#the penguin takes flight

[smashpages]

Out this week: The Penguin Takes Flight (DC, $3.99):

If you missed the Catwoman/Penguin story that appeared as a back-up in Batman #125-127 because, well, I don’t know … maybe you hate Batman, but you like Catwoman? Well, this one’s for you, as DC collects the story that features Catwoman tracking down the Penguin’s next of kin after his death, by Chip Zdarsky and Belén Ortega.

See what else is arriving at your local comic shop this week.

[freebooter4ever]

She is the cutest!! The little 'gasp' when they score while her poor husband is in the box lol

[bunnyb34r]

Did go to the zoo

It was fun but I almost got stuck in a ditch bc I was going downhill on a brick path and it slanted into a lovely little ditch and had to abruptly stop myself and wait for my mom to come wheel me to level ground 😑

They even had an ADA pathway! Which was up a VERY long hill that was steep as shit and full of turns. Like my mom and cousin had to switch off a couple times pushing me up hill which ngl was kinda embarrassing... oh and the other path, which we went down, basically same fucking shit just less turns 😑😑😑

And it was raining off and on all day which wasn't so bad when it was a drizzle but when you cant hold an umbrella and wheel, you end up holding the umbrella for two people and that ends up soaking your exposed legs and shoes

But it was funny to see the animals that did not like the rain hiding bc the condor was in his little hut and he was staring out like 😒 and staring at us like "what are you freaks looking at?"

And the jaguar who was under her little hide looking up at us like 🥺 "it's wet..."

We did get to see penguins (Humboldt penguins, which don't mind warmer weather! They were enjoying the day and playing), a saggy boobied gibbon mom and her itchy assed son, and vine swinging mate, HUGE lionesses up close! They were right by the glass and they're SO BIG! and an otterly adorable and very photogenic river otter who kept doing laps by the viewing window and would swim right up to the glass, turn to show his belly, turn and belly roll, turn and then come back around again, like they had this down pat! And we saw him following our fingers and so we moved to the land part to see if he'd follow and he did! Then tried to get in the zoo keeper doors and then left sggdgdgdgd

So overall I did have fun even if it was uncomfortable at times with my cousin (I'm usually a huge chatterbox when I'm with people I'm comfortable with, i was pretty quiet), and if the zoo wasnt as ada accessible as promised, and if the gift shop sucked aside from the plushies (but the staff were very nice and the one working on a display moved his cart for me when I was coming around where he was, which was nice bc I was more than happy to go back the way I had come in from)

I dont think I got many good pics bc the rain + it's hard to get pics when you're wheelchair height, but I'll check them later and see if any are worth sharing

[specshroom]

🪶 Bird hybrid thoughts

🪶 Bird hybrid lover who is very cranky and insecure when they start moulting. You reassure them by taking warm baths with them to soothe their itchy skin. You just listen to them grumble while running your hands through their wings to gently dislodge any loose feathers.

🪶 Parrot lover that can't stop preening and nuzzling you when they get closer to mating season.

🪶 Peacock men who are soooo pampered and spoilt. They expect to be lavished and admired and they usually are. Peacock man who adores and worships his comparatively plain looking peacock wife.

🪶 Vulture guys who are scary and mean. Definitely not the type you want to introduce to your parents. They're terrible teases and like to play with their prey.

🪶 Falcons who are very proud and powerful, they boast a huge wing span and lightning flight speeds. Usually very athletic types. Can be put under the himbo/herbo/thembo category.

🪶 Crow partner who looks super scary and mysterious but once you get to know them their actually a huge nerd and kinda goofy.

🪶 Very hyper hummingbird hybrids who are usually small and very energetic. Can't get them to stay still or on the ground for even a minute. They usually have a sweet tooth.

🪶 Seagull fishermen and tropical penguin surfer dudes.

🪶 Introverted owls who stick to themselves and like lazy mornings, lazy days and lazy nights. Can come off as cold and indifferent but they're just not very sociable.

🪶 Charming song birds who serenade their lovers with their beautiful voices and colourful feathers.

🪶 Doves being hopeless romantics. Dove couples are known for their annoying and dramatic pda.

🪶Tall and graceful crane hybrids. Very sophisticated and sometimes snobbish.

🪶 A human who patiently watches their hybrid bird boyfriend do a mating dance for them. While they don't fully understand it, they appreciate the effort and their lover appreciates their willingness to go along with his traditions.

[kodaiki]

highlights! ⇢ y/n was being so deadass w the 8ball ⇢ despite being tired af for his flight, satoru doesn't blame y/n at all <3

author's note! ⇢ ten pics instead of nine hehe extraaa <333 thank u for waiting! also to note, these take place over the course of a few days!

꒰ 𝐒𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 ꒱ ↳ as a rising star in the tumultuous world of hollywood, you're handed a golden opportunity to boost your career – a fake relationship. what your manager forgot to mention? your leading man is none other than satoru gojo, hollywood's notorious fuckboy. easy? well, not exactly.

PART THIRTY-EIGHT | NEXT

ʚĭɞ rbs and interaction always appreciated! ʚĭɞ

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taglist:

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[cloudmancy]

I just KNOW mary ann would fuck it up on flight rising & neopets & club penguin. let's take play petsites together.....

[daemonmage]

I keep thinking about this AU where Bruce just stays in college and becomes a doctor but still gets dragged into the superhero world.

Ok so Bruce is a doctor and is known for never turning down a patient because he’s still Bruce and he just doesn’t want anyone to die. He still lives in Gotham which is still a horrible place. He still tries to help Gotham by donating and creating his Wayne foundation but it’s hard because the inherent corruption in Gotham hinders anything he does this way.

The mob is still super active in Gotham and a lot of Batman’s rogues still happen because a lot of his rogues just happen with or without Batman. Poison Ivy still becomes an ecoterrorist. Penguin still becomes a powerful mob boss. Mad Hatter is still just the worst. Tommy probably still tries to kill Bruce. Just so many of Gotham’s rogues still exist, except there is no hero to stop them in Gotham. People try, but Gotham is never kind to any hero. Bruce is immensely frustrated by all this but he can’t really do anything. Hell sometimes Lesly’s clinic (cause I feel like he would work there) gets harassed and extorted to help heal mob members and crime wars. He hates this a lot but he’s trapped. He doesn’t have Batman training or gear, the best he can do is help where he can.

However there are still other heroes in this world and Superman is literally just a quick flight away. The JL forms without a Batman and they see Gotham as a powder keg. So they try to help when they can and sometimes they get injured. It comes to a head when a Metropolis (Lex Luthor specifically) and some Gotham rogues team up to get rid of the main hero pain in their necks. Lex creates kryptonite bullets and disperses them to the Gotham rogues to use. Lex sees this as a win because he can get Superman killed without doing much and the Gotham rogues see this as a win cause they have a big weapon against Superman.

So Superman gets shot at with kryptonite bullets. They aren’t the best so they hurt him but only one really makes it through and hits his skin. He has to call in back up and the JL comes to help. I can image Wonder Woman or Flash getting there first. They have no idea what to do because holy shit Superman was shot. That shouldn’t happen! But they’ve heard of this doctor in Gotham that’s supposed to be really good. Maybe Oliver or Dinah suggest Bruce idk. So they take Superman to Dr. Bruce Wayne.

Dr. Bruce Wayne is at his manor with Alfred and a young Dick Grayson (because I firmly believe Bruce would still adopt the kids) and then there is a knock on the door. Alfred goes to answer and in barges the Justice League with a bleeding Superman. Bruce is immediately on his feet barking orders to the JL to get equipment he can use and telling Dick and Alfred to stay back. He doesn’t know what’s going on or how freaking Superman is bleeding out in front of him but he doesn’t care. Bruce realizes quickly that the bullet is cause Clark more pain so it can’t be a leave the bullet in there scenario. He gets the bullet out and asks the JL how to help Clark heal. They say sunlight helps but this is Gotham! It’s polluted and over cast all the time, he won’t be able to get enough sunlight. Bruce remembers a sunlamp they have from a science experiment for Dick. He tells Dick to go get it and they pray that it works. It does by some miracle, though it’s no substitute for actual sunlight.

The League is grateful for Bruce and Clark is also immensely grateful cause holy shit he got shot. The Justice League has to now figure out how these bullets got out in the first place and well Bruce can’t help but be nosy so he mentions that a few of his patients, the mob ones, let it slip that the higher ups got into contact with someone in metropolis and Bruce knows Lex hates Superman. So he helps them out a bit too.

And after that any time they need help with some medical issue they go to super doctor Bruce. He’s also still Bruce and can’t ignore his detective brain so he helps them with mysteries too from time to time. Idk I feel like this still needs more fleshing out but I think it could be funny. Or sad. Or both.

[kedreeva]

Thank you for your time, whether or not you entertain my questions. I really appreciate it!

1.) Do you have to be careful about things like aerosols around the birds?

2.) How would you determine body condition in a bird without a keel? Or a small one?

3.) Where is a bird’s center of gravity? Around their hips?

4.) Do birds in general have stiff spinal columns?

1) yes they have very delicate respiratory systems. They have a super weird respiratory system actually. It is looped and goes one way. If you don't know about this I highly recommend looking it up, it's fascinating how they make use of air sacs to just. always have inflated lungs.

2) a small one is the same, as long as they have a keel, you just have to be more delicate about it. As for ones without a keel, I've never kept ratites, so I can't give you an actual answer, but my assumption would be by leg condition (even in flighted birds you can look at legs and tell when they're losing weight- there's not a lot of meat on their legs but it can still change shape when it's bad) and still by chest/rib palpitation. But you'd have to talk to someone that does ratites to know for sure.

3) my guess is that it depends on the bird. A penguin's center of gravity will be different from a sparrow's. Birds don't really have the same kind of hips you think of when you think of hips. This is a drawing so you can see better:

There are a bunch of fused bones there, and it takes up a huge portion of their body just like the keel. The center of gravity for peafowl is about where the blue mark is.

I want to point out that birds may not share this hip bone structure with dinos, even the ones that are bird shaped, so it may not translate. A dino with a heavy tail would probably balance more over the hips, as they have more weight on the back end. You're generally looking for where the midpoints laterally and dorsally meet up, not necessarily a structure like "hips."

4) I can't answer about birds in general, but peafowl in general do not have spinal columns. Or any other bone.

In seriousness, I guess it really depends on what you mean by spinal column, and how much neck they have. The length of spine over the keel is pretty stiff for obvious reasons, but overall peafowl are pretty bendy and loose limbed. I think some folks who animate large birds tend to animate them more stiffly than they actually are. I don't know if dinosaurs would lean more toward that or toward lizards, and if skin type makes a difference- birds generally have pretty thin skin on their bodies, until you get up to the ratites, so it moves very easily. I know people CAN make leather from fowl legs but. also why. That's so much work for so little. But, anyway dinos would likely have thicker skin than most birds and larger dinos might have stiffer necks than peafowl or other birds like them do. Depending on the size you want you may need to find a ratite keeper to ask.

[hollowsart]

Penguin 🐧💕

-slaps my own headcanons on him and puts him into my own little spidersona crossover universe-

Oswald Cobblepot, 4'9" king 💖

No one is a bigger bird fanatic than The Penguin. After all, he is named after one! Well, at least no one within Gotham is.

[X] [X]

^^ info and more under the cut:

He has a bit of an ego and self pride. He definitely values his appearance and takes offense to people speaking negatively about him. He knows his worth and value and he will see to it that you see it, too, and that you respect him.

The proud owner of the Iceberg Lounge, a fancy club and bar that a lot of local gang leaders, mob bosses, and the top dogs of Gotham's underbelly like to visit on the regular, as well as the wealthy elite of Gotham overall.

The umbrellas he uses are all made by him. Every last one he uses has a different custom set of tricks and weapons implemented into their unique framework. from the outside they look entirely unassuming.. but they hide a variety of weapons and tools. Gas, bullets, knives, chains, motors, a method of taking flight, etc. You never know what to expect from one of his umbrellas.

He might not look capable, but he is extremely skilled in hand to hand combat among other things. Can hold his own against Batman and other villains within the city.

He doesn't really see the appeal or what the big deal is with Bruce Wayne. Especially when he, himself, is right here for the taking if anyone was interested.. Give him a chance? He'll treat you soooo good and right~

[i-lost-my-heart-in-republic-city]

Only villains are allowed to be complex in Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender

I had a major issue with the treatment of the original gaang in natla and I think it has to do with character flaws. As in, they don't have any.

In the case of Aang, other characters keep telling him that he can't ignore his responsibilities but when do we ever see him actually do this? When does he seek out distractions to avoid his duties, like penguin sledding, or riding elephant koi, or hiding in a cave? Hell, the reason he gets trapped in the iceberg is changed. In natla he was only going out on a short flight with Appa and gets caught in a storm. In the original he ran away, and it's understandable because he felt alone and out of control of his life. But it is still a choice he makes, to run away from his responsibilities, and he has to deal with the consequences.

In natla there is no choice to run away, it's fully an accident and it takes away his agency as a character. So when Bumi starts blaming him for the war it really rings hollow because it was all an accident. It has more weight when a random fisherman blames him in atla because at least in that version he did make a choice to runaway. Obviously he had no way of knowing what would happen and he never intended to abandon the world to genocide and war. But that's the thing about life, you never know the full consequences of your decisions, and you just have to deal with them when they happen. The war is not Aang's fault, but he did make a bad decision, and it had far reaching consequences. It made Aang's character more relatable and gave him a starting place from which he could grow as a character. He had to learn how to accept responsibility for his actions without blaming himself for the actions of other (i.e. Sozin starting the war).

I feel like in the case of Katara, they stripped her passion and anger. They explored Katara's PTSD but they take away how angry it made her. Anger is a totally normal response to trauma. While letting yourself be consumed by anger is obviously bad, anger can also be channeled into passion and energy to enact positive change. This was a big part of Katara's character in atla, learning how to control her righteous indignation and use it to fight for the rights of other. She has none of that anger here, so there is no character growth and no emotional connection to the character through that arc.

This especially falls flat in her 'feminist arc.' She fights with Pakku but there is no anger, no fire in her. In atla at the end of the fight, even though she was pinned down and had clearly lost, she was still going. She was almost feral. Even though she was worn out, her passion of fighting for what is right still fueled her. She would not give up. So I guess it's fitting natla's unpassionate Katara just falls down at the end of the fight. And they cut out the whole importance of the necklace, which serves as Pakku's realization on how his sexism has negatively impacted his own life. It's this realization that motivates him to reevaluate his beliefs and agree to train Katara. Which needs to happen because having a master's tutelage is what allows her to become a master herself. Alta makes it clear that she excels because of her hard work and determination along with guidance from a mentor. There's none of this in natla. They just start calling Katara a master because 'girlpower' I guess? They certainly don't show how she became so talented. But natla Katara doesn't need help from other people to grow. She's already a master. She's already perfect.

Sokka is also stripped of his flaws as well. Obviously we know he is not sexist in natla. I don't think this is inherently a bad change, but you have to understand how the sexism impacted his character in atla and adjust accordingly. In atla, Sokka's sexism is really the origin of his all his insecurities. He believes there are roles for men and roles for women. Protecting the tribe is a man's job. So when the men go off to fight in the war, he believes he must carry the burden of protecting the tribe as the oldest male. He sets himself up for failure because he places impossible standards on himself. He cannot protect and lead the tribe all by himself, especially not when he is a young child. This leads to him feeling inadequate because he cannot measure up to his own impossible standards or his idealized version of his father (who was an adult and had the support of his tribesmen).

I could still see a way to still adapt atla without the sexism. (For example Hakoda tells Sokka to look after his younger sister. He takes that to an extreme of being overprotective of the whole tribe. And we are back at him failing to met his own impossible expectations again). But natla doesn't do this. Instead it just throws in a flashback of Hakoda saying that Sokka isn't fit to be a warrior. This kind of defeats the purpose of Sokka's own internal conflict about not measuring up to his own unrealistic expectations. Now it's his father's expectation's he doesn't measure up to. This is not a bad story beat in and of itself. It works well with Zuko. But it's not Sokka's character conflict. In alta Sokka's insecurities, internal expectations, and sexism also cause him to lash out at others sometimes. He's not allowed to act so negatively in atla. So again there is no place for him to grow as a character, as he does not have these flaws.

Honestly it seems like they tired to removal all negative character traits from the main characters, which makes them feel more stiff and allows them no room for growth. I really wanted to like this adaptation. And I do think there are some changes they do really well. But those changes are related to the villains and they just drop the ball so hard with our main characters.

[withahappyrefrain]

Omg I’m obsessed with that list!

I loveeeeee “a hand (or both) placed gently on their cheeks!!!”

I’m picturing Jake cupping her cheek, just smirking at her as she tries to hide her gaze. He leans in. *swoon* 🫠

(If you’re still taking requests)

This SCREAMS Jake!

You don't want to enjoy it. You're not supposed to. You're only here with him to prove a point, to put an end to his nagging, his begging.

The bouquet of flowers he showed up with was all an act, nothing more. Considering the green, shapeless flight suit he wore everyday, of course he would look good in jeans and a button up. A damn button up was not going to make you weak in the knees.

Not for Jake Seresin.

And none of those things did make you weak in the knees.

Instead, it was the amount of thought he put into planning the date. The way his attention to every detail revealed that Jake had been paying attention to you, picking up on things even when you thought he wasn't listening.

"You wanna go see the penguins now? I know they're your favorite," he gently squeezed your hand, enabling you to still look at the manatees swimming around in the aquarium.

"How do you-"

"Your call sign. That's where it's from, isn't it?"

You bit your bottom lip, trying not to appear flustered. Only your original squad knew that you got your callsign from an obsession with an old Christmas claymation film, featuring a penguin named Topper.

A large hand gently placed itself on one of your heated cheeks. Jake's thumb curved around your chin, forcing you to look up.

Normally the sight of that smirk irritated you.

But now it made your heart flutter. Now you found yourself memorized by his emerald eyes, by his pink lips, his dimples.

"Isn't it?" Jake asks again, his voice softer.

"Y-yeah. How did you...." Your voice trailed off, too distracted by how his lips were mere inches away from yours.

"You're my favorite girl, of course I knew." His words made your knees weak, always did. That nickname he bestowed after a week of knowing you. That nickname you always tried to brush off.

"Bet you say that to everyone," the words leaving your mouth were soft, a soft smile adorning your face instead of it's usually forced scowl.

"Just you babydoll." This time when he leans in, you don't step away. This time, you enjoy the scent of sandalwood, how soft his blonde hair felt against your forehead.

This time you enjoyed it when his lips brushed against yours, tilting your head up to better access his mouth, your hands finding themselves on his broad shoulders.

[alphynix]

Spectember 2023 #04: Some Aukward Birds

An anonymous submitter asked for a "penguin/auk-like relative of Pelagornis":

Odontopinguinus vomitus represents an unusal early branch of the pelagornithids that didn't take up long-distance soaring, instead specializing for a pursuit diving lifestyle convergently similar to that of the contemporaneous early penguins, and the later auks and plotopterids.

About 1.2m tall (~4'), it has a more slender spear-like beak than its relatives, with forward-pointing pseudotooth serrations. Like other pelagornithids these "teeth" are fairly fragile, so it feeds primarily on soft-bodied fish and squid, pursuing them underwater with wing-propelled underwater "flight".

Much like procellariiformes they're also rather stinky birds, producing musky preen oil and projectile vomiting foul-smelling stomach contents at threats and rivals.

———

And another anon wanted to see a "big flightless marine duck":

Thalassonetta anambulatus is descended from the already mostly-flightless steamer ducks. At around 2m long (6'6") it's massive for a waterfowl, with vestigial wings and large webbed feet used to propel itself while diving.

With its rather elongated and heavy body and loon-like leg configuration it's no longer able to walk on land – and it's actually almost fully aquatic, only awkwardly hauling out into isolated island beaches to molt and breed.

It feeds mainly on molluscs, crustaceans, and other marine invertebrates, using the large lamellae in its bill to strain them out of soft seafloor sediments.

[siconetribal]

Put it on My Tab (18)

Pairing: Jason Todd x Fem!reader

Warning:

Things as they should have been

A/N:

Thanks for patiently waiting! I had a safe and easy flight, but the jet lag was a real troublemaker. But now I'm back, less brain foggy and ready to type. Without further ado, here is the next part!

Please comment/like/reblog. If you’d like to be tagged moving forward, please let me know! I'd also greatly appreciate it if rebloggers remember to add the tags (or some at least).

As always, a huge thank you and shout out to @harlequin-hangout for the amazing banners you made for me.

If you’re new to the story, please check out the master post for the rest of the chapters.

Another day, another round of unreasonable customers not paying attention to the orders that are being called, and another coffee order from the caffeine fiend who has been showing up almost daily. The handsome young man caused quite the stir with the female employees, each rushing to be the one to take his order, only to be rejected. There was only one person he ordered from, and the one barista was Y/N. She did not know why or when this little routine started, but it was well known throughout the shifts. One customer came in on days only Y/N was in and only ever ordered from her. The idea would have been flattering if his level of consumption was not so concerning, and him obviously being younger than her and well off.

And he’s another Wayne. I think I’ve officially had it with Waynes. She let out a heavy sigh as she rang up her current customer. How long had it been since she last saw Jason? She wondered for the seventh time, looking at the digital date on the register. That awkwardly magical night to end it all was now two weeks behind her and not a single word from him. To be fair, I haven’t exactly reached out either, but what am I supposed to even say? I didn’t exactly ask him for pocket change, and he paid for dinner and made sure I was inside the building safe. Could he have just not been so great so that I could continue to hate him for some reason and move on with my life? It’s all his fault, clearly! She grabbed a cup, stuck on the label, and placed it in the queue before moving onto the next customer. 

Citlalli heard her sigh again and visibly frowned. The night Y/N came back with the money was a shock. The two of them stared at her phone and refreshed the app screen several times, expecting it to all vanish like it was some sort of glitch and error. Come the next day, it was still very much there, which meant they were now debt free. They refused to celebrate just yet. Y/N transferred the money to her bank, it cleared in a few days. Y/N called the hotel and paid the rest of the charges over the phone. The hotel register must have been ancient because it felt like forever until the little ding sounded to let everyone know the transaction was completed. A copy of the receipt was emailed and with that, it was done. Seeing the bill as paid in full was such a sight to behold that Citlalli even began to tear up. They were back to where they were before the coffee fiasco, which was far better than being behind. 

Everything was back to as it should be, or it should have been. Y/N was different. She was more relaxed now that she could drop a good number of shifts and others could cover, but there was a listlessness to her. Her motions were robotic, and she barely reacted to crazy customers who were prone to yelling or causing a scene. If anything, her lack of reaction made the tantrum thrower feel awkward, and they quietly just moved along. Maybe it was an adrenaline crash? A constant flight or fight mode was finally shut off and her body was simply trying to recover. The last time she had seen her like this was the time her cousin got them tangled with the Penguin. Citlalli was no better, the two did what needed to be done to keep the bills paid and their heads on their shoulders. 

“Oi, chica, I’ve been calling your name for the last ten minutes!” She snapped her fingers in front of Y/N’s face. “Are you going to give me an answer or what?!”

“Huh, sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” She jerked her head back as the sharp sound brought her senses back into focus. The long day of work had come to an end and neither of the two were on the night shift, so they returned home and began to relax and unwind. “Answer what?”

“Where did you get these and when were you going to tell me?!” She firmly tapped her finger on two identical rectangular pieces of paper that magically appeared on the coffee table. They were not just simple waxy slips, either. They were a nice weight that had a lovely deign with a date and time stamped on each with the name of an upcoming charity gala printed in cursive and the famous W logo of Wayne Enterprises Inc. 

“Ah, those, well, those came from Nightwing when he left me a tip. I don’t think he meant to give them? At least, that’s the only thing that makes sense. I’m sure Bruce Wayne meant for him to have them to attend. I just don’t know how to go about returning them. How does one call a nighttime vigilante without lighting up the sky with the Bat Signal?” She pointed out the issue she was in.

“Three weeks,” Citlalli scowled. “Nearly a month of holding onto these, and you never once thought to tell me?! They were just laying there on the kitchen floor near the trash! Were you going to throw them out?!” She shoved her face in front of Y/N’s, their noses mere inches from touching. 

“I wasn’t planning to throw them out, but like I said, there’s no way to return them!” Y/N moved her head back.

“¡Ay, ay, ay!” She stood back and hit the heel of her free palm into her forehead a few times. “We could use them! We could go! This could be how we celebrate finally being debt free!” Citlalli grabbed the two tickets and waved them at Y/N. “This is fate, it was meant to be! ¡Por Dios!” She once again dove into a flurry of Spanish as she paced up and down the small living room. From the way she waved her arms around, twirled, Y/N could only gather that the frenzied energy was excitement.

“Cici,” she firmly called out to her overly energized friend for the umpteenth time. “Don't you think these tickets are tracked? That Bruce Wayne would know which ticket is whose? So, when someone tries to use someone else's, they can cross-reference. And even if by some unknown luck, they let it slide, for whatever reason; and we take the leap and attend, we don't have anything to wear aside from old catering uniforms and whatever dresses we have for parties and dates. I’m not trying to be the buzzkill, but we’re not equipped for this.”

Citlalli looked between Y/N and the tickets several times before coming around the table and flopping down onto the couch with a heavy sigh of defeat. Y/N could only sadly smile at the scene. It hurt to burst the bubble, but it needed to be done. A somber silence filled the apartment, broken only by the noise from their neighbors or some troublemakers outside. They could officially forget about this and move on.

“My abuela can help us. She’s a great seamstress, and my tía Maribel and tía Estrella have their own boutique. It’s nowhere near Wayne level price tags, but they make good money and live in a safer city. They made my and all my cousins quinceañera dresses, too. I’m sure they can come up with something for this, or at least let us borrow two dresses for the evening.” Citlalli sat up and looked straight at Y/N.

“You’re really not going to let this go, huh?” Y/N could only sigh and shake her head. “The party is in two weeks. When will we have the time to go and try on dresses between work and my pending call to come into the precinct for a formal interview?”

“Mr. B owes us for covering all those shifts he had no one to cover for. He’ll be grateful we took off unpaid so he doesn't have to pay us as much overtime.” She rolled her eyes. “My family will even open the shop after hours just for us to look, we don't need to go during the work hours. We can buy roundtrip train tickets and spend the night there. We might not even have to call off work either, we can swap shifts with someone! This is perfect! Ok, that's what we’ll do! I'm going to go call my family and see what days are best!” Once again, Citlalli was off running and Y/N was left speechless and trying to figure out how they went from reason to a whole thought out plan.

You know what, why not? It doesn’t hurt to try. If she really wanted to go, I was going to suggest checking some consignment shops or thrift stores in the richer parts of the city. We can use that plan as backup, though. She gets to see her grandmother this way and I can say hi to her family as well. She smiled while watching Citlalli’s face light up while talking in Spanish to her family on the phone. Y/N was willing to deal with the Waynes if it meant her best friend would be happy. It’s the least I can do for all her family has done for me over the years, trouble aside.

It was done. There was nothing left to do and there was no reason to ever see her again unless he wanted to go get coffee. He was not against coffee, but he was not an addict like someone he knew. He glanced at the door as Tim walked in with a rather large cup. Jason frowned to himself, looking back down at his book, but his gaze quickly snapped back up to the third Robin. He knew that logo, it was the logo of the cafe Y/N worked at.

Why would he go all the way over there for a cup of coffee? Did he realize I kept going there for them? No, I only did that twice. He can’t have caught on to anything from just that no matter how smart he is. Maybe he liked it? It’s a popular place and he may have been scouting the area. He stared at the cup, almost glaring at it. Must be mice to not have a reason to go there and see her without a care in teh world.

“What?” Tim’s voice cut off his jealous thoughts. The second Wayne son raised an eyebrow at him. “You’re the one giving a death glare to my coffee, I think I have a right to know why.”

“I’m trying to figure out what number this one is for the day. Your coffee addiction is just starting to get concerning.” He retorted.

“I’m not a coffee ‘addict’,” Tim took a rather loud sip of his drink to punctuate his point. “I’m a caffeine-based life form and as such, I must honor the ways of my people.”“By drinking your three times your weight in coffee?” Jason snorted as he tried to stop from laughing. Caffeine-based life form? She’d get a kick out of that one. I wonder, has he met her? A sharp, stabbing pain suddenly pierced his chest.“Who am I to get between you and your crazy cult? Chug away,”  he slightly bowed his head in respect. Tim nodded in return and left the room. Jason gently rubbed the spot above his heart, frowning once more. Must be nice indeed.

Tag: @vbecker10 @wordsfromshona @harlequin-hangout @harpy-space @tild3ath @gone-batty-fics @princessbl0ss0m @dakotali @antiquecultist

[malk1ns]

au question thing: sid is a penguin, geno gets drafted to a different team

ask game here

combined these two! geno on the flyers :) it's kind of perfect when you think about it, they're the broad street bullies and for a long time his teammates called him 'the bully'...could he have been a perfect fit there the whole time?

also this is an age gap universe because i want it to be. also geno is his same age (aka drafted in 2004) but sid doesn't come in until later. not sure what year he's drafted but it's sometime between 2010-2015 i think.

sid's well aware that the nhl is going to be different from juniors. it still takes him by surprise. the guys are bigger, and rougher, and some of them REALLY don't like him. he comes home to mario's with sore wrists and ankles and knees and bruises along his ribs, and he has to stop himself from calling his mom and saying he takes it all back, he doesn't want to play in the nhl anymore. but then he scores goals and shoves it into everyone's face, and it's all worth it again.

it's especially delicious against the flyers. giroux hates him, and malkin seems to have taken a special interest in him. malkin was one of sid's heroes as he was growing up, and sid was prepared for it—malkin's dirty, sly with his elbow and vicious with his stick when the refs aren't looking (and sometimes when they are, he doesn't seem to give a fuck)—and honestly? he kind of likes the attention, even when it hurts.

malkin's always got something to say to him. he'll skate up to the faceoff dot and mutter something that could maybe be excused as a translation error, because if not...it's outrageously suggestive. every time. no wonder sid's so bad at faceoffs his rookie year, one team tanks his stats for the whole season because he gets flustered. malkin whispers in his ear when he's jamming his stick into sid's ribs, too.

giroux has noticed. he doesn't like it. sid's caught him yelling at malkin on the bench, and one time it happened when sid was skating past—malkin caught his gaze and rolled his eyes as claude was scolding him, like he and sid were sharing a secret.

that brings back a lot of sid's hero-worship for malkin. he thinks about him a lot. like, a lot. he looks forward to flyers games. and one day, after a particularly rough game during sid's third year, malkin's waiting for sid outside the visitor's locker room at wells fargo center. he asks him back for a drink, to smooth over hard feelings he says. they can just go to geno's, it's quieter there, they can really talk.

sid takes his curfew exemption. sid also almost misses their flight back the next day. he shows up at the airport at the last second, flushed and with a hickey and wearing a team russia sweatshirt. guess you could say they smoothed it over.

[st-danger]

Hi Saint, tell me if I’m not paying attention enough or if im being an idiot ignore me, but are you a scientist or something like that? Because don’t you have to be something like that to go all the way to Antarctica? I think it’s amazing you have this opportunity and I wish you best of luck and a safe flight!

(Also my friend follows you and we were talking and I said you might see a narwhal and she said “THOSE’RE REAL?!” And as a marine biology major I had to take an hour to explain that they are real because that can’t fly. We also found that she thought peacocks were fake too.)

I am not! I'm actually going down there as part of support staff. I have retail management experience, but no college degree and no clear plans for my life except to publish a book and hope that works out, so I'm going to be doing some good good grunt work. But when that's the kind of thing you do in your regular life because you don't have a degree or clear career path, doing that thing somewhere cool Makes Sense.

Palmer Station is another base, that has probably the largest amount of wildlife. Where I'll be deployed will be chock full of skua (think Antarctic, predatory seagulls) and we should have some penguins coming through!

Narwhals were one of my favourite animals growing up. They seem like they should be fake.

[bangpop91]

I'll Meet You In Between

It's day 2 of @bucktommypositivityweek round 2! Today's prompt was scenes from a firetruck. This drabble takes place directly before Mayday. I hope you guys enjoy Day 2

Buck woke a groan fumbling with his phone to turn off his alarm before flopping back down into the bed not wanting to get up for the day. It hadn’t been that long ago that he looked forward to every shift. But these days the idea of getting out of the massive plush bed that also happened to feature a big muscular pilot with ridiculous bed head, and is like his own personal space heater. Buck wiggled closer into Tommy’s side burying his nose into Tommy’s armpit making his man grunt.

“Your face is like icicles,” Tommy groaned, adjusting himself so that they were face to face.

“It's not my fault your house is like a penguin habitat.” That startled a laugh out of Tommy while Buck grinned, pressing kisses against Tommy's stubble covered cheek. 

“You have a shift baby.” Tommy reminded him before capturing his lips in a sweet kiss.

“So do you.” He replied in-between morning kisses, where if he played this right could lead to morning sex 

“I don't have to fight crosstown traffic.” Tommy countered sitting up scratching his scalp making his mess of curls even more out of control from where they curled frizzy and untamed on one side and flat against his scalp on the other. He looks so rumpled and soft, far from the cool guy exterior Tommy meticulously puts on like armor every morning. He's moved on to casually scratching an itch on his chest while checking the weather on his phone like he does every morning before he gets out of bed. He wants to live in this moment and it's domesticity forever, he knows that realistically it's too early to talk about living together, about forever. But he wants this to be the sight he wakes up to every morning. Tommy looks down at him, Buck still stubbornly burritoed under the blanket  with his face in Tommy's pillow.

“Bed head?” He asked, looking at him with a lopsided grin. It makes Buck laugh from his spot in bed watching Tommy go through his morning routine.

“Nicely tousled.” Tommy and him should not be laughing at what dorks they are being, but he loves that he and Tommy can be silly, and there is no pressure to be tough, or manly, or cool, they can just be themselves. 

“Alright Darlin, you do have to get up now.” Buck is feeling a little bratty and burrows further into his burrito of blankets and Tommy’s pillow like a petulant child. “Will you get up if I promise to shower with you?” Tommy teases leaned over Buck.

“I could be persuaded.” He responds and lets Tommy lure him from the bed with kisses. He does make it to work on time, he didn't have time to stop and get coffee on the way to work which is fine because Tommy had sent him on his way with a thermos of coffee, kisses, and a reminder to be safe.

It turns out to be one of the worst and craziest shifts he has ever worked. He knows Tommy's own shift has been just as hectic. And yet in the rare minutes of downtime that he had to check his phone there were messages from Tommy.

A picture of a black cat from the pet rescue site that Tommy likes scrolling through with the accompanying message.

❤️ Loml ❤️ : I love Salem almost as much as I love you.

Buck: Awe he’s beautiful. I love him.

❤️ Loml ❤️ : 🐝🐝🐝🐝

❤️ Loml ❤️ : Are you enjoying the bee-nado

Buck: look at you learning how to use emojis I’m so proud of my old man.

❤️ Loml ❤️ : Don't be a brat, Evan.

Tommy finds him in the aftermath of the plane crash. They are in-between the 118 and 217’s engines when Tommy pulls him in for a hug.

“How you holding up Darlin?” His voice is low and quiet in Buck’s ear.

“I wish today would just end already.” He mumbled clinging to the back of Tommy's flight suit. He doesn't want to let go of Tommy, because right now Tommy is the only thing holding him upright.

“Twelve more hours okay.” Tommy promised, “Just twelve more hours and we will have forty-eight hours together. We'll turn our phones off, catch up on Stylish Designs, and try that new chili recipe.” 

“Okay.” Evan nodded with a smile, Having something to keep him moving towards. An end goal for his shift. Tommy is called away, his chopper is ready, Tommy presses a quick kiss to his lips.

“I'll see you at home.” He says with a big, bright charming smile that makes him melt. He'll see Tommy at home.