking about me, would you?”

Tim spun around and found himself face to face with Phantom. Tim wondered if he had had a bad night since the ghost was looking rough. His white hair, which usually floated around as if blown in an invisible breeze hung limp, and there were dark blue bags under his eyes that showed in sharp contrast to his paler-blue-than-normal skin. Even his pointed ears seemed to droop. He had a lumpy black duffle bag thrown over one shoulder and it sat heavily against his hip, or where his hip would be if his body didn’t end in a wispy tail.

“No, of course not,” Tim answered quickly. Phantom hummed, looking unconvinced, and shifted the duffle higher onto his shoulder. “What's in the bag?”

Phantom set it down and pulled out a thin silvery rod, about a foot long and covered in green markings and copper wires. Tim took it from the ghost. “What is it?” Tim turned the rod around in his hands. If he had to guess, it was a lightning rod of some kind.

“Let's head into the cemetery and I’ll tell you about it.” Phantom took the rod back and stuck it into the bag. He floated over to the edge of the building. “After you.”

Tim eyed Phantom; the ghost looked like a strong wind would blow him away, but he gestured for Tim to go first, so he shot off his grapple and landed inside the gates to the cemetery. Phantom joined him just a second later.

“So, what are those rods?”

“It’s why I wanted you here.” Phantom was digging in his duffle bag again. “I’ve been waiting for a natural portal to open between here and the Infinite Realms so I could send Cindy home, but it’s been weeks and there hasn’t been one, which is odd.” Phantom finally found what he was looking for, a device with a small radar dish on the front. He powered it up and a green grid popped up on the screen. “See?” Phantom turned the device so he could see it better.

Tim squinted at the device. There was a line that was rotating and a steady slow beep, but nothing on the screen stood out to him. “I don’t see anything.”

“Exactly! There is supposed to be ectoplasm everywhere," Phantom said, pulling the device back to himself. "It gathers in certain places: ley lines, graveyards, cemeteries, battlegrounds, war zones."

"Places where there is a lot of death," Tim supplied, trying to figure out the line of thought Phantom was on.

"Yeah. Gotham should be an ectoplasm hot spot, what with all the…" Phantom waved his hand in the air in a vague gesture before he shrugged. "Everything about this place." He stopped his explanation long enough to tap some buttons on the device. "But it isn't."

Phantom continued to fidget with the machine but didn't continue his explanation. The cemetery grew silent around them, the only sound was the breeze in the yellowing leaves. Tim shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"Any ideas why that is?" Tim raised his eyebrow in question.

"Theories, not anything concrete." Phantom studied the device in his hands and ran a thumb along the surface. "Most likely, there is a– well, it doesn't translate well from ghost speak, but a kind of natural ectoplasm filter here."

"A filter," Tim deadpanned.

"As I said, it doesn't translate well.” Phantom floated away from Tim a little until he was settled cross-legged on the top of an old headstone. “They form naturally when there is a high concentration of ectoplasm in one spot in the mortal realm. It's part of the natural ectoplasm cycle."

“Ectoplasm Cycle?” Nightwing asked over the comm. Tim ignored him.

"If they form in places high in ectoplasm, why are the levels in Gotham so low?"

"Because they soak up all the ectoplasm like a sponge and filter it back into the infinite realms.”

Chatter exploded over the comms about the Lazarus pit somewhere in the caves under Gotham, but surely not. The pits were mysterious, but they didn't have anything to do with ghosts, surely. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to ask. “What does this filter look like?” the comms went silent.

“I don’t know. I’ve never actually seen one, just read about them.” Phantom put the device back into the bag and pulled out a rod. “In any case, to send Cindy home, I need to force a portal to form. That’s where this comes in.” Phantom held out the rod. He looked pleased with himself, so much so that Tim hated to ask.

“Right." Tim crossed his arms over his chest and nodded toward the rod. "You still haven’t told me what that is.”

“It’s an ecto-rod.” Phantom turned the rod around in his hands. “It gathers ambient ectoplasm and channels it to a single spot. Once the ectoplasm levels in the area get high enough, a portal forms. Then I can send Cindy home.” Phantom tapped the end of the rod twice on his shoulder. “So, that’s my deal. You let me put these where I need them to go, and I’ll answer any questions about ghosts you may have while I’m doing it.” Phantom held the rod in his lap and watched Tim, waiting.

“Is it safe? We aren’t going to have zombies running around Gotham cemetery, are we?” Tim asked. The last thing they needed was more zombies, Solomon Grundy was enough.

“Oh, yeah, no, yeah,” Phantom waved his hand in the air, “it’s perfectly safe. Ectoplasm doesn’t create zombies, only ghosts and the occasional overly aggressive food item.”

"Aggressive food items?" Dick asked.

“What do you mean, aggressive food item?”

“Hmm. That falls under ‘questions about ghosts’" Phantom gave him a fanged smirk.

“If there isn’t any ectoplasm in Gotham, how are the rods going to gather it to form a portal?” Damian asked and Tim hated that he made a good point, but he repeated the question anyway.

“Oh, in a few weeks, it will be Samhain. The barrier is thinner then, so more ectoplasm than usual is going to leak across. The filter won’t be able to keep up with it and there will hopefully be enough to make a portal big enough for Cindy to slip through.”

“And if there isn’t enough?”

Phantom grew still and his voice was nearly a whisper when he responded. “I can supplement if there isn’t enough.”

“What does that mean?” Tim and Dick asked at the same time.

“That falls under ‘questions about ghosts'," Phantom repeated. There was no grin this time.

“Let him set them up. We can increase patrols in the area until we know there isn’t a threat,” Batman growled over the comms.

“Hood isn’t going to be happy about that. This area is right on the edge of his territory,” Dick responded.

They kept talking, their chatter an annoying buzz in his ear. Tim reached up and turned off his comm so he could focus on Phantom. The ghost had his head cocked to the side, watching him curiously. With his glowing green eyes and black-and-white coloring Tim was reminded of a tuxedo cat.

“Okay, you can set up the ecto rods.” Tim hoped they weren't going to regret trusting Phantom.

Phantom smiled brightly and floated down from the headstone. “Great! This way.”

Tim walked beside Phantom deeper into the silent cemetery. The older ornate headstones gave way to smaller stones and placards. The light from the crescent moon shone down in mottled spots, ever-shifting due to the cloud cover. It was still early enough in the season for the leaves to start changing colors but not late enough for them to fall. A cool breeze ruffled his hair bringing with it the scent of fresh-cut grass and gasoline, along with the ever-present stench of the city. He was quiet for a bit, mulling over his thoughts. To his surprise, Phantom broke the silence first.

“So, before you get started interrogating me about ghosts, I have a few ground rules.” Phantom rubbed his shoulder and looked up toward the moon. “Don’t ask about a ghost's death. It’s…rude.” Phantom paused. For a long moment, he was silent, but Tim could tell he wanted to say something else, so he kept quiet until Phantom continued. “You have to understand, ghosts don’t form from nice deaths.” The hand that had been gripping his shoulder that had been on his shoulder came down to squeeze at his hand, his thumb digging into the meat of his left palm.

“Is that-” Tim caught himself asking about Phantom's hand, but the subject of conversation was painting a picture of his days, a death that Tim didn't like the look of. He switched gears instead. “Okay. Anything else?”

“Some things aren’t my secrets to tell. Don’t push for answers if I tell you ‘no’.”

“Okay,” Tim said. “Can I ask you to elaborate on what you meant about supplementing ectoplasm?”

“Ghosts are mostly ectoplasm, in the same way, humans are mostly water. If there isn’t enough ectoplasm to trigger a portal, I can use some of my own.” Phantom held up his hand with the palm facing up.

"Isn't that like using your blood?" Tim felt sick at the thought.

Phantom shrugged. "Sort of."

“There has to be another way.” The last thing he wanted was for Phantom to have to use his own blood, or life force.

Phantom sighed, a thin mist forming from his breath. “Not without sneaking into a highly secured vault with advanced anti-ghost defenses, twenty-four/seven armed guard, and a one-way trip to a holding cell If I'm caught.”

“Maybe I could–”

“No.” Phantom stopped in front of Tim and pinned him with a sharp look. It was the most serious he had ever seen the ghost look. “I don’t want you any more involved than you already are. It’s hard enough keeping Cindy out of danger, I don’t need you poking your nose in where it doesn’t belong. Okay?”

"Okay," Tim said. Phantom nodded and started down a smaller path. He was starting to get an idea of where they were going.

“Speaking of Cindy," Tim spoke up after a few minutes of silence. "Where is she?”

“She’s with me.” Phantom looked over at him and his eyes trailed down toward his left leg. “Or, she’s with you right now.” Tim looked down but he didn’t see anything. He tried switching to infrared, and even ultraviolet views.

“I don’t see anything.”

“Yeah, most people can’t see ghosts when they want to stay hidden.” Phantom stopped to dig into his bag and pulled out a large copper ring wrapped in a thin green wire. The ring could easily fit on Tim’s finger. “Try looking through this.”

Tim took it and held it up to the sky, squinting one eye to peer through the hole. “What is it?”

“It’s like a hag stone but it actually works.” Phantom crossed his arms and waited. Tim sighed and pressed the metal to his eye and immediately pulled it away.

“What the hell?” Tim blinked at the stone in confusion while Phantom smirked at him. He put the ring back to his eye and tried to make sense of what he was seeing. Phantom was still Phantom, same blue skin and white hair, but there was a mist surrounding him, green like his eyes. It seemed to pulse, growing brighter and dimmer in a steady beat. Most of the mist swirled around his torso, but some of it was floating toward Tim. He followed it and found himself looking into the face of a child who was clinging to his leg like a toddler. She smiled and Tim noticed a few missing teeth. Where Phantom was in full color, Cindy’s color was muted grays and pinks.

“She used up a lot of her ectoplasm in the fire. She’s been subsisting on mine since then, but it’s not a permanent solution.”

“Why is she on me?”

Phantom smiled down at the girl and when he spoke his voice was fond. “She likes you, says you feel familiar.”

Phantom made a strange chirping sound and Cindy reluctantly let go of Tim’s leg and settled on the ghost’s shoulders. Her small size reminded Tim of how young Cindy must have been when she died. He didn’t have to ask how she had died, he could guess. Her mother had died in a house fire, and Cindy’s ghost was haunting the burnt-out remnants of an apartment building. Tim clenched the ring in his fist and closed his eyes.

A child had died scared and in pain and his first instinct when meeting her was to think of her as a monster.

“Can she hear me?” Tim asked. At Phantom’s nod, he put the ring back up to his eye. Cindy was still on Phantom’s shoulders watching him with interest. She was much less defined than Phantom, sort of fuzzy around the edges, though no less there. “I want to apologize for the way I acted when we first met. I will help Phantom get you back to your mom if I can,” he said, speaking directly to her.

Cindy’s face broke into a large grin and she flew off of Phantom’s shoulders and crashed into him. Tim could actually feel her. He was surprised by how warm she was for a ghost, how tightly something non-corporeal could squeeze.

“Aw, that’s nice. Well, we’re here.” Phantom turned to the small grave marker. Someone had put fresh white lilies on the grave and it had been recently cleaned of leaves. Tim knew without looking that the grave marker would say ‘Michelle Howe’. Cindy’s mother.

Tim felt Cindy shift her hold on him until she was settled against his back. “What’s the plan?”

Phantom set the duffle bag on the ground and pulled out one of the rods. “I’m going to put these around the grave.”

Phantom floated to the headstone and sunk the rod far too easily into the ground beside it.

"How did you do that?" Red Robin asked. "Density shifting?"

"No,” Phantom pulled another rod out of the bag before answering. “Phase shifting." He pushed the second pole into the ground on the other side of the headstone.

"What's the difference?"

Phantom gave him a look like he should know the answer before shaking his head. "Density shifting is changing the distance between atoms so the atoms in object A pass between the atoms of object B. Phase shifting is moving object A out of phase with the current reality."

"That sounds complicated."

Phantom snorted a laugh. "Ghosts exist on a different plane of reality. The complicated part is staying on this plane." He sunk another pole into the ground several feet away from the first two and in line with the second one. "I can't tell you how many times I fell through the floor before I got the hang of it."

“According to the Fentons, ghosts can control their powers instinctively, but you can't?” Tim asked. Phantom shifted uncomfortably and Cindy seemed to hold onto Tim’s shoulders tighter.

“Most ghosts can, but not all.” Phantom fiddled with the fourth rod. “I can send you some actual research on the different types of ghosts.”

He turned away from Tim and pressed the rod into the ground, completing a large rectangle around the gravesite. There was no evidence of the area being tampered with at all. Phantom pulled the last rod out of the bag.

"How do you know so much about density shifting?" Tim asked.

"Popular Mechanics did an article on some of the Justice League's powers a few years back. I always liked Martian Manhunter the best, before… well, before." Phantom gestured to his wispy tail and pointed ears. Red Robin could finish the thought himself. Before Phantom died.

Which opened up a whole new avenue of questions. According to the Fenton's research ghosts couldn't remember their lives before they died. But Phantom remembered that he liked Martian Manhunter, and Cindy certainly remembers who she was. If they were wrong about that, what else could they have been wrong about?

"What about Martian Manhunter did you like?"

Phantom's eyes lit up, "He's from Mars. He's an actual real-life Martian. We only just developed sustainable space travel, and Martians had that technology before humans even existed. We could have learned so much about space, technology, and the history of the universe from them!"

Red Robin could swear he saw literal stars in Phantom's eyes as he continued to talk about Martians and space travel and the universe at large, and was it his imagination, or was his glow getting brighter? Phantom had started to talk about the formation of the Crab Head Nebula when he suddenly stopped and gave Red Robin a sheepish look. "Sorry, I got carried away. You don't care about any of that."

"You don't have to stop on my account. You seem to really love space."

"Yeah." Phantom fiddled with the last pole in his hands. "I wanted to be an astronaut. Before. I used to read scientific journals about space for fun."

Tim remembered the first time he had seen Phantom, eating a burger and staring up at what little of the stars he could see. "You spent your life studying aeronautics." Red Robin couldn't help the grief welling up like a spring in his chest. For maybe the first time he realized Phantom had been alive once. A human with passions and dreams and hobbies. He had a goal and was never able to achieve it because he had died.

Phantom's hand clenched around the pole, his white gloves made no sound, even though they were made of some sort of rubber. Neoprene, or a chemical-resistant PVC. In fact, his whole suit was a kind of rubberized hazmat uniform similar to the ones the Doctors Fenton had been wearing.

A thought, half-formed, flitted through his brain, and the spring of grief in his chest turned to ice. "When did you meet Danny?"

Phantom turned to face him. The guard that had dropped while he spoke of space was back up, reinforced with wariness. "A long time ago."

"Did you know him before?"

Instead of answering, Phantom narrowed his eyes and sunk the final pole into the center of the grave. "I'm all done here. I shouldn't need your help again."

"Wait!" Tim yelled, reaching out to the ghost. If Phantom disappeared now he may never have the opportunity to speak to him again. But it was too late. Phantom was already gone.

[overlordches]

managed to stuff the LAL brainrot into the closet and hold it in there long enough to FINALLY get good proper refs for these idiots going.

SO HERE THEY ARE PLEASE LOOK AT MY GOOBERS. THEY'RE FINALLY ABLE TO SEE THE WORLD PROPERLY AFTER LIKE 5 YEARS. PLEASE BE NICE TO MY BOYS I LOVE THEM VERY MUCH <3

[ascension-13]

Nick Drake, 1971

Ph._____Nigel Waymouth

[...detail...]

[farewelln3verland]

soO wb songs you'd say are your mootuals?

lol whats with all the moot questions

i'm gonna switch it a little and say songs i'd rec to the mutuals!

@milkybonya: glitch by eun bi

@heeseungdiaries: ayaya by p1harmony

@bluehwale-main: cupid by ph-1

@42e15: passionfruit by drake

@lemonhongjoong: thinking bout you by frank ocean

@tangylemonade: new normal by khalid

THIS IS PROBABLY SO WRONG I'M SORRY-

[possession]

NICO GREETHAM Drake Hackney ph. for Offline Magazine (2023)

[georgiapeach30513]

Do you think that there’s gonna be a sex scene in PH?

A full blown sex scene? No. He’s also not the lead character. This is Eliza Drake’s story. So there might be something with her.

However, I have my suspicions on his topless scene. I have this feeling it alluding to him in the office or some place public, and he’s participating in relations. And when he joins the meeting his shirt is undone. That’s my speculation.

Or!! He’s drinking some martini in the pool 😂

[applejee]

I posted 17,813 times in 2022

That's 80 more posts than 2021!

151 posts created (1%)

17,662 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@celeryw

@pishposhbagosh

@blas-ph-emy

@lemontongues

@ officialspec

I tagged 3,777 of my posts in 2022

#dc - 1,160 posts

#batfam - 683 posts

#just us - 204 posts

#csm - 180 posts

#sandman - 178 posts

#q - 143 posts

#batman - 132 posts

#timkon - 104 posts

#cute - 103 posts

#goncharov - 94 posts

Longest Tag: 118 characters

#burning the receipt so you can keep the kid you were handed for a weekend who is painfully cute and a cool little dude

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

who’s ready for

See the full post

68 notes - Posted December 6, 2022

#4

Hi! Any recs for timkon, or kon centric fics? It only tends to be in the background/implied in batfam centric fics that i read, but i keep seeing you post about timkon and 🥺🥰 I’m catching feelings about it

i’ll be real... im glad u asked bc i read So much timkon ♥ sorting by kudos for timkon is hard bc yeah... its so often background..... kon deserves better!!!!!! so here are some stories u should definitely read, by some lovely authors whose works i am absolutely normal about:

- everything by @batfam-chaos​ especially this one. kon is injured and tim panics my beloved... their stuff is *chefs kiss*

- everything by @lemontongues​ especially this one! slowburn in kansas.... their 2021 whumptober is very kon-centric as well!

- everything by @mindshelter​, this one in particular makes me CRAAAZY

- composed of us by @starlikeknight​ which so far is tim centric BUT itll be eventual timkon and its already amazing so you know the timkon will be too

here are some others i like, found in my bookmarks:

- Gonna Be A Better One (A Thousand Miles To Your Door) by Traincat

- Leap, Fall, Fly by malcyon

- A Night In by Musafir

- Three Little Words by timkons

- please don't live in fear by murmurare

- time flies by by Laroyena

- shenanigans’ timkon my beloved

sadly, i read less kon-centric fic simply cause i am so obsessed with tim my little guy, my poor little meow meow, but again there is good stuff out there. u may have to search excluding timkon on ao3. REGARDLESS,

this is everything i can find off the top of my head, really. trust me theres so much more out there i adore (like the pretending to be a gold digger wip, or the catfishing fic, or the hannah montana-style identity shenanigans fic, or this one astolat fic, or the one where dick picks up kon as a cop and tim on the phone asks if he’s cute, or any of the countless other stories out there) so definitely go and have a search!! yeehaw!!!!! hope that helps!

96 notes - Posted January 22, 2022

#3

omg omg i just BLEW through your dc fics (showstopping. incredible. magnificent) and AH TIM and was wondering do you have any Tim-centric fic recs? with that GOOD angst? no pressure or anything, thanks for all your hard work 💕💕💕💕💕

omg anon 😳😳😳😳 thank you im so glad to hear it <3

also FYCK YES IM HERE TO GIVE OUT ANGSTY TIM FICS. first and foremost u should probably jsut go thru my entire bookmark tag with tim drake but i will pick and choose the best for u here, i hopeu enjoy.

also fair warning all these may include, to some degree, violence, torture, child abuse, implied or referenced non con, etc, due to the fact these are very angsty and filled with hurt and comfort and lots of whump, so pls read the tags!

A Meditation on Railroading by eggmacguffin

this one is the best. i love it. @eggmacguffin blew it out of the PARK with this once ive reread it an absurd amount of times. tim's dad leaves him in atlanta so he makes his own way home, runs into jason, and shit happens. also, read ALL their other tim fic ok. u wont regret.

buried birds by envysparkler

have i told you to read everything by envysparkler? read everything by envysparkler. her shit is the BEST. buried birds is one of my faves, as tim is buried alive in a coffin and jason rescues him. luv it

Grilled Cheese by crumpetz

hooooooo 8k of pure tear inducing deliciousness. i reread this constantly for the catharsis. makes me cry everytime. cw for graphic injury

Echoes of You by SilverSkiesAtMidnight

wherein tim dies, is resurrected, and jason is the one to find him fresh out the grave. trauma times two electric boogaloo! check out their current wip and recent works as well!

best laid plans by Valkirin

ra's steals tim away at the same time as jason, freshly unearthed from his grave. Shit Happens. LOVE valkirin’s stuff

The Return by lurkinglurkerwholurks

essential reading. what happens after batman's brought back out of time. read all their other tim fic if u havent yet

It's Not That Funny by Ionaperidot

tim becomes joker junior! uh oh! tim's brain is scrambled by the joker and ra's and he and jason maybe become serial killers and highly codependant but they slowly heal and rejoin the family. so good. cw for graphc violence and so much more, check the tags

On the Way Home by ignesfatuis

little wolf shifter tim is kidnapped, then rescued, and stays with the waynes to heal while he cant shift back. chicken soup for the soul

Fussing Over Scars by maychorian

platonic soulmate au! i cried. check out all of maychorians stuff for more tim angst!!

Dangerous and Noble Things by destiny919    

tim is kidnapped by ra’s, and four years later the bats rescue him, and whaddaya know! he comes with a sister <3 love it. they have a bunch of other tim fic too!

more behind the cut!!

now theres a ghost in the back of this room by CosmoKid

tim helps an abused kid and comes to some Revelations of his own

whumptober 2021 by CosmoKid

just read all of it. chefs kiss. cosmokid has a lot of angsty tim fics and u should read them all

Bristol Kids by Anonymous

See the full post

109 notes - Posted January 30, 2022

#2

reminded seeing the collection of the batfam fic survey i voted in (which is fun and exciting, ill be checking some of those out later!!!!!) of some of the batshit collections people have requested my works be added to.

straight up some of you need to just use the bookmark function because it is beyond offensive to have your fic added to a collection titled “dumb bullshit to satiate my escapism”. like, really? obviously i rejected that one, and ive rejected a few others just because. that’s not what collections are for.

do people forget collections are public? do people forget that you see a list of collections a work is in directly under the tags? i’m honoured to accept my works into collections titled “fics i love”; “fics i’ll reread until the end of time”; “fics with good stephanie characterisation”—these are compliments, and things like “robin vs red hood” collect specific tropes and AUs together that ao3 may not have the tags for yet. they serve a function

i dunno, i think collection use has got a bit out of hand. im complaining on main because this keeps happening and at one extreme it’s offensive (dumb bullshit??) and at the other extreme there already exists a function for tracking it (“fics i have read”?)

respectfully, i think some people may benefit from bookmarks and bookmark tags. for one, you can tag nigh limitlessly, and search them on your bookmarks page using both the tags and the notes. also, most importantly, you can make them private. want to leave a note for yourself as to why you didn’t fully enjoy a fic? remind yourself of something that triggered you? want to simply keep track of a fic you didn’t enjoy as much as others? private bookmark, and the author never has to know.

this is a little bit of a rant but when i have rejected my works being added to collections multiple times it adds up, lol.

202 notes - Posted September 4, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

since i cannot find the masterpost i initially used to obtain all these extensions initially, here’s a list of privacy extensions i use in conjunction with firefox! i’ve included a link to each of them which is very easy if you use firefox. pls use firefox. brave is also good for privacy. there are others out there so do your research, and again, please for the love of god, switch from chrome if you can xx

–

Bypass Paywalls Clean - bypasses paywalls. v helpful. this one isn’t verified by firefox however

Decentraleyes - this helps to prevent websites from tracking you and blocks requests

Don’t track me google - stops google from lengthening urls theycan track you with. godsend

DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials - blocks tracking, enables https where possible, overall a good and helpful extension

Facebook Container - isolates facebook in its own container so its much harder for them to track you. always a bonus

HTTPS Everywhere - does what it says!

Privacy Badger - blocks trackers, similar to some of the others listed. can never have too many

Shinigami eyes - if you dont have this enabled wyd? marks trans friendly accounts as green and transphobic ones as red, or other colours based on your preference. makes blocking very quick and easy! not verified by firefox, but just as essential as the rest

uBlock Origin - basically an ad blocker, the best of the bunch; also prevents a lot of tracking and coin miners too

–

if you have any privacy extensions you use or find useful, feel free to reblog with your own suggestions!

248 notes - Posted January 18, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[elegantmadness]

Seeds of Doubt, Interlude 1.2

Please refer to the first chapter for character and fandom info; otherwise I'll just assume you know what you're getting yourself into!

Rating: For this first chapter, it's M. Please also note lots of blood descriptions.

Pairing : Squall Leonhart/Genesis Rhapsodos

Chapter Summary: After the meeting, Genesis retreats to let loose in the training room. Squall reluctantly joins him. After a fiery duel and some unexpected tension, the pair have a talk about their respective rivals. It ends about as Squall expects.

<- Previous Chapter Next Chapter -> AO3 Link

In all honesty, Squall felt like he’d been hit squarely in the face several times after that meeting. He felt off-balance somehow, as though everything had suddenly shifted and he didn’t know how to right himself again. He certainly hadn’t appreciated Rufus and Lazard digging into his past, and while the entire concept of being an Ancient was utterly ridiculous, he didn’t exactly have proof to the contrary, did he? And he wasn’t about to ask one of Shinra’s scientists for some type of test to prove one way or the other, not when Hojo or Hollander or someone else might detain him for further study. 

Strife had been the only one he’d been reasonably familiar with before the meeting, but with Fair hanging all over him Squall had wordlessly excused himself and headed for the hallway. A gloved hand made it up to his forehead where a headache was building ominously, the tension threatening to spill over into a full-blown migraine at any moment. His fingers itched as he considered reaching for his PHS to call someone, but he paused before his hand had even broken contact with his forehead. Who was there? Gast was dead, he was avoiding Irvine, and he could only imagine Seifer would laugh before hanging up unceremoniously. 

Rinoa wasn’t a bad option, necessarily, but he really didn’t want the third degree on how he was doing and why he never called her or answered her texts. His hand fell back to his side limply, though he could think of only one option after exhausting the rest of them: the training facility. 

Unfortunately for him, said training facility was occupied, and he wasn’t about to push in on the facilities specifically designated for Thirds and Seconds. 

Still, the facility was… decently large, wasn’t it? There was no reason he and someone else couldn’t both take out some frustrations on holographic targets without getting in the way. It wasn’t ideal, but it was something, and Squall was desperate enough to take it. 

He didn’t even bother with the controls; no doubt whoever was already in there had set them high enough, and even if not, Squall wasn’t necessarily looking for a training challenge. He just needed to work off some steam. 

When the door to the virtual room opened, Squall could already hear angry shrieks and the telltale sizzle of fire magic. When a winged drake came zooming down in his direction, though, Squall was ready. He’d never been a fan of aerial combat, though that didn’t stop him from striking at the creature’s wing joint with a lethal downward strike, the leathery skin giving way until it dissolved and Squall landed on his feet with a quiet thud. His fingers still itched, however, and his grip only tightened as another swell of fire magic disintegrated a copse of virtual trees dead ahead. 

“You. What are you doing here?” 

Genesis Rhapsodos, one of the foremost Commanders of Shinra’s SOLDIER division and a practical war hero of Wutai, cut an imposing figure as he descended from a higher ledge, the folds of his coat swaying from the movement as he landed easily, gracefully even, on his feet. Squall had read several of his reports, though it wasn’t hard to figure him out; he was angry, had been ever since Lazard called him a failed experiment, though Squall didn’t understand why he cared one way or the other. What did other people’s opinions matter? 

At Genesis’ irritated question, Squall could only roll his eyes. “This is still the training room, right?” Genesis bristled further at the caustic sarcasm in Squall’s tone, one of his hands tightening into a fist. 

“I don’t recall asking you to join me,” Genesis answered tightly, eyes narrowing as Squall stiffened in place. 

I don’t have the patience for this. Genesis, frighteningly, was reminding him of Seifer: demanding, fiery, and downright rude at times. The comparison made him lift his free hand to pinch the brim of his nose, his headache returning full force before he realized that another swell of magic was being cast – and this time, in his direction. Squall cut it down with a swipe of his blade before catching Genesis’ gaze, the man’s mako-glowing irises glittering with mirth and mania. 

“Well, if you won’t leave, I suppose I’ll have to settle for a partner,” Genesis practically spat out the last word, though Squall wasn’t even allowed a word in edgewise before a crimson rapier, glittering with magic, bore down on him. He brought his gunblade up just in time to intercept it, sparks flying in every direction as the impact jostled Genesis’ shoulder-length auburn locks. “So, the supposed Ancient isn’t as delicate as he looks.” Genesis smirked over the crossed blades before Squall pushed him back with a grunt of effort, his own eyes narrowing at the reminder. 

“Oh? It appears I’ve struck a nerve. I can’t imagine how that feels.” Fury was exploding in Genesis’ tone: making his eyes gleam as he raised a hand to summon yet more fire to his palm. 

“Why the fuck do you care what those assholes say?” Squall finally shot back, aiming a blast of icy wind to break apart the inferno building in Genesis’ palm. The sudden disintegration of the fire had Genesis momentarily knocked off-balance, though he simply bared his teeth in a growl before leaping forward to another rain of sparks as their blades met. 

“You don’t understand,” Genesis howled, aiming a kick to Squall’s midsection and sending him flying back into a tree. “To be constantly compared to others, never seen as equal no matter how hard you try. Though now I suppose we know why, do we not? Since our dear General was engineered for savagery.” 

For fuck’s sake. How many times would he have to listen to this sort of shit? Seifer had bemoaned not being chosen as the First Class candidate when Squall had been chosen instead, had snarled that it wasn’t fair, had insinuated that Squall was a freak no human could have hoped to match. 

For a moment, Genesis’ form even flickered blond, a mirrored scar appearing over the line of his nose as Seifer sneered down at him. Gritting his jaw, Squall could feel his usually-ironclad restraint beginning to fray. Did he think this was easy? Squall had never tried to make anyone feel inferior, had never done anything but his best; couldn’t anyone see that people were different? No one was ‘better’ or ‘worse’; such were arbitrary words, though as Genesis crept closer, still wearing that infuriating smirk, something in Squall snapped. 

Genesis fell back just as the tip of the gunblade swiped up where his nose had been a moment ago, and for the first time, he seemed to be taking this ‘duel’ seriously. “I never wanted this!” Squall roared, swiping at Genesis with frightening intensity that left Genesis on the defensive; it was a wonder his rapier didn’t go soaring out of his grip when Squall landed a particularly hard swing and numbness spread through Genesis’ fingers for just a few seconds. His eyes widened at the vehement look on Squall’s face: wild eyes, pursed lips, flaring nostrils; his strength could rival Sephiroth’s, but instead of being further angered by it… Genesis let out a breath in a half-startled gasp before his lips curled into a lazy smile.

The next blow sent his rapier clattering to the ground, skidding away several feet, and Genesis only then realized he needed damage control, and quickly. Too bad for him he wasn’t nearly quick enough. 

Squall rounded on him half a second before pain bloomed across his face, and he gasped as it burned his skin; was Squall using magic without materia? Was that even possible? It was only luck that allowed him to evade Squall’s next swing, and he had to bite back a smirk as he landed a fire-laden hand on top of Squall’s, the brunet swearing under his breath before he released his grip on his weapon to cradle the burnt appendage. The gunblade was not something Genesis was accustomed to, and he would relish the chance to look at it more thoroughly later, though for now…

A red-gloved hand balled itself in the fabric of Squall’s shirt and tightened, and Squall went sprawling backwards as a fist connected with his jaw, the taste of blood an unnervingly familiar one as he swallowed, his tongue trying to clear it from his teeth. This… this was almost familiar: the rapid thrumming of his pulse as it pounded in his ears, the slow trickle of blood oozing down the side of his chin, the pinpricks of pain just before he straightened himself and looked up in time to see Genesis watching with an almost gleeful expression. 

“I didn’t think gods bled,” Genesis spoke glibly, his tone, fortunately, now a far cry from Seifer. Squall wasn’t terribly accustomed to this… amusement Genesis favored; Seifer had stuck to sneers and insults and heavy blows that Squall could still remember from the recoil it sent arcing up into his limbs. He couldn’t decide which was worse, though words were spilling from his mouth before he even thought to stop them.

“I didn’t think monsters bled red,” Squall added just as glibly, his turn of phrase catching Genesis so by surprise he almost smiled between his winded chuckles. Squall didn’t even see the next punch coming, though for each blow that landed, he returned it – took almost a perverse pleasure in watching Genesis stagger, in watching him hold his jaw or his nose as blood ran down the sharp point of his chin and over those blood-colored gloves he favored. 

The next time Squall rushed Genesis, though, the redhead was prepared; he shifted his weight to one side, leaving one foot angled out just enough for Squall to trip over. He fell to the ground in a heap, the taste of blood even more pungent in his mouth, though as he tried to stand, there was a sudden warm weight straddling him, wandering hands sliding appreciatively over the supple leather of his jacket. 

“Yielding already?” Genesis taunted, leaning close enough for Squall to feel his breath against his ear, the brush of his hair against his neck, but by far the most distracting was his smell. Blood and leather and something heady, akin to musk, assaulted his nose, and Squall shuddered despite himself. It had been too long since he’d had sex, and that fight had… well, stirred up old memories that usually led to the bedroom – or sometimes a closet or the showers or even the nearest wall. 

“Who knew you could be domesticated,” Genesis continued lazily, a finger trailing up the nape of Squall’s neck. He couldn’t suppress another shudder, though he did bristle at the redhead’s words. He didn’t expect the soft chuckles that followed, nor the sudden removal of that comfortable weight on his back. 

Squall didn’t wait to get to his feet, his balance wobbly for just a moment as Genesis approached, his gaze assessing. It was… almost startling to see Genesis still bleeding, his face purpling with bruises. He hadn’t really intended to hit him so hard, but once his restraint slipped, he’d learned it wasn’t always easy to get it back into place; it was why he tried so hard to stay in control of himself. “Sorry,” Squall muttered, a gloved hand reaching unconsciously for Genesis’ cheek but pausing mid-way.

What the fuck was he doing?

“No need to worry. I always give as good as I get.” An auburn eyebrow curled upward as mischief curved the corners of Genesis’ lips attractively, and Squall could scarcely look away. 

Fuck.

It was a mistake. Of course it was, but there was no stopping him now, especially not when Genesis’ eyelashes fluttered and he took a step closer, his hands weaving their way into Squall’s hair. The kiss hurt, even tasted like blood, but he was loathe to part from it even so, one of his hands splaying against the back of Genesis’ neck as a bloody tongue prised his lips apart. That particular act earned Genesis a groan before Squall chased it back into his mouth and a similar sound rumbled out of Genesis’ mouth, vibrating against Squall’s chest. His hand tightened at the base of Genesis’ skull as he took his time to explore Genesis’ mouth: grazing over his teeth, his gums, and his tongue before coiling around the muscle and sucking. 

He almost missed the soft, whimper-like moans that Genesis offered, smothered by Squall’s mouth as he was, though for once Squall didn’t mind the side effect of his enhanced hearing. What he didn’t expect were sharp, little teeth to bite down on his tongue playfully, the act earning a startled groan before Squall pulled away with a rather accusatory look. Genesis looked almost demure when he deigned to open his eyes, his feigned innocence making Squall’s lips twitch. His playfulness made way for something more sincere, though, something almost curiously fond, and Squall ignored the similarly-curious flip of something in his chest as he glanced around the clearing for his gunblade. 

“In future, please feel free to be my partner.” Genesis seemed to derive some sort of pleasure in double entendre, and Squall snorted at it, the brunet shaking his head in silent bemusement. 

“I’ll keep it in mind,” Squall informed him, just a hint of mischief coloring his tone. “For now, we should probably clean up.” Genesis cocked an eyebrow at that, though parted his lips in silent understanding as Squall retrieved a Cure materia from his jacket pocket. It quickly morphed into a curious blink when Squall cast the spell on him first, the bruises and the cut beginning to heal until even the slight throbbing was gone. 

“My turn,” Genesis insisted, wasting no time in grabbing the materia out of Squall’s hand as the brunet heaved an exasperated sigh. “I must have… struck a nerve earlier. You came at me like a man possessed,” Genesis noted, the amusement in his tone slight, as if the pleasant feeling were overwhelmed by something more negative. Was that… contrition Squall was hearing? The urge to tease him was strong, but Squall withheld it, instead focusing on the unasked question.

“I doubt you want to hear about it,” Squall eventually settled on an answer as the materia began to glow and the Cure took effect. 

Genesis’ eyes rolled as he scoffed. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have brought it up.” 

With a sigh, Squall held out his hand for the Cure materia before dropping down to sit, a hand rubbing thoughtfully against his forehead before he pocketed the materia. Genesis seemed to take it as a cue to follow, and sank down to sit at his side, close enough to feel ambient warmth if not direct physical contact.

“Back before I made First, there was an old training partner of mine, Almasy.”

Genesis outright grimaced to hear it. “Oh. Him.” 

Squall chuckled drily, nodding in affirmation. “He was determined to beat me at everything. Materia control, training, missions, even recognition from the Director or superior officers or our fellow Seconds. We got in our fair share of tussles, in and out of the training room.” Genesis was listening raptly, his eyes never wavering from Squall’s face. 

“It didn’t matter what I said or what I did. It was always my fault when he didn’t win, or when he failed, or when he fucked up a mission. And a lot of what you were saying… reminded me of what he used to say to me.” 

Squall paused, unsure what else there was to say; he really didn’t want to get into the tangle of what their relationship had entailed, especially with someone he still didn’t know very well, though Genesis at least seemed thoughtful when he glanced in the redhead’s direction. 

“I’m sure it will come as no surprise for you to learn that I have a bit of a… rivalry with our dear General,” Genesis began, idly picking at a broken flower stem. He let out a harsh laugh rather abruptly, his fingers grabbing the stem and plucking it free. “Or, I suppose it’s more apropos to say that I have a one-sided rivalry with him.” His laugh was bitter this time as he crushed the stem in his fist before letting the remnants drift down from his open, sideways palm.

“He does nothing to bait me, nothing at all, and I suppose that fact alone is what irritates me so badly. Sometimes it feels as though he doesn’t recognize all my effort–”

“He does,” Squall stated plainly, his declaration freezing Genesis in place. “But what would be better? For him to acknowledge that, however hard you work, he still knows he can beat you? He doesn’t bring it up because he’s trying not to rub your nose in it.” 

That gave Genesis pause, though after a moment’s consideration he simply shook his head with a hapless chuckle. “So we’re doomed to be forever at odds.” There was a strange, pained quality to Genesis’ tone, though he glanced up grumpily when Squall heaved a long-suffering sigh.

“Have you forgotten you’re on the same side? Aren’t you, Hewley, and Sephiroth best friends? I’ve heard the stories of all the shit you got up to in Wutai. You’re just going to end up pushing him away if you don't stop, and I get the feeling that’s not what you want. Maybe he can best you in a spar, but I’ve heard – and seen – that you’re pretty handy with the materia.” Genesis’ eyes rolled at that, but Squall was determined. Maybe he couldn’t mend fences with Seifer, but Genesis could mend them with Sephiroth. 

“Have you ever thought about what makes Sephiroth jealous of you?” 

Genesis’ eyes widened impossibly at that. “Don’t be ridiculous!” Genesis shot back hotly, incredulously, color rising high on his cheeks. 

“Sephiroth spent his life in a lab, being tortured and groomed by fucking Hojo. Don’t you have a family? A rich family from a some small town? A best friend from childhood? Sephiroth may have a lot, but he never had a family, and before you and Angeal, I doubt he had any friends – or any meaningful contact at all.”

“So, what? ‘Be grateful for what you have’?” Genesis snorted derisively. 

“No.” Squall stood as he spoke, his shoulders squared. “Maybe stop being such a fucking self-centered bastard. If you took your head out of your ass for a few minutes, you might actually notice how Sephiroth looks guilty whenever you act like this, like he’s the one who’s done something wrong when he hasn’t.” Genesis got to his feet swiftly, hands tightening into fists, though Squall had already retrieved his gunblade and was heading for the door to the training room. 

Genesis stopped trailing after him, only waiting until after the door had shut again before conjuring another Fire spell and letting out an anguished, enraged wail as the magic seethed and roiled around him.

Finally.

There was a storm to match his rage.